FYS

Last summer, I was appointed lead instructor of First Year Seminar. FYS is a class for incoming first-year students; any of you from SFA would recognize it as SFA 101. We made a few changes last fall, and we saw bits of progress in how well the class does what it's supposed to, but we're making more radical changes for the fall 2010 term. I'm posting them here in hopes of getting comments and suggestions from anyone who reads these notes. In no particular order:

• We've already changed it from a once-a-week class that runs all fifteen weeks to a twice-a-week class, Tuesday-Thursday, that runs only eight weeks. The plan is that we'll cover college survival on one of those days, say Tuesday, and then on Thursday the class will mutually tackle a book, movie, or other text. Tentatively, I plan to have my class watch Gattaca and then carry out a series of in-depth discussions on it. One of my colleagues plans to spend the eight weeks talking about comic strips and editorial cartoons, and having students bring different ones for discussion each Thursday.
• One complaint we've had hammered into us is that we've been guilty of talking down to the incoming first-years and conveying the impression that we don't think they're ready to be adults. So, instead of devoting entire class meetings to things like study skills, doing laundry, getting enough sleep, etc., what I tentatively want to do is track down concrete ideas like spaced repetition and resources like Anki, give a five minute PSA for such things in class, and then leave the burden on the students to do something about them.
• The Tuesday class needs to become a lot less about generic college survival, and a lot more about knowledge specific to Northwest Christian University. We've talked about making a list of four or five topics on which new students need information, and then letting the students in the class add another two or three, subject to our approval. We would then make those topics available for sign-up, and students would do a group project consisting of interviewing members of the campus community, video-recording their answers, and editing the highlights into a short primer on the subject. Examples: campus safety, campus traditions, etc. For each topic, we would get to name one person as an "expert" whose advice had to be included (For campus safety, Jocelyn Hubbs? For campus traditions, Carla Aydelott?) but beyond that, students would get to do it themselves.
• One topic that we might handle with that model, or that we might turn into a class topic, is how to find one's way around Eugene, which is an extremely confusing town to the newly arrived. We tend to have a fair number of Eugene natives in any particular section, but we could turn that to an advantage by enlisting them to come ready to help explain the town's layout, and to talk about at least one out-of-the-way place in Eugene that it's worthwhile to know how to find.
• Similarly, we've talked about having the advisor for each academic major talk on camera for no more than a minute and a half about that academic field, and then have them choose one of their outstanding majors to talk for another minute and a half about what it's like to take those classes, study that material, etc. That would make up most of our comprehensive coverage of the majors on campus. We'd still do the majors fair, but for that we'd run an informal contest among the faculty for the most creative way of getting and keeping students' attention.
• We plan to move class out of the classroom as often as possible. Last fall, my section took one class meeting and went for a walk around the neighborhood, including our campus and the neighboring University of Oregon campus, and they said they got a lot out of it and enjoyed it immensely.
• One change we implemented last fall, which I'm very happy about, is that each section is taught by a three-person team: a faculty member, a staff member, and an outstanding undergraduate student. One idea I have for this fall is to set aside one day when the faculty and staff instructor won't come, and label it "What students know that faculty and staff are better off not knowing." The student instructor could decide what to cover, what to explain, and also could take any questions from the first-years that they're not comfortable asking if a faculty or staff member is in the room.
• One assignment we've discussed is to send each first-year out to visit something within walking distance of campus, and then write (or record) a review highlighting the details that might be easily overlooked, both good and bad. This could include restaurants, shops, etc. but could also include entirely free attractions like Alton Baker Park or the first Friday at Jordan Schnitzer Museum.

Right now, the word we get from the students who take the class isn't positive. They complain about having to take it and tell one another it's a waste of time. Now, a little of this negative feeling, I admit, I disregard: I think of it as something similar to complaining about cafeteria food, or how strict one's parents are, both of which people routinely exaggerate because doing otherwise is uncool. But I do think we could do better than we're doing, and I am anxious to get any feedback anyone's willing to offer. If you have ideas for other improvements, or topics that ought to be addressed, please do comment and say so.

Last, if you want to continue to be part of this discussion after I yank the plug on my Facebook for the final month of school, you can find this post on my blog, along with most of the rest of my Facebook notes. I only write on the blog sporadically, but it does stay up and updated even when I'm not on Facebook. And I'll probably solicit feedback again just as soon as I'm back on in May, so as ideas occur to you, do please nail them down so you can set me up in a few weeks.