TRANSITIONING STUDENTS INTO AN ACADEMIC CULTURE GROUNDED IN FRANCISCAN

VALUES

Michael T. Dreznick, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Psychology

Our Lady of the Lake CollegeMichaelDreznick@ololcollege.edu

ABOUT THE ACADEMIC SEMINAR

COURSE• Part of OLOL College’s 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

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?

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

college’s Mission Statement. • This course contributes to a culture of

integrity and caring at OLOL College

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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• “What’s My Motivation?”

• These activities encourage students to develop attitudes and behaviors conducive to success and lifelong learning

WHAT’S 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.

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.

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

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 College’s Engaged Learning through Writing initiative enhances students’ learning through purposeful writing experiences in courses across the curriculum

VALUES-ORIENTED COURSE ACTIVITIES

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

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

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

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