THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR The Purpose of a First Year Seminar: An Analysis of Major-Specific vs. Non-Major-Specific FYS Courses at the University of Wyoming Olivia Cole University of Wyoming 1 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR ABSTRACT The first year of university for incoming students promotes an environment of unexpected experiences and challenges. “During the transition from school to higher education, young adults experience a substantial amount of change where they progress from the highly controlled setting of school to the autonomous and self-motivated environment of university” (Gibson, Shaw, Hewitt, Easton, Robertson, & Gibson, 2018). First Year Seminar programs (FYS), used in many colleges, are designed to aid first year students, of all disciplines of study, in this transition. In this study, I looked what the purpose of a First Year Seminar was according to students and if there were differences in their answers depending on if their class was discipline-specific or non-discipline specific. My investigation was conducted with semi- structured interviews with 29 second, third, and fourth year students who had taken an FYS class in their first year. I also interviewed one FYS faculty member. The students’ responses demonstrated that many students understand that the class is supposed to be for transitional purposes such as navigating campus, while the faculty instructor explained that the class is for critical thinking skills. As this study concludes, you will find that the majority of the students found the class useful for different reasons whether it was major-specific or not. However, there is a disconnection of student and instructor expectations of the purpose of a First Year Seminar. I present factual information on the First Year Seminar origins and student feedback through my research. 2 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR I. Introduction: FYS courses are being adapted into many college and university curriculums across the nation with the intention of helping students transition more smoothly into higher education. The research conducted in this study is centered around the First-Year Seminar (FYS) course at the University of Wyoming. It dives into the logistics of the FYS as an assigned course for first-year students at a university or college. However, there are many different ways of teaching FYS courses and many colleges offer different versions of the class. Some colleges offer courses that are the same for every student, specifically focusing on the skills needed to successfully integrate into college level academia. While others allow professors to create a theme for their course that is rooted more deeply within their field of study. Although First Year Seminar courses (or sometimes called First Year Experience) can be taught differently or have similar goals, the main purpose is to further students' growth within the college. The focus in this study is on how students perceive the First Year Seminar’s purpose to be and how major-specific vs. non-major specific FYS courses had a role in the student’s understanding. In order to produce this research, the “student’s voice” is analyzed as a key part to understanding the impact of the courses on the students. Interviews were conducted with students who had taken a First-Year Seminar in previous years. Using these interviews allowed for specific questions to be asked about whether or not their course aligned with their major and whether this alignment benefitted the student or not. The questions asked pertained to how the students perceived their First-Year Seminar course and what they believed the purpose of the First-Year Seminar to be. These questions also looked into how their FYS course had impacted their college career specifically in relation to deciding their major. 3 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR The objective of this research is to focus specifically on the research questions, ‘What is the purpose of a First Year Seminar?’ and ‘What are the benefits and drawbacks of major- specific FYS courses versus non-major-specific FYS courses?’. Major-specific courses are defined as a class a student could major in at the University of Wyoming. Non-major specific are defined as classes that were exploratory or related to a major a student could not major in. The research that follows takes into account the student voice and other empirical data, to ultimately make recommendations to the University Studies Program (USP) Committee for the next USP term. 4 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR I. Literature Review: The University of Wyoming in its 2015 University Studies Program jumped on the band- wagon of many other universities by making the First Year Seminars a required course for all incoming freshmen. These courses are widely thought to benefit students through teaching multiple transitional skills that will hopefully help students to continue confidently in their paths. The approach to understanding these courses is as wide as the method of instruction. This overview of literature helps to dive into some of the different ways in which we can start to understand the purpose of a First Year Seminar course and consequently improve them. a. Origins of the First Year Seminar It is speculated that one of the first FYS classes began at Harvard University in 1959 to “provide small group instruction to freshmen in the College” (Harvard, 2012). In a well thought- out and researched analysis, P. Jaijairam explains why First Year Seminars were made and the statistics surrounding them. The author writes that “In 2014, approximately 80 percent of universities offered FYS, and students who took the course, on average, were less likely to transfer to another school and more likely to receive higher grades” (Jaijairam, 2016). A huge reason FYS classes were made was because universities wanted to find a way to help with retention of their students because the first year can be extremely challenging. Jaijairam also found that 1 out of 4 freshmen do not return for the sophomore, making the need for these types of classes even