SOURCE
Vol. 16
|
No. 1
|
December 2018
8
Return to Front Page
The Pitch: Experiential Learning in a First-Year Seminar Students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), like those at other institutions, often wrestle with indecision about their major throughout their first year, and sometimes longer. This indecision can lead to anxiety, delayed academic progress, and low GPA (Daniels, Stewart, Stupinsky, Perry, & Loverso, 2011). Data from UNCW’s University College, which oversees first-year student advising and programs, show 17% of students not retained from the first to second year identify as undecided. Undecided students typically report lower self-efficacy and more difficulty making decisions (Bullock-Yowell, McConnell, & Schedin, 2014).
Erika Jean Hanson Academic Advisor and Coordinator, Student Engagement, SAIL Office Waston College of Education University of North Carolina Wilmington
Concerned about the success of its undecided students, UNCW set about helping them. We found that experiential learning activities allow students who are unaware of their strengths and skills to discover them through action and reflection. Studies show that students who engage in experiential learning have improved persistence compared to their counterparts (Abdul-Alim, 2011; Prussia & Weis, 2004; Tinto, 1998). UNCW positioned its first-year seminar, UNI 101, as a significant This student group developed the winning response to a business challenge for Kwipped as part of an experiential retention tool, aiding students in learning initiative at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Photo courtesy of Renee Smith. their transition to the university. The course includes topics such as academic preparation, the value of diverse ideas, and career exploration. It seemed a natural fit to incorporate an experiential learning component into UNI 101 to help students clarify their major of interest while also developing transferable skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem solving, oral communication, teamwork, collaboration, leadership, technology, professionalism).
Making The Pitch The experiential learning initiative, named The Pitch, required student groups in UNI 101 to research a local business and its customers while also answering a challenge submitted by the business aimed at helping students narrow their major focus. The student groups then worked to determine a solution to best meet the needs of the business before pitching their solution to a business representative in a culminating event at the end of the semester. The Pitch sought to encourage students to explore different interest areas by working on various components of the project. Over the summer, prospective businesses were contacted via email to gauge their interest in participating. Those that expressed interest were sent a Business Challenge Return to Front Page Copyright Š 2018 National Resource Center for The First-Year ExperienceŽ and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina
