Evaluating information is an essential skill, valued across disciplines. While librarians and instructors share the responsibility to teach this skill, they need a common framework in order to collaborate to design assignments that give students multiple opportunities to learn. Librarians and First Year Seminar faculty at Belmont University…

This article argues for a pedagogical approach to the sociology of sport and physical education that centers writing. Drawing on student reflections from my first year seminar in academic writing 'Social Inequality and Sports,' I demonstrate that students are more inclined to entertain the imperatives of critical pedagogies in the context of sport…

This research examined the role of a first-year seminar course in promoting international student learning and academic transition. Through interviews with international students representing different countries and majors, the author investigated how the course can best be designed and taught to overcome the common learning barriers encountered…

In 2012, Randy Bass challenged educators to "disrupt" themselves expanding the notion of teaching to include multiple high-impact practices (HIP). First-year seminars are a HIP that, when done successfully, encourages retention and persistence in students. On our campus they function similarly, but they also create opportunities for…

This article discusses how the Library and Office of Institutional Research at a public college measured the relationship of an online information literacy module in the learning management system with student success metrics in a first-year experience course. Specifically, the authors examine the relationships of an online instruction module,…

Podcast assignments in higher education foster students' deep engagement in course content, knowledge construction, technical skills, and problem-solving abilities. We designed a podcast assignment in a First Year Seminar course based on student-led interviews comparing theoretical concepts to lived experiences of the interviewees. Students were…

Background: Poor dietary behaviors are risk factors for developing chronic diseases that plague public health. Purpose: This study sought to determine the differences in pre and post food label and food choice scores among first-year college students at the beginning and end of the semester. Case analyses were conducted to evaluate individualized…

The transition to college is challenging for most students, especially those who aspire to major in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics disciplines, in which introductory courses can be large and instruction less than optimal. This paper describes a novel, disciplinary first-year seminar (FYS) course, Exploring Biology, designed…

To address the challenge of developing critical thinking skills in college students, this empirical study examines the effectiveness of cognitive exercises in developing those skills. The study uses Critical Thinking: Building the Basics by Walter, Knudsvig, and Smith (2003). This workbook is specifically designed to exercise and develop critical…

In this article, I turn to a grounded theory study that examines the experiences of students participating in an individual project-based FYW course, exploring up close the exploits,--practices, and products of one student "writing to assemble." I question pedagogy stayed to theory that would treat writing as primarily a technology of…

Many community colleges offer a "student success" course--also known as College 101 or Introduction to College--as a means to help incoming students transition to college and become successful. The typical course is meant to provide key information and address important non-cognitive skills and behavioral expectations with the goal of…

Forestry and environmental science students enrolled in a one credit hour freshman seminar course participated in a land management evaluation and water quality sampling excursion using canoes and water sampling equipment. The purpose of this assessment was to engage students with hands-on, field based education in order to foster connections to…

The authors conducted a rubric assessment of information literacy (IL) skills in research papers across five undergraduate first-year seminar programs to explore the question "What impact does librarian intervention in first-year courses have on IL performance in student work?" Statistical results indicate that students in courses with…

Success in college requires the development of self-regulated learning strategies that move beyond high school skills. First-year students of all ability levels benefit when given instruction in how to use these strategies in an authentic context. This paper presents an instructional method that requires deliberate practice of self-regulated…

Writing in the Disciplines curricula can both challenge and reinforce assumptions that writing is a general skill that students will already have learned prior to doing the specialized writing in their chosen field of study. Rhetorical genre studies, however, tends to emphasize the situated nature of writing expertise, and thus supports the…