more evident (2016). In the article “Why Students Should Take that Optional First Year Seminar”, Dr. Sullivan writes that the top five desired outcomes for students in an FYS class are “academic success strategies, academic planning, knowledge of resources, connection with institution, and an introduction to academic expectations” (2019). On top of this Jaijairam suggests that the core areas covered in the FYS Course for freshman students be 5 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR “Credit Hours, Grades, Resources, Language, Alcohol Consumption, Hobbies, Local Community, Techniques for Studying, Housing” (2016). b. Major Specific Success As I examine the benefits of major-specific versus non-major specific First Year Seminar classes, I will first look at the positive outcomes for major-specific courses. One of the largest trends in research on major specific FYS courses is the success the class will have with recruiting students to the major of that class, thus saving a department or college from low enrollment. In 2012 at Suffolk University, J.J. Rosellini writes in an article about the success a FYS had for their German Studies program. The class was described as such; “Does cultural identity come from language, his- tory, or both? German is spoken in the capital cities of Germany and Austria, but no one would confuse a Berliner with a Viennese. We will try to find out what is behind this conundrum by studying dramas, stories, and historical texts, examining buildings and works of art, and viewing films” (Rosellini, 2012). Rosellini concludes that this class helped bring in five more German majors, which is a lot considering an average First Year Seminar class has about twenty students. Another research article based at a state university’s science and mathematics program in California found positive results for student interest in STEM, a dwindling community on this particular campus. “Using a pilot survey in Winter 2011, 13 of 20 students enrolled in the SCI 102 course agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that the course “has helped me to make an informed decision about my college major” (Deschamp and Latulippe, 2013). In addition, students responses also showed more of an understanding for the STEM field. “For knowledge about “career possibilities for someone with a degree in mathematics,” mean student rankings rose from 2.35 to 4.2. Regarding awareness of the major, student assessments of 6 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR their knowledge of “what it means to major in math” grew from 2.6 to 4.1” (Deschamp and Latulippe, 2013). Another trend in major-specific First Year Seminars is the high rates of retention. At Northern Arizona University, an education major-focused seminar “found a higher grade-point average and retention rate for students enrolled in the college-specific seminar” (Krahenbuhl, 2012). This is also evident at Texas A&M University- Commerce. Their study looked at the differences in student retention rate and academic performance levels among program-specific courses and general-population courses. In this study, data was taken between the years 2009 and 2011 at a postsecondary for-profit institution. The students’ ability to maintain a higher GPA when proceeding to their second and third quarters were tested based upon which class they were in. Included in this data was each students’ GPA and persistence level. To determine “variations in student persistence across orientation types” a Chi-square test was administered. The results of the tests showed that there is a high variability when based on the section of freshman seminar courses (Lipe, 2013). i.Non-Major Specific Success Non-major specific First Year Seminars proved to have been beneficial because they are often presented as exploratory classes or a well-structured class to get students interested in a topic outside of their major. For example, an interdisciplinary FYS class at a university in Georgia found itself dealing with the struggle of low student interest in STEM disciplines. The course, according to the study, was made to show how chemistry could be implemented into other STEM disciplines, making it interesting across the board and more broad than just a chemistry course. “Additionally, students participating in this program have increased academic success during their first year and beyond, as measured by retention, test performance, GPA, and 7 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR progression metrics” (Basu-Dutt, Slappey, & Bartley, 2010). A study produced in 2010 at Denison University showed an excellent example of an exploratory class for non-environmental students. Although the chemistry-focused exploratory studies class proved effective, this exploratory environmental class used five module units of every day questions to organize the structure of the class. “Linking the teaching of ecology to discussions of real world environmental problems or controversies is one way to engage students in the study of ecological principles” (Smith, 2010). Multiple students' responses showed positive interactions with the class and overall understanding of the material. Application to real word scenarios tends to be what makes an exploratory class successful. Researcher, D.D. Ragan (2018), shares the benefits of introducing personal and professional development to students. The author emphasizes the role of the educator as facilitating these messages to their students. Ragan offers a couple of different steps to be considered when advising students this way such as focusing on career readiness, academic advising, career counseling services, and combing academic advising and career counseling. “The approach influences students’ ability to recognize their talents, skills, interests, and experiences. Additionally, the program encourages students to take actions to ensure that they are well-positioned to pursue their post-graduate goals. This course of study, combined with a rigorous undergraduate curriculum, produces a mature, critical thinker who is poised for a successful career” (Ragan, 2018). Tampke and Durodoye focused on first year students