Vol. 18 No. 3 July 2021
Introduction to the Special Edition Welcome to this special edition of E-Source for College Transitions focused on engaging undergraduate students in writing. In this edition, you are treated to a review of Christine Harrington’s new book, Keeping Us Engaged: Student Perspectives (and Research-Based Strategies). In this review, three of our E-Source reviewers share how the approaches, values, and ideas of Keeping Us Engaged influenced their own professional practices. Then, from the author herself, Dr. Harrington shares how she developed Keeping Us Engaged
with over fifty undergraduate students as writing partners. And finally, colleagues from the College of Wooster and the University of Alabama Birmingham share two projects that not only experientially engage undergraduate students, but are also presented in this special edition with those same undergraduates as co-authors. As we look towards an in-person fall semester, I hope you find these projects and undergraduate engagement ideas as inspiring as I do.
Practitioner Book Review of Keeping Us Engaged: Student Perspectives (and Research-Based Strategies) Tracey A. Glaessgen, Associate Director, Center for Academic Success and Transition, Missouri State University Amelia V. Noёl-Elkins, Interim Assistant Vice President for Student Success, Illinois State University Theresa Haug-Belvin, Assistant Professor & Academic Director for UVU Mentor Program, Utah Valley University Christine Harrington’s Keeping Us Engaged: Student Perspectives (and Research-Based Strategies) provides readers with an opportunity to really understand what our students want and need from instructors. Though every semester, instructors have an opportunity to read course evaluations, and there is little insight that can be gleaned from such comments, which often include, “I really enjoyed this course” or “I didn’t like the class.” While it’s always nice to read that a student enjoyed one’s class, the “why” is often left unanswered. Harrington’s work gives voice to course evaluations through qualitative interviews with college students across the country from various institution types.
Harrington divides the book into four topics, including tips for the first day of class, developing student/instructor relationships, teaching strategies, and creating meaningful assignments. In addition to providing straightforward and well researched advice, Harrington weaves in the voices of students as they share specific examples when they felt engaged in the course and with the instructor. Further, Harrington demystifies the student engagement process by sharing immediate and simple pedagogical practices that can easily be implemented and are reinforced by the student narratives. Many faculty – particularly those who teach introductory courses – will find this book useful in that it is an easy read that provides
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction to the Special Edition This special edition of E-Source focuses on engaging students through writing and podcasting.
Practitioner Book Review of Keeping Us Engaged: Student Perspectives Three E-Source Editorial Board members review the new book Keeping Us Engaged.
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Undergraduate Student Writing Partners The author of Keeping Us Engaged talks about the logistics and value of writing with undergraduates.
The Impact of a Team of Undergraduate TAs in a First-Year Seminar Undergraduate writers from the College of Wooster explain how they make a difference as TA’s.
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“New School New You”: the UAB Transfer Student Podcast Undergraduate writers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham detail their special podcast for transfer students.
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eSource for College Transitions, Vol. 18 No. 2 April 2021 numerous useful and practical examples. Instead of dedicating an hour to a workshop that might provide a small number of practical tips and tricks, Harrington’s book can be skimmed in that same amount of time and provide much more value. Most importantly, the entirety of the book speaks to the need to link faculty development purposefully and intentionally to student success. Early in the text, Harrington states the most overt premise of the book - “student engagement matters” – a fact that many working in higher educationbelieve. That said, not many efforts intentionally link faculty development to student success, and this is where Harrington’s book excels. A common criticism of student success efforts is that the unintended (or intended) consequence of these efforts is a reduction of rigor. Harrington’s book refutes that criticism using concrete examples of in class and out of class activities and efforts that make a difference in the lives of students without losing the rigor of a course.
The applicability of this text goes beyond faculty and coursework. For example, the section on relationship building has much to offer peer leader programs about how to set a welcoming environment for their students. Similarly, the book’s information on the importance of starting positive would offer tutoring and supplemental instruction programs valuable insight in setting a context in which students will seek their help. Ultimately, the pairing of student stories with pedagogical approaches focused on offsetting students’ perceived limitations and challenges sets this book apart from others on teaching. Between the faculty reflection questions at the end of each chapter and the spot-on testimonials from students on what really works, this book is a mustread for any educator who is seeking to make a difference in student success.
CONTACT Tracey A. Glaessgen TraceyGlaessgen@MissouriState.edu
Amelia V. Noёl-Elkins noelel@jngi.org
Theresa Haug-Belvin 10894129@uvu.edu
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Undergraduate Student Writing Partners Christine Harrington., Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, New Jersey City University Student voices are often missing from conversations on student success. At the community college I worked at previously, I hosted a student panel where students shared how their professors encouraged and motivated them to be successful. It was one of my favorite professional development events. Faculty loved it, and a long line formed after the event because faculty wanted to hear more from the student presenters. This is when I decided a book centering on student voices was needed. This led to my co-authoring the book, Keeping Us Engaged: Student Perspectives (and Research-Based Strategies) on What Works and Why, with fifty students.
