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2010: New Decade, New Best Practices for Freshman Studies

2010: New Decade, New Best Practices for Freshman Studies. Laurean D. Robinson, MA Freshman Studies Florida Memorial University March 26, 2010. What We Know For Sure. Area High Schools Have Taught Students How to Take Tests, Not Acquire Knowledge Because of NCLB

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2010: New Decade, New Best Practices for Freshman Studies

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  1. 2010: New Decade, New Best Practices for Freshman Studies Laurean D. Robinson, MA Freshman Studies Florida Memorial University March 26, 2010

  2. What We Know For Sure • Area High Schools Have Taught Students How to Take Tests, Not Acquire Knowledge Because of NCLB • These High School Graduates Lack Basic Skills in Math, Science, Reading, and Writing • First-Semester Freshmen Are Unaware of College Culture and On-Campus Resources • Collecting Data for Assessment Has Been a Difficult Process, Resulting in Inaccurate and Inconclusive Findings

  3. Excerpt of The Blind Side

  4. Accountability is a powerful tool and is working to improve learning . . . Accountability also makes people uncomfortable. We no longer are able to hide from the facts, which say that only half our minority students stand a chance of graduating from high school on time. -Margaret Spellings, Former Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009

  5. “A Rich, Rigorous, and Engaging Curriculum” - Michael Cohen, President of Achieve, a nonpartisan education reform organization

  6. Solutions Within Classroom • Incorporate the Foundational Concepts from Developmental Courses Into College-Level Courses of all Disciplines • Live Example of Benchmark Lectures for All English Courses • Incorporate Real-Life Applications of Textbook Concepts • Live Example of Lecture on “The Ways of Meeting Oppression” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. • Connection between Methods of Dealing with Oppression to Current Events of Health Care Plan Passing

  7. Our society has made popular culture a cornerstone of cultural identity . . . We owe it to our kids to provide opportunities for critical analysis of popular culture. Tooning In: Essays on Popular Culture and Education (2008) by Cameron White and Trenia Walker

  8. Incorporate Popular Media such as The New York Times as Supplementary Materials • Live Example of “Homemade Education” by Malcolm X Supplementary Assignment/Film Viewing • Nytimes.com Article http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/college-ivy-sprouts-at-a-connecticut-prison/?scp=1&sq=prison%20education&st=cse

  9. Learning to be efficient and effective on a computer isn’t complicated. Learning requires making mistakes, recovering, and moving forward, which builds up a discipline for each program. It also wires into the learner’s brain personal computers’ unique symbolic language. “Bringing Technology to the African American Community” by Grady Wells (US Black Engineer and Information Technology 1999)

  10. Solution Within Classroom (continued) • Incorporate Latest Technology in Classroom • Projected Lectures with Video and Graphics on Microsoft PowerPoint • Online Class Discussion on Facebook • Online Class Discussions Using Video, Newspaper/Magazine Articles on WordPress Blog • http://www.lboogie81.wordpress.com • Viewing of Film on YouTube

  11. On-Campus Solutions • Require Collaborative Assignments and Presentations • Live Example of Group Presentations on Alice Walker’s “Journey to Nine Miles” Bob Marley Music Analysis • Mandate Study Groups Among Students With Mixed Learning Abilities • Pair Strong with Weak • Mandate One Visit at Office Hours a Week for Every Student • Refer to On-Campus Academic Labs for Additional Help Outside of Office Hours

  12. Holistic Solution Outside Classroom • Collaborate with Campus Library, Media Department, On-Campus Student Clubs and Organizations for “Fun” Campus Events

  13. Ineffective Assessment Collection How can we create a more efficient method of collection? How can we use our findings to assist in retention?

  14. Collection Solution • Collaborate with Pearson Publishing on Internet Websites based on Specific Discipline • Provides Diagnostic Appraisal of Student Skill To Measure Progress • Creates and Calculates Online Exams of Curriculum Concepts • Provides Students with Suggestions for Improving Scores

  15. In Conclusion • When we make the effort to adapt to the waves of New Freshmen entering our doors every semester, classes become more manageable and students become more polished academically and individually • This provides them a stepping stone toward excellence which is our innate vocation

  16. References • Based on My Five Years Experience in College Teaching and Two Years in High School Teaching • Lisa Oliver, Pearson Publishing Local Representative • January 2010 Issue of U.S. News & World Report • March 2010 Issue of Essence Magazine • Hope on a Tightropeby Dr. Cornel West • Tooning In: Essays on Popular Culture and Education by Cameron White and Trenia Walker • Can You Hear Me Now? The Inspiration, Wisdom, and Insight of Michael Eric Dyson • Letters to a Young Brother by Hill Harper • Heritage: African American Readings for Writing Second Edition By Margaret Giles Lee, Joyce M. Jarrett, and Doreatha Drummond Mbalia

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