Transitioning Students into an Academic Culture Grounded in Franciscan Values

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Transitioning Students into an Academic Culture
Grounded in Franciscan Values

• Michael T. Dreznick, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor of Psychology
• Our Lady of the Lake College
• MichaelDreznick_at_ololcollege.edu

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About the Academic Seminar Course

• Part of OLOL Colleges general education
  requirements
• Prepares them for the academic expectations at
  OLOL College
• Introduces students to the college community
• Helps develop attitudes and behaviors that
  contribute to lifelong learning

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Some Key Questions

• Does this course prepare our students for
  academic success?
• Does this course help students join the OLOL
  College community?
• Does the course help cultivate students values
  and integrity?

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Purpose of this Presentation

• We will discuss various course activities that
  encourage students to
• Form personal connections with the college
  community
• Understand the importance of civic engagement
• Experience significant learning
• Embrace the Franciscan values expressed in the
  colleges Mission Statement.
• This course contributes to a culture of integrity
  and caring at OLOL College

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Learning Outcomes Students will

• Describe ways they have made personal connections
  with the Our Lady of the Lake College community
  and its mission, purpose, and goals.
• Identify some of the learning outcomes and
  competencies listed in the college General
  Education Requirements and explain their plans
  for achieving them through coursework.
• Identify some of the potential career
  opportunities of at least two academic programs
  at the college.
• Describe some attitudes and behaviors that lead
  to effective learning (e.g., self-efficacy,
  intrinsic motivation, time management) and
  explain how you are developing them.
• Reflect on learning experiences by creating an
  e-portfolio.
• Describe strategies for achieving deep,
  significant, lifelong learning instead of
  superficial, transient learning.

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Learning Outcome 1

• Students will describe ways they have made
  personal connections with the Our Lady of the
  Lake College community and its mission, purpose,
  and goals.
• Some relevant course activities
• Introduction letters
• Sources of Support (faculty student services)
• OLOL College Mission and Me
• These activities encourage students to establish
  a personal connection to the college community

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The OLOL College Mission

• Inspired by the vision of St. Francis of Assisi
  and in the tradition of the Roman Catholic
  Church, we extend the healing ministry of Jesus
  Christ to God's people, especially those most in
  need.We call forth all who serve in this
  healthcare ministry, to share their gifts and
  talents to create a spirit of healing ----- with
  reverence and love for all of life, with
  joyfulness of spirit, and with humility and
  justice for all those entrusted to our care.
• We are, with God's help, a healing and spiritual
  presence for each other and for the communities
  we are privileged to serve.Seeking to be
  faithful to the ideals of its heritage and its
  sponsors, Our Lady of the Lake College is
  committed to meeting the educational needs of the
  people of God.

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Key Concepts from the Mission

• Healing those in need
• Sharing your gifts and talents
• Reverence and love for all of life
• Joyfulness of spirit
• Humility
• Justice
• Communities we are privileged to serve
• Meeting the educational needs of the people of God

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OLOL College Mission and Me

• In-class group activity introduces students to
  the OLOL College Mission, Purpose Statement, and
  Institutional Goals.
• Students think about how they act in ways that
  are consistent with the values expressed in the
  Mission.
• In a reflection assignment, students compare the
  OLOL College Mission with mission statements of
  other colleges and universities.

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Learning Outcome 2

• Identify some of the learning outcomes and
  competencies listed in the college General
  Education Requirements and explain their plans
  for achieving them through coursework.
• Some relevant course activities
• Core Curriculum activity
• What is a Liberal Education?
• These activities encourage students to appreciate
  the value of a broad, liberal arts education

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OLOL College Core Competencies

• Communicative Competency
• Natural Science Competency
• Computational Competency
• Social-Cultural Competency
• Additional competency to be included
• Values/Mission Competency
• By completing the General Education core
  curriculum, students are expected to achieve
  these competencies

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Core Curriculum Activity

• Why do I have to take this course?
• Students start thinking about how they are
  developing the core competencies in their Arts
  and Sciences courses
• In a reflection assignment, students read
  selected documents from the Association of
  American Colleges Universities about the value
  of a liberal education, and discuss how they are
  getting this education at OLOL College

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Learning Outcome 3

• Identify some of the potential career
  opportunities of at least two academic programs
  at the college
• Relevant course activity
• Class presentations from various academic
  programs
• Students learn more about their own program and
  other programs offered by the college

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Learning Outcome 4

• Describe some attitudes and behaviors that lead
  to effective learning (e.g., self-efficacy,
  intrinsic motivation, time management) and
  explain how you are developing them.
• Some relevant course activities
• Time Management assignment
• Whats My Motivation?
• These activities encourage students to develop
  attitudes and behaviors conducive to success and
  lifelong learning

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Whats My Motivation?

• In-class activity introduces students to the
  concepts of self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation,
  and extrinsic motivation.
• Students respond to selected items from the
  Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire
  (MSLQ).
• Students watch an entertaining video by Dan Pink
  in which he makes the case that intrinsic
  motivation has significant advantages over
  extrinsic motivation.
• Hopefully, students will see the value of taking
  an intrinsic interest in their courses and can
  begin to develop a sense of self-efficacy.

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Learning Outcome 5

• Reflect on learning experiences by creating an
  e-portfolio.
• Relevant course activity
• Portfolio and Reflective Overview
• The portfolio is a collection of the high quality
  work done in this course that the student
  assembles.
• The reflective overview clearly and thoroughly
  explains the connections between the evidence
  provided in the portfolio and the learning
  outcomes fulfilled.

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Learning Outcome 6

• Describe strategies for achieving deep,
  significant, lifelong learning instead of
  superficial, transient learning
• Some relevant course activities
• Engaged Learning through Writing Initiative
  (ELWI)
• Deep Learning

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Engaged Learning through Writing Initiative (ELWI)

• Students think about the many important ways we
  use writing in our lives.
• This leads into the reflection assignment where
  students think about the high quality writing
  experiences they have had
• OLOL Colleges Engaged Learning through
  Writing initiative enhances students learning
  through purposeful writing experiences in courses
  across the curriculum

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Values-Oriented Course activities

• OLOL College Mission and Me
• Sources of Support
• Introduction to Service-Learning
• Servant Leadership

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Key Questions, Revisited

• Does this course prepare our students for
  academic success?
• Students develop attitudes and behaviors
  conducive to academic success and lifelong
  learning
• These attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent
  with academic dishonesty

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Key Questions, Revisited

• Does this course help students join the OLOL
  College community?
• Students form connections with their classmates,
  their instructors, and other members of the
  college community
• Students with a strong connection and commitment
  to the institution may be less likely to engage
  in academic dishonesty

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Key Questions, Revisited

• Does the course help cultivate students values
  and integrity?
• OLOL College is committed to service-learning
  pedagogy, across the curriculum, so students
  learn through serving the community
• We want students to develop into servant leaders,
  in which the primary goal of leadership is to
  serve others
• This course introduces new students to these
  important values, thus contributing to a culture
  of integrity