coming into college with undecided majors. This study summarizes the intervention of a first-year seminar (FYS) on undecided students at the University of North Texas. The first-year seminar for these students was based in a learning community (LC), or a structured educational environment where students of the same 8 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR major will live together, attend the same classes, or both. Success outcomes of the students were determined based upon GPA, retention rate, and academic standing in comparison to first-year undeclared students not enrolled in a FYS and learning community or not in an FYS class at all. Taking part in the learning community FYS meant taking the FYS with two required courses that were rooted in the core curriculum. The study found that the FYS course alone produced the highest GPA and academic standing however, the FYS/LC students produced the highest level of retention (Tampke and Durodoye, 2013). c. Learning Communities and the First Year Experience A trend at universities today is to offer a First Year Seminar that is linked with a Freshman Interest Group (FIG) or Learning Community (LC). These group’s purpose is to link students together based on their interest in study in the dormitories and in their classes. Most every study on Learning Communities has proved itself to be positive. At the University of Connecticut, research found that for an Animal Science-specific Learning Community, students were more likely to graduate and remain an Animal Science major (Zinn, Foreman, Masso, Ouimette, and Zinn, 2015). Indiana University of Pennsylvania found for their undeclared students in a Learning Community that focused on the Colleges of Fine Arts and Health and Human Services found academic success and retention (Norwood, 2010). Humboldt State University found in their research a study by Guiffrida in 2006 that students of color benefit greatly from Learning Communities considering students of color on average are more likely to be first-generation college students than white students, thus benefiting from the on-campus community (Johnson, Sprowles, Overeem, & Rich, 2013). Research at Missouri State University in 2018 actually took the conversation about first-generation college students a step further and surveyed their students. “During the 14 interviews, the word stressed appeared 98 times with 19 9 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR instances explicitly related to undecided status and 15 instances explicitly related to first- generation status; 10 of 14 interviewees specifically mentioned feeling stressed about their first- generation and undecided status. Nine of 21 student writings in response to the questionnaire indicated feelings of stress related to being the first member of the family to attend college or gaining an increasing awareness that they needed to decide their academic major; some suggested that both the status of undecided and first generation created apprehension. In addition, 2 of 5 focus group participants mentioned feeling some sort of stress or anxiety. Likewise, 6 of 9 advising observations revealed similar indications of stress or anxiety from those students” (Glaessgen, MacGregor, Cornelius-White, Hornberger, & Baumann, 2018). The Learning Community proved to be helpful for these students. A program like this debuted in 2019 for first-generation students at the University of Wyoming, where students can select first- generation housing. d. Conclusion of the Literature The literature on this subject widely varies in how to approach FYS courses in ways that increase effectiveness. Some studies focus specifically on major versus non-major courses, while others focus on what students want from their FYS course. Some colleges aim to transition students into college in general, while others aim to transition students into their respective degree courses. This study hopes to add to the stated literature and give additional insight on how to effectively change FYS courses for future generations. III Methodology: In order to look into my research questions about the benefits and drawbacks of discipline-specific and non-discipline-specific FYS courses for students, I interviewed students 10 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR who had taken a FYS in a previous year. The interviews were used to ask specific questions about their experience with and their understanding of a FYS. (Interview questions are listed below in Table 3) Since the information was given orally, the interviews provided a deeper insight into the perceptions of an FYS and its impacts because the interviewers could ask multifaceted questions. Twenty-nine interviews with upperclassmen students in the second, third, and fourth years that had previously taken a First Year Seminar course were conducted. In the interviews, I asked 12 questions pertaining to their experience with their course looking back on it, including a question about the purpose of a First Year Seminar. These questions looked as so: 1. Can you please state your name and class standing? 2. What major are you in now and is it different from when you were a Freshman? 3. What First Year Seminar course did you take? 4. How did you end of taking this First Year Seminar course? 5. What stood out to you about your First Year Seminar course? 6. What went well in the FYS? 7. What could be improved about the FYS? 8. In general, how would you compare this to other courses during your freshman year? 9. What did you see as the purpose of your FYS? 10. What were your biggest challenges as a Freshman? 11. How did you overcome these challenges? 12. Is there anything that might have helped more? Taking their responses, I categorized their answers by whether or not they were in a major specific FYS or a non-major specific FYS and then I looked into my own follow up questions: 11 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR 1. Did their major correlate with their First Year Seminar? 2. Did their major change to the major related to their First Year Seminar? 3. Did their major change from their major-specific First Year Seminar? I also looked into the question “What did you see as the purpose of your FYS?” from the interview questions. These interviews were performed in the Fall 2018 semester. They were then transcribed allowing direct quotes. I also interviewed one Bridge FYS instructor in the Spring of 2020 about their experience teaching and what they saw the purpose of the FYS to be. IV. Findings Findings from the 29 interviews concluded that students found the same amount of benefits taking a major-specific First Year Seminar or taking non-major-specific First Year Seminar. Five out of the 29 students that took a FYS course that matched their major switched their major away from the major specific to that class. Five out of the 29 students who took a major-specific class not the same as their major switched to the major of their class. Seventeen students took a major-specific First Year Seminar, but only eight students were in a class that matched their major. When asked what the student thought the purpose of the First Year Seminar was, 20 out of 29 students said that it was to transition from high school to college (Figure 1). Others mentioned how it was to help meet other students or learn something outside of their major. 12 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR Figure 1. Figure 2. 13 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR Figure 3. Student testimonials helped me understand their feelings toward taking their FYS. A student that changed majors said “"It made me not want to do Kinesiology, because it was very boring and awful." Some students found that it helped them clarify what majored they want. This student said “I was first a History major, and then I decided to take Geography – and this class just confirmed for me that that was the right choice” in confirming his choice to change his major to the same major that their First Year Seminar was based on. Students who took a class outside of their major had both positive and negative reviews. One positive thing that a Nursing student in a Statistics class said was "I mean, I think it was to like dip your toes in the water, see what a college class is like, and it was fun to have like a class that wasn't necessarily for your major, because so often you just get shoved into like all the classes that you're required to take, but this was fun because you could like branch out, and I met a ton of people that I still know.” All of the students had interesting perspectives on what they thought the purpose of an FYS was, however this student’s response stood out, 14 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR “I saw it as a way to integrate us into college, kind of get us used to having discussions in kind of a smaller class setting, too, for like those upper-division classes and help us experience something outside of our major. Some people come into college like this is what I want to do – this, pointblank – but it's good to have that diverse like education, and even for people that don't know what they want to do, like seeing how statistics work or what-have-you. It gives them an idea of what they could do." My research found that it did not matter whether students took a major-specific course or a non- major-specific course; there were benefits to both types of classes. Alongside my interview of the students, I interviewed a Bridge FYS instructor. Bridge is a program at the University of Wyoming that admits students with support in their first year when they are accepted into the university. During this interview, the instructor informed me that they teach non-major-specific FYS courses and were aware of the purpose of the First Year Seminar, “I think the purpose is for students to start to think critically and understand the differences between facts and inferences. To make sure that they cite sources correctly, to not plagiarize, to form individual thought, to start thinking with multiple sources, and to learn what a good source is vs. a bad source. … for me, it’s critical thinking” (A. Konesko, personal communication, April 29, 2020). Continuing, the instructor as spoke about a critical thinking training they were attending that FYS instructors on this campus could go to to further their critical thinking teaching skills. V. Discussion 15 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR At the University of Wyoming, there are six Learning Outcomes every First Year Seminar must meet. They are: 1. Access diverse information through focused research, active discussion, and collaboration with peers. 2. Separate facts from inferences and relevant from irrelevant information, and explain the limitations of information. 3. Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and reliability of conclusions drawn from information. 4. Recognize and synthesize multiple perspectives to develop innovative viewpoints. 5. Analyze one’s own and others’ assumptions and evaluate the relevance of contexts when presenting a position. 6. Communicate ideas in writing using appropriate documentation. Under the ‘First Year Seminar’ page on the University of Wyoming’s website, the FYS is listed under the 2015 University Studies Program as a class that is meant for student’s to achieve transitional skills from high school to college. Although specified on the main page, transitional skills are not listed under the First Year Seminar Learning Outcomes. Rather, the FYS class is listed as a Creative and Critical Thinking course and the Learning Outcomes align with this. Critical thinking skills are important as part of the First Year Seminar, as mentioned in the literature review. However, there is a difference between critical thinking skills and transitional skills that the University of Wyoming needs to clarify. Critical thinking is one transitional skill. If the First Year Seminar at the University of Wyoming is also expecting their instructors to teach them expectations other universities have such as study skills, campus resources, and community activities for students, then the current Learning Outcomes are not suggesting that. Along with this, the current USP Learning Outcomes of 2015 suggest that the students should be getting access to diverse information, especially