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Who Are the First-Timers?

March 21, 2011, 3:38 pm

By Eliana Osborn

I’d like to propose adding a new piece of information to my student roster. Instead of just their names and ID numbers, I’d like an indication if my class is the first college course a student is taking. Our roster system identifies some students as freshmen or sophomores, but only if they have chosen a major. It often takes me a few weeks or months to figure out which students are brand new to higher education.

So why don’t I just ask them outright at the start of a new semester? I’ve tried. Some students will tell me, others are too embarrassed. Having the college quietly indicate that information about students on the roster would avoid making them feel self-conscious about it as they do when the issue gets raised in the classroom.

I teach remedial-level courses. Whether they are in mathematics or English, such courses still need to set standards for what is expected of students in a college classroom. There are things we can teach that will help first-time students succeed as they continue their community-college career. Things like: how to ask questions (when the assignment is given, not when it is due); that attendance matters; what constitutes cheating; how the college works (when to register, how to make appointments with a counselor); how to turn a question into a topic sentence; what it means to participate in class.

Too often I realize at midterms that certain students are just figuring out how things work in class. I think I’m very clear. We go over the syllabus, I offer a list of helpful hints, and I constantly ask students if they understand what I’m saying. But still I find someone, halfway through the course, who seems surprised to learn that I expect her to make up the work from missed classes or who doesn’t know why her grade is so low.

As a teacher, knowing when I have first-timers in my course would help me do a better job of making sure their path through the community-college system is as clear as possible. After all, we’re here to help them succeed.

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  • oldphyrte

    How does a dyslexic, existential, insomniac spend the evening?

    Lies awake wondering if there is a dog.

  • 11182967

    Which reminds me–you’re familiar with MADD and SADD. What’s DAM? Mothers Against Dyslexia. Also, how can you tell an extroverted mathematician? He looks at your shoes when he’s talking.

  • mbelvadi

    An astronomer, biologist, an engineer and a mathematician were crossing the border into Scotland from England on a train when they saw a field with a black sheep in it.

    The astronomer said, “Look–all sheep on Earth are black.”

    The biologist said, “Look, in Scotland the sheep are black.”

    The engineer replied, “No, in Scotland some of the sheep are black.”

    The mathematician rolled his eyes to heaven and said, very patiently, “In Scotland, there exists at least one field, in which there is at least one sheep which is black on at least one side.”

  • sberrien

    What do you get when you cross a don and a deconstructionist?

    He makes you an offer you can’t understand.

  • 11182967

    A group of literature professors were strolling down the street discussing odd group nouns when they passed several ladies of the evening. “And what group noun,” one asked, “would apply to these ladies?”

    “A jam of tarts?” ventured one professor.

    “A flourish of strumpets?” queried another.

    “An essay of trollops,” suggested the third.

    But the fourth professor effectively ended the speculation with “Gentlemen, an anthology of pros.”

  • 11144703

    No. I’m simply undermining academic hierarchies by celebrating transgressivity.

  • kmcarey

    Why not hand out short student info forms on the first day of class? Students can quietly and privately indicate where they are in their academic path and what their goals are. It can include other questions about what they hope to achieve in the class and if they have taken any similar classes, to help you get a better sense of the population. This info can help you better understand the group and whether or not they need a more in-depth introduction to college learning. I know it isn’t this easy and that there are many other challenges when teaching a diverse group at the remedial level, but maybe it will help you learn more about a specific group before the too much of the term passes? Thanks for your important work!

  • ophe07

    @ rabble_rouser & jmhogan

    Totally agree. This is a one sided story. Why didn’t Wolverton reach out to anyone at PSU for comments?

    Very poor reporting. If you can’t tell the entire story don’t tell it at all.

  • raza_khan

    In all of my classes, whether is 100 level or 200 level, I have all of my students write down their year status but also how many colleges courses they have taken at our college where they have earned a grade of A or B. I do not ask them the specifics of the course or the grades but just a number. The reason being:
    1. Of course, the first-timers need help
    2. We have students who may be taking 200 level classes and could be new to the college such as transfer students as well.
    3. As sad as it is, I know… you do not have to tell me, I have them write down the meaning of grades such as “A”, “B”. “C”, “D” and “F” and give me a rough % of students who should be getting those grades in my chemistry courses.
    4. Number of hours they will dedicate to the four credit course outside the class.

    Needless to say, I am always shocked as to what the students believe and what the reality is!!!

    Raza
    _________________________
    Raza Khan, Ph.D.

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