Instituted at Penn State University in 1997, the First-Year Seminar (FYS) program is designed “to introduce new students to an open and purposeful learning community, and to help them develop the habits and pleasures of good scholarship…[and] learn to take charge of their own education, to plan for internships, international experiences, research, and, in general, to become active learners.”1 The FYS program does not have a common curriculum; the cours- es are offered in one-, two-, and three-credit formats. The differ- ent Colleges of the University have implemented a variety of FYS courses, and students are free to choose among the options and en- roll in a course during their first or second semester. Some of these courses meet general education requirements; others are electives. Many of them are provided by academic departments to introduce potential majors to the scholarly obligations of the field.
HD FS 287X, Community-Building, is a three-credit, service- learning first-year seminar offered through the College of Health and Human Development. The course is established as a diversity- focused, writing intensive, social and behavioral science general education course designed to meet the seven established objectives of the FYS program:
1. Academic Success. Faculty will provide an opportunity for students to learn about the scholarly characteristics of a college setting.
2. Communication. Faculty should create a classroom envi- ronment that encourages a communication-across-the- curriculum approach to learning.
3. Research and Undergraduate Scholarship. Faculty will engage students in activities that promote skills and posi- tive attitudes toward scholarship and seeking knowledge. 4. Critical Thinking. Faculty will create activities that en-
courage students’ use of reasoned thinking and the analysis of information including rhetorical strategies.
5. Community Building and Diversity. Faculty will encour- age collaborative learning and support students’ efforts to connect with the many varied components and diversity of a university setting.
6. Computer Literacy. Faculty will require the use of com- puter technology in the completion of some assignments.
7. Career Awareness. Faculty will require students to par- ticipate in activities that improve their awareness of careers and their individual career goals.
Examining Literacy in Community-Building
HD FS 287X — Community-Building is a student-centered course that offers class members an introduction to negotiating differences in small groups, families, institutions, and communi- ties through an initial intensive, experiential format.2 Participants meet before the start of the semester for three, eight-hour days and engage in a series of activities designed to increase their self- awareness and understanding of communication and behavior and to help them to examine their own values, look at the way these beliefs impact their behaviors and investigate how their behaviors impact their relationships with others both inside and outside the institution. The instructor serves as a facilitator for the course, guiding students through various structured experi- ences to heighten their diversity awareness and increase their skills in negotiating diversity.
Service-Learning in Examining Literacy
The service-learning part of the course provides an opportunity during the semester for students to integrate academic content with real-world application through an individual community- based project with the Pennsylvania Literacy Corps Program. During the 15-week course, students read The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness by Greg Anderson, along with various read- ings about adult literacy and tutoring. Students are matched with adults enrolled in Adult Basic Education (ABE), General Equivalency Diploma (GED), or English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and work one-on-one with them or in small groups throughout the semester to assist them with their learning and literacy goals. They keep logs about their experiences and meet together with the instructor monthly to discuss concerns and issues. As a FYS course, HD FS 287X emphasizes students’ responsibilities in engaging with the experience so that it has a positive impact on the quality of their own education.
Assessment
Data were gathered from students over a three-year period (2003- 2006) and explored to determine the impact of this FYS service- learning course on students’ academic and social integration to the University. Pre- and post-course surveys were distributed to measure the students’ attitudes and behaviors toward service- learning and civic engagement, and reflective artifacts (i.e., bi- weekly tutor learning logs, reflective papers based on the readings, a case study paper about what they learned about themselves from the course) were examined. An inductive approach for qualita- tive data analysis was used to identify patterns in the students’ responses. “The primary purpose of the inductive approach is to allow research findings to emerge from the frequent, dominant or significant themes inherent in the raw data, without the restraints imposed by structured methodologies.”3
Of the total number of students in the study (n = 62), 98% (n = 61) were first-year students under the age of 21, and 60% (n = 37) were male and 40% (n = 25) were female. They were pri- marily White/Caucasian (n = 41; 66%), with the remainder of students identifying themselves as Hispanic (n = 10, 16%), Asian (n = 5, 8%) or other minorities. Approximately 89% (n = 55) of the students had never participated in a service-learn- ing experience before, although 68% (n = 42) had volunteered in their community in some capacity.
The data from surveys and reflective writings offered a detailed
record of the impact of service-learning and community engage- ment on their understanding and awareness of literacy
(see Table 1).
