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Registration Form (Registration Deadline is May 16th, 2008)
Despite the differences in educational cultures and climates, students across the globe have similar experiences. Moreover, higher educators have a common bond in that we share an interest in shaping the learning experiences of entering postsecondary students. The purpose of the 21st International Conference on The First-Year Experience is to share innovative programs, research results, instructional designs, and new academic concepts that help an increasingly diverse body of students become more successful learners and experience smooth transitions into and through higher education.
The conference provides a setting for sharing ideas, resources, assessment tools, programmatic interventions, and research results focused on the first year of college/university. We invite you to join with educators across the globe as we explore approaches for enhancing the first-year experience for students and provide opportunities for intensive learning and relaxed interactions.
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Dublin is special, a place where tradition and cultural heritage have merged seamlessly over the centuries to create a truly unique atmosphere. World renowned as a literary center, Dublin is home to such literary giants as Joyce, Shaw, and many others, who are celebrated at the Dublin Writers Museum, James Joyce Museum, and the Shaw Birthplace. Dublin is also home to Malahide Castle, a beautifully restored residence with distinctive elegance and charm situated on extensive grounds that house the Talbot Botanic Gardens. When you spend time in Dublin, you will be assured of a very warm welcome and very special memories. The city clings to a crescent shaped bay, spreading inland from a bustling port to the surrounding hills. The city center is small, walkable, and teeming with distractions, from the historical, fantastical, and legendary to modern shopping, eating, and entertainment options. Look up as well as around, and enjoy the Medieval, Georgian, and ultra-modern architecture, and of course the ever-changing sky. Within half an hour of the city, visitors can enjoy mountain walks, stately homes and gardens, castles, sandy beaches and fishing ports, which provide the perfect foil to the bustle of the metropolis.
All conference activities will be held on the campus of the University College Dublin. Conference events will take place in the Newman Building and O’Reilly Hall. Accommodations will be in Roebuck Hall, newly opened in 2006. Accommodations are apartment-style residences, featuring six single bedrooms with private baths. Bedrooms share a kitchen/dining area and sitting room. All bed linen with one small hand towel are supplied as are basic breakfast crockery. Conference attendees will need to provide their own bath towels. The accommodations are not air conditioned.
Space is limited, so early conference registration is encouraged.
Although accommodations may be secured near University College Dublin, or in the city of Dublin, residential accommodations on campus are strongly encouraged for delegates desiring to participate fully in social interactions and meals beyond the formal sessions. The informal interactions will allow delegates to derive maximum benefits from fellow conference delegates and learn more from educators from different cultures.
American Airlines is offering convention discount of 5% off applicable fares. To obtain this discount, call American Airlines Meeting Services Desk at (800) 433-1790 and refer to Authorization Number STARfile A5368AA, or you can take advantage of the discount on online by visiting www.aa.com.
Valid for percentage discount travel from all markets where American Airlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection service and all oneworld Alliance Partners (collectively "American Airlines") provide service for US/CAN, Puerto Rico, USVI, Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Europe, Pacific, Mexico and Latin America point of sale only.
Mantz Yorke
The conference lends itself to a wide variety of subjects. The suggestions listed below are neither inclusive nor restrictive.
Lunch is provided for all preconference workshop participants.
P-1 Learning Through Audit: Examining Transition Practices Through Reflection Monday, June 23, 2008 9:00 am – 12:00 noon $125 US
Many interventions designed to ease students transition into college are obvious and easily implemented once staff have been shown the way forward. The STAR audit was designed to aid constructive reflection. It addresses simple questions based on a series of principles derived from the literature and related to the research on why students drop out. Each question is matched to a series of practices of varying effectiveness. A selection of these questions will be used so that the group can score their own or their institutional practices against them. The responses will form the basis of a discussion of simple changes that can be introduced to enhance the first-year student experience. After a brief introduction participants will complete the STAR audit. Depending on numbers and interests of the group, participants may be divided into sub-groups and invited to complete different sections of the audit. Individuals scoring highly on individual questions will be invited to outline their practice for the benefit of those scoring less well on those questions. There will be an opportunity for the discussion of barriers to change and the effectiveness of individual practice. After the completion of this workshop, participants will have, reflected on their current orientation/ induction practices, discussed the introduction of changed practices within their own context, shared their own experiences of orientation/ induction, and adapt and administer the STAR audit to fit their own needs.
P-2 Best Practice in the First College Year: Defining What Works and Why Monday, June 23, 2008 9:00 am - 4:00 pm $235 US
John N. Gardner, Executive Director—Policy Center on the First Year of College; Senior Fellow, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition—University of South Carolina, United States; Betsy O. Barefoot, Co-Director and Senior Scholar—Policy Center on the First Year of College; Fellow, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition—University of South Carolina, United States
For more than two decades, a significant investment has been made by many colleges and universities to improve the first year. But funds spent have often not yielded expected returns in student learning and retention. In this workshop, the presenters will explore the question, “What works in first-year programs and why or why not?” They will draw from recent research findings and provide a variety of examples of best practice. Participants will be challenged to reflect on the first year at their own campuses, the initiatives that have made a positive difference in the first year, and the challenges that remain.
P-3 Strategies for Transition and Retention: Embedding the First-Year Experience and Developing a Value Proposition Monday, June 23, 2008 9:00 am – 4:00 pm $235 US
Wayne Clark, Director of Student Administration - University of Auckland, New Zealand Bill Crome, Group Manager Student Support Services - University of Auckland, New Zealand
In some areas of the higher education sector, transition to the tertiary environment is not embedded in the core curriculum. The advantage of embedded transition and first-year experience structures are that every student must interface with a first-year programme, or at least experience some direct institutional contact. Where the transitions not embedded in the curriculum, transition and retention strategies remain under-acknowledged or under-funded add-ons. Practitioners must therefore rely on alternative strategies and methodologies—not pedagogies—to engage the first-year cohort, and to involve colleagues in an institutional approach to transition and retention. This workshop focuses on making the first-year experience indispensable where a first-year program is not embedded in the core curriculum, and on how to initiate support for program development from a variety of perspectives. It also embraces integrating the width and breadth of research material available, and explores strategies for modeling the key institutional drivers to strengthen the value proposition, establish and embed a First Year Program.
P-4 Critical Thinking Pedagogy in the First-Year Experience Monday, June 23, 2008 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm $135 US
Robert A. Kenedy, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology - York University, Canada
Many students entering college and university are faced with the challenge of mastering critical thinking skills. Current literature suggests that students who acquire various critical thinking and related academic skills are more likely to successfully complete their degrees. Teaching first-year students to become critical thinkers requires a comprehensive educational approach. In this way, the evaluation process plays a vital role in critical thinking pedagogy. This workshop focuses on teaching and assessing critical thinking components in first-year university seminars and introductory courses. We will examine the relevant pedagogical theory, research, and some best practices for teaching critical thinking. Participants will receive materials that include syllabi, critical thinking exercises, and assignments, as well as formative and summative assessment tools. During the workshop we will have interactive sessions that highlight critical skills assignments and related pedagogical best practices. This workshop is designed to assist those teaching first-year seminars in terms of devising the appropriate activities to encourage and assess critical thinking, the successful implementation of criteria in order to evaluate student progress, and the creation of a classroom environment in which application is embraced as a tool for learning.
Jennifer Latino, Assistant Director, University 101 – University of South Carolina, United States
This presentation will highlight the benefits of using undergraduate students to assist and support the mission of first-year programs. The presenter will offer methods of creating an intentional environment to engage peer educators in learning through their teaching experience. Participants will be introduced to the essential elements of training programs that prepare peer educators for their job functions while enhancing the learning experience of the peer educator. Additionally, the presenter will showcase the training aspects of effective programs that use peer educators in areas of first-year student learning. Participants will leave with a greater understanding of the importance of engaging peer educators in their learning experience as well as a challenge to critically examine their own campus programs and implement components intentionally designed to enhance peer educators’ learning.
The National Resource Center invites online proposal submissions for concurrent sessions, roundtable discussions, and poster sessions on topics that sufficiently and seriously address student transitions in the first year of college. Proposals should be submitted via our web site: www.sc.edu/fye/events/international/proposal.html. If you have any questions as you complete the form or prefer to have a form faxed to you contact Shana Harrison at scharri2@gwm.sc.edu or call (803) 576-6328.
Proposal Deadline The proposal deadline is March 3, 2008. Since the conference program must be finalized and presenters notified in time to provide preconference coordination, you are strongly encouraged to submit proposals as soon as possible.
