2. What is First Year Seminar?
History of collaboration
Learning outcomes
Structure and methodology
Responses
Where do we go from here?
3. 2 credit hours
Approx. 1,200 students, 58 sections
Academic and social transition to University
Community
Faculty and student facilitators
4. 2006 – tour of the library on request
2007 – tour, short project, required
2008 – project, integrated tour, required
◦ Common Research Experience = enhanced
roll for library
5. Learning Outcomes
◦ Library = comfortable, welcoming
◦ Librarians = knowledgeable, friendly
◦ Wide variety of resources and services
◦ Basic concepts of information organization and
research
6. Structure and Methodology
Project-oriented active learning
◦
Work in groups
◦
Peer mentoring
◦
Self-determined
◦
◦ “Choose Your Own Adventure” meets “Madlibs”
7. Choose an item
Write keywords describing item
Use keywords as search terms to find next
item
Repeat, repeat, repeat
Final item often unrelated to first
Students‟ choice throughout
8. “They were really responsive to Maps, Special
Collections, too. They think they‟re going to
hate it at first, but then they find that one
item and everyone is like „Ohhhhhh!‟” -
Megan W.
“Some students were kind of „blah‟ and
unresponsive because it wasn‟t for a grade. I
remember some of them said they weren‟t
going to try.” -Lauren D.
9. Observed: around 70% were interested.
Active learning was successful
Better balance between
“intro to library tour”
and “project time”
More successful when
faculty instructor was
Faculty – projects
present
should be more
focused
10. Common Research Experience continues
More focused project
Short (but interactive) tour independent of
project
Experimental classes – librarian integrated
into course and curriculum
Come back next year!