considering there is not a “diversity” credit under the current 2015 USPs. It is under my 16 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR speculation that when students are taking an FYS that aligns with their major than they are not accessing diverse information. I may be wrong in this assumption, and therefore, an explanation of what diverse information should be specified in the Learning Outcomes. Continuing, this is problematic when a course such as the FYS is required of all first year students yet students are gaining drastically different skills from the course despite it being mandatory for all. Overall, the University of Wyoming has three FYS sections; Honors FYS, Bridge FYS, and the standard FYS courses. There are major-specific and non-major-specific classes in all of these sections, with Bridge FYS leaning more towards non-major specific classes. My research shows that both types of FYS courses, major-specific and non-major-specific, provide benefits. However, student’s understanding of the First Year Seminar and faculty understanding of the First Year Seminar are not lining up thus suggesting that students are expecting something from their FYS class they are not getting. VI. Conclusion At the University of Wyoming, the University Studies Program (USP) learning outcomes for a First Year Seminar do not specify that the class is meant to help transition from high school to college, rather focusing on critical thinking skills, even though student feedback indicates that most students found the purpose of their FYS was to help with transitional skills such as getting acquainted with the university. My research aims to question this definition and what the administration expects the students to gain from the course. In the longitudinal study of upperclassmen students, there was outstanding benefits or drawback for students who took a major-specific or non-major-specific First Year Seminar. Rather, there is a large gap of between students and faculty’s perception of the First Year Seminar that needs to be address for the upcoming revisions of the University Study Program. 17 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR VII. Reference Page Basu-Dutt, S., Slappey, C., & Bartley, J. K. (2010). Making chemistry relevant to the engineering major. Journal of Chemical Education, 87(11), 1206-1212. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.uwyo.edu/10.1021/ed100220q Deschamp, B., & Latulippe, C. (2013). A first-year experience sequence for science and mathematics majors. Journal of College Science Teaching, 42(6), 34-37. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/1651849964?accountid=14793 Gibson, A., Shaw, J., Hewitt, A., Easton, C., Robertson, S., & Gibson, N. (2018). A longitudinal examination of students' health behaviors during their first year at university. Journal of further and Higher Education, 42(1), 36-45. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.uwyo.edu/10.1080/0309877X.2016.1188902 Glaessgen, T. A., MacGregor, C. J., Cornelius-White, J., Hornberger, R. S., & Baumann, D. M. (2018). First-generation students with undecided majors: A qualitative study of university reacculturation. NACADA Journal, 38(1), 22-35. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/2101886833?accountid=14793 Jaijairam, P. (2016). First-year seminar (FYS)--the advantages that this course offers. Journal of Education and Learning, 5(2), 15-23. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/1826524589?accountid=14793 Johnson, M., Sprowles, A., Overeem, K., & Rich, A. (2013). A place-based learning community: Klamath connection at Humboldt state university. Learning Communities: Research & Practice, 5(2), 1-15. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search- proquest-com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/2011265967?accountid=14793 Krahenbuhl, K. (2012). Analysis of social and academic integration in a public university's first year experience seminar Available from ERIC. (1697502307; ED551540). Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/1697502307?accountid=14793 Lipe, D. N. (2013). The impact of program-specific orientation courses on student retention and academic progress at a for-profit, postsecondary institution Available from ERIC. (1773212837; ED561508). Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/1773212837?accountid=14793 Norwood, M. A. (2010). The impact of participation in a learning community at Indiana university of Pennsylvania: Crimson connections Available from ERIC. (889926609; ED522313). Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/889926609?accountid=14793 18 THE PURPOSE OF A FIRST YEAR SEMINAR Ragan, D. D. (2018). A structured course for personal and professional development. Honors in Practice, 14, 43-57. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search- proquest-com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/2101379602?accountid=14793 Rosellini, J. J. (2012). The seminar for freshmen as a platform for raising student awareness of Austrian (and German) studies. Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 45(2), 157-162. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.uwyo.edu/10.1111/j.1756-1221.2012.00132.x Smith, G. R. (2010). A module-based environmental science course for teaching ecology to non- majors. Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching, 36(1), 43-51. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/742843956?accountid=14793 Tampke, D. R., & Durodoye, R. (2013). Improving academic success for undecided students: A first-year Seminar/Learning community approach. Learning Communities: Research & Practice, 1(2), 1-19. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search- proquest-com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/1871584091?accountid=14793 Zinn, A. T., Foreman, M. D., Masso, L. G., Ouimette, D. T., & Zinn, S. A. (2015). Learning communities: Animal science at the university of Connecticut. Natural Sciences Education, 44(1), 6-10. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest- com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/1697493456?accountid=14793 19