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Engaging Today's Students with the Liberal Arts |
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Ripon College |
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Strengths The First Year Studies (FYS) program began at Ripon College in the fall of 1998. Since that time, all entering students with fewer than 12 hours of transfer credit have been required to pass a First Year Studies course. Students select an individual course, which is linked with one or two other courses (forming a cluster) on a common issue with contemporary implications. Cluster topics have included immigration, love, friends and family, the media, the prairie, war and peace. Individual faculty members within the cluster teach their own course. So unlike traditional "team-taught" courses, the individual professor still retains the ability to select appropriate content for their course, decide the assignments for students, and determine students' grades. The collaborative nature of the teaching occurs when the cluster meets together. Approximately 25% of class time is devoted to these interdisciplinary meetings of the cluster. For example, students in the FYS history course, "Love in the Western World," read The Return of Martin Guerre, an interpretative work by the historian Natalie Zemon Davis. The other two sections of the cluster (one an FYS course in the fine arts and the other an FYS course in literature) read the historical novel, The Wife of Martin Guerre, by Janet Lewis. All the students in the cluster watch the French film, The Return of Martin Guerre. The three sections meet together to discuss the material, and divide into small groups that cross the disciplinary lines. The students first have to teach each other about what they read (but the others didn't), and then discuss the sources together. The next day they give presentations on their ideas to the entire cluster. There are many benefits derived from the collaborative nature of the FYS program. For the faculty, teaching on a common theme with other colleagues while staying in one's own discipline gives a comfort level not afforded when all first year classes have to cover the same topic. Faculty still feel "in charge" of their classes with the way the FYS program is structured. Faculty get the benefits of team-teaching a course: an exchange of ideas across the disciplines, and a richer way of understanding a topic provided by sharing differing methodologies. In addition, faculty get a sense of the interconnectedness of the academic enterprise, and realize that their colleagues often share similar interests. By consciously employing the methodologies of their disciplines, the faculty also impart benefits to the students. Students see the differences and similarities that the disciplines offer. They see the benefits of using many methodologies to approach a problem. They also see professors sharing ideas, challenging beliefs, and debating each other. The professors model how scholars learn constructively from each other even when holding different points of view. A final benefit for the students (and indeed for the whole cluster) is the camaraderie that develops in these individual class sections. Very early in the semester each section develops a self-conscious identity because they have other classes against which to compare themselves. Students in the history FYS course, for example, identify themselves AS historians because they are conscious of the fact that there are other students in the cluster who are using different methodologies as they approach the same topic. When they get together for discussions with the other sections, the history students will frequently demand to know the historical context of the work the other class is reading, or they will ask questions about the degree to which the gender or class of the author affected the writing of the text. By the end of the semester, the students in these FYS clusters acquire a fundamental grasp of the interconnectedness of the liberal arts. Challenges Ripon College strives to provide a comprehensive student experience. Learning is active in and out of the classroom. Results from the National Survey of Student Engagement illustrate that our students are extremely active with extracurricular involvements, and that active and collaborative learning and student-faculty interactions are very much part of the Ripon College experience. Much attention has been devoted to first year students in the past years following goals listed in the College's comprehensive planning process. A summer orientation program was implemented leading to a smoother transition for both new students and their parents. Our First Year Studies course was refined, leading to positive student reaction. All first year students take the Noel Levitz College Student Inventory, and then have their results interpreted with a Student Affairs staff member. Career Development schedules an open house for all new students. A well-received college reading experience was implemented this past year. Direct relationships can be difficult to draw, but retention statistics between the first and second year have been on the rise. We have entertained the idea of paying some additional attention to the sophomore experience. There is potential for the transition to sophomore year as well as the sophomore year itself. Statistics clearly show that retention is most volatile in the first two years of college. In assessing profiles of students who left the college, we did see some relationship between undeclared majors and higher numbers of withdrawals. As a result we attempted a workshop for sophomores to address this issue. The attendance was minimal. Our Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs also designed a program where all students on academic probation are assigned to a student service staff mentor who works with them throughout the semester. Together they discuss reasons for past difficulties and reflect upon performance as the semester unfolds. On this approach there is little doubt of the effectiveness, as the number of academic dismissals has dropped and fewer students with poor grades are leaving Ripon College. However, there clearly is room for some more focus in the sophomore year. Students begin to assume leadership positions in groups, choosing a major becomes more necessary, consideration of off-campus programs arises, students who didn't connect their first year may begin to wonder if they will ever "fit," and career exploration becomes a significant reality. Potential exists to make the sophomore year more special. Renewed reflection on the liberal arts, additional interaction between students and faculty/staff, attention to retention issues, a curricular initiative similar in design to the First Year Studies course, and directed career exploration may be a few areas to consider. The overall goal would be to enhance the level of student engagement beyond the first year. Efforts leading to increased student satisfaction and personal growth enhancement would certainly be worthwhile. Team Members
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Return to: College strengths Return to: Engagement Project |
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