Three categories emerged that reveal students’ perceptions of the “underlying forces”4 that link first-year seminar service-learn- ing to students’ academic and social integration:
s Knowledge of Self— communication skills, strategies for success, academic strengths and weaknesses
s Knowledge of Peers — social integration, development of support systems
s Knowledge of Community— understanding larger societal issues, negotiating differences and challenging assumptions, recognizing impact of community on learning and critical thinking
Overall, HD FS 287X, with the emphasis on a service-learn- ing literacy project, helps prepare students for their roles as active learners and as active citizens. In addition, the community-building aspect of the course provides an opportunity for them to confront their own issues about education, which directly impact their suc- cess in college. Through their work tutoring adults in the commu- nity, students not only learn to negotiate diversity and difference, and explore larger societal issues and impact of illiteracy, but they also have an opportunity to examine their own academic abilities and what it takes to succeed in post-secondary education.
Pre-Course Survey — Select Comments
s -YTHOUGHTSABOUTTHISEXPERIENCEARETHAT)THINK)WILLHAVEFUNDOINGTHISBUTWILLBEVERYTIMECONSUMING)HOPE)CANFITIT INWITHWORKANDSCHOOL-YFEELINGSTOWARDITARESOMEGOODANDSOMEBAD)TCANBEFUNYETBEHARD s )THINKITISGOINGTOAGOODEXPERIENCEFORME)VENEVERDONEANYTHINGQUITELIKEITSOALTHOUGH)HAVEABUSYSCHEDULE)KNOW )LLENJOYIT s )AMNERVOUSTOBEASSISTINGADULTSBECAUSE)FEARTHEYWILLNOTWANTTOACCEPTHELPFROMAYOUNGPERSON)HOPETHAT)AM TAKENSERIOUSLY s )THINKTHEACADEMICSERVICELEARNINGWILLGIVEMEANOPPORTUNITYTOGIVEBACKTOTHECOMMUNITYANDALSOLEARNMOREABOUT MYSELFTHROUGHTEACHINGOTHERS s )MEXCITEDANDANXIOUSTOSEEWHATITWILLBELIKETOASSISTINSOMEONEELSESLEARNINGPROCESS)THINKITWILLBEVERYBENEFICIAL INNUMEROUSWAYS
Post-Course Survey — Select Comments
s !FTERBEINGABLETOPROVIDEOTHERSWITHSELFCONFIDENCE)WASABLETOBECONFIDENTINMYSELFx)WASSUCCEEDINGINMYTUTORING EXPERIENCExTHISSHOWEDMEMYINDEPENDENTANDDETERMINEDSIDE)TSHOWEDME)CANDOANYTHINGASLONGAS)PUTMYMINDTOIT s /VERALLTHISCLASSWASVERYINTERESTING)TOPENEDMYEYESTONEWIDEASANDDIFFERENTWAYSOFTHINKINGxFROMMEETINGNEW FRIENDSTOTHETUTORINGEXPERIENCETOGAININGNEWINSIGHTABOUTCOMMUNICATIONANDWELLNESS s )NTHEBEGINNINGOFTHESEMESTER)WASVERYIFFYABOUTSCHOOLAND)REALLYDIDNTHAVEAGOODFEELINGABOUTITWHICHMADEITREALLY HARD4HEN)THOUGHTABOUTITANDITOCCURREDTOMETHATTHISEXPERIENCEFORMEISGOINGTOBEWHATEVER)MAKEOFIT.OW)AM INVOLVEDx)HONESTLYLOVETOBEATSCHOOLAND)DONTTHINKOFITASSCHOOLANYMORE)THINKOFITMOREASASECONDHOME s 0RIORTOTHISCLASS)WASCOMPLETELYUNAWAREOFTHEISSUEOFILLITERACYINOURCOUNTRY.OWTHAT)AMEDUCATEDINTHISISSUE;ASAN EDUCATIONMAJOR=)AMDEDICATEDTOTRYINGTOMAKEADIFFERENCEINMYSTUDENTSLIVES
I. Contributor’s Name and Contact Information
Mary C. Hutchinson Assistant Professor, ESL (Former FYS Coordinator) Penn State University Lehigh Valley Campus 8380 Mohr Lane Fogelsville, PA 18051 Phone: 610-285-5114 Fax: 610-285-5220
Email: [email protected]
II. Institutional Description
a. Penn State Lehigh Valley Campus (PSLV), Fogelsville, PA b. Public
c. Non-residential
d. 556 FTE undergraduates; 200 first-years
1 University Faculty Senate Legislation for First-Year Seminars [http://www.bk.psu.edu/Academics/26497.htm?cn2] 2 HD FS 287X General Course Description
[http://www.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/long/hd_fs/287x.htm]
3 Thomas, David R. (2003). A general inductive approach for quantitative analysis. School of Population Health, University of Auckland.
4 Tinto, V. (2002). Taking Student Retention Seriously: Rethinking the First Year of College. A speech presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers, April 15, 2002, Minneapolis, MN.
CASE STUDY
PITZER COLLEGE