Let’s Talk Logistics The first challenge was finding students who wanted to collaborate. Because I wanted to have a diverse array of student voices from a variety of institutions, I knew I would have to lean on my network. I used three approaches to find student contributors. When I reached out, I shared that I wanted to have a diverse group of student contributors in hopes that they would specifically invite students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, students with disabilities, and non-traditional aged students to participate in this project. Here are the recruitment actions I took: 1. First, I reached out to my colleagues on the National Resource Center on the First-Year Experience listserv as I know I can always count on the student champions in this network. This proved to work really well, with many colleagues answering the call to help identify students. 2. I also emailed faculty colleagues, directors of teaching and learning centers, and first-year experience directors whom I met previously at conferences or other professional development events. 3. Finally, I leveraged personal connections. As a parent of college students, I asked friends if their college students would like to contribute. Students were sent emails with a description of the book project, including a draft table of contents, and a link to a Google form. The Google form asked students to provide their contact information, a brief description of the engagement strategy or strategies they wanted to write about, and which chapter they thought their story or stories best fit. I was not sure how many students would be interested and was beyond thrilled when over fifty students volunteered to be contributors; however, to be honest, I was also a bit overwhelmed by the idea of working with fifty plus co-authors. I reviewed the student stories, and it became clear that the table of contents had to be amended. For example, several students wanted to discuss creativity with assignments, and that was not in the original table of contents. I created a table mapping out the different student stories that would appear in each chapter. Although it was not important to have the same number of stories per chapter, I looked for consistency and balance throughout the book. In some chapters, I needed additional stories, so I asked students who already agreed to write one story if they also had
another story they could share. I also asked students if they had a friend who might be willing to contribute. After revising the table of contents and assigning specific student contributors to each chapter, it was time to begin writing. Here is an overview of the steps involved: 1. Developed the contract with the publishing company and emailed the contract to all students interested in contributing. I established a due date that was one month before the end of the semester. This way, we would be able to exchange drafts before the semester ended. 2. I provided students with a template for their story and an estimated word count so there would be consistency across the stories throughout the book. 3. I sent several reminders about the upcoming deadline and invited students to respond with questions. 4. After receiving their stories, I reviewed them. In some cases, the storie submitted took a different approach, and no longer fit the assigned chapter. Because some students never submitted stories, moving their story to a different chapter was a solution. In a few cases, I had to email the student asking them to revise their story to fit the chapter. In every case, I eventually found a home for each student story. The missing chapters meant I had to find additional stories. I again reached out to the students who already submitted a story to inquire if they would be willing to write another one. 5. Editing the stories was the next step. I was very mindful of ensuring that edits were primarily grammatical and technical so that the student voice was not altered in significant ways. In some cases, students submitted stories that were significantly over the targeted number of words. In these cases, more significant edits were needed. 6. All edited versions were shared with students, asking them to review and ensure that that the edits did not alter their intent or voice. Students were given a few weeks to submit revisions if they desired. Most students approved the edits without making further revisions. However, a few students really engaged in the revision process and their final products reflected their growth as a writer. 7. After identifying and placing all the student stories in the chapter, I started writing the text around the stories. The goal was to introduce the importance of each engagement strategy and review theoretical and research support for the strategy. The student stories then provided a personalized perspective on the value of each strategy. 8. As with all writing, several drafts were needed. At each step of the process, I contacted all student contributors, asking them to review and respond with any edits. I also kept them updated on the publishing timeline which was adjusted due to the pandemic.
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eSource for College Transitions, Vol. 18 No. 2 April 2021 I was impressed with the student contributors. They wrote inspiring stories and were professional and timely in responding to the numerous requests for edits. Several students sent personal emails thanking me for the opportunity. They were so excited when it came out in print! Students are eager to collaborate on writing projects. In addition to having an outlet for their voice, which is so critical, this process also helped them learn about the publishing process. Not surprisingly, many were shocked at how long the process takes. Understanding publication processes can prepare students to publish in the future. For me as a faculty member, it was a rewarding process. I genuinely enjoyed working with so many students, and despite my interactions being primarily or exclusively via email, I felt like I was able to get to know many of them. In some cases, I had phone calls with students who were looking for clarity on the feedback I provided or wanted to learn more about the publishing process. At the end of the project, I sent each student a thank you note and encouraged them to share their contribution via social media and on their resume.
CONTACT
Tips for Faculty:
Christine Harrington
1. Invite a diverse group of students to partner with you. Specifically invite students who can bring different perspectives to the project. Lean on your network to identify potential student partners.
charrington1@njcu.edu
2. Establish a clear vision for the project and communicate this plan in writing to students. Providing this overview in a Zoom session with an opportunity for students to ask questions can also be a great way to set the stage for this project.
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3. Determine deadlines that take into consideration student schedules. It will likely be easier to communicate with students during the academic year but be mindful of their increased workload at the end of a semester. 4. Send periodic reminders to students about initial or revised submissions and be available for questions. 5. Provide students with easy-to-understand feedback and clearly articulate what they need to do during the revision stages and how they should do it. 6. Acknowledge student contributions throughout the process and send a note of appreciation at the end of the project that also informs students how to share their contribution with others on their resume and social media. Working with student contributors on a writing project requires you to develop a different type of relationship with students. Student contributors should be viewed as valuable partners who likely need guidance and support with the writing and publishing process because this is likely a new experience for them. In some ways, it is like supporting a colleague who is new to academia. Both have much to add, but may not be familiar with what to expect when publishing their work. They may also need to be reminded of their value and talents, as self-efficacy is typically lower for tasks they have not yet done successfully. Viewing students as partners who simply need some additional support and guidance and treating them as such can build their confidence and writing skills and make for a rewarding experience for all.
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The Impact of a Team of Undergraduate TAs in a First-Year Seminar Shelley Judge, William Santella, Wylie Greeson, Juda Culp, Christa Craven, & Mazvita Chikomo College of Wooster
The Issue
Importance of UTAs
Institutions of every size enroll new undergraduates in first-year seminar (FYS) courses to aid the transition to college. FYS courses have varied approaches: some are discipline-specific introductions, others support acclimatization to college life, and still others prefer a hybrid approach. Research on the positive impact of FYS is well documented (Goodman and Pascarella, 2006), and recent work focuses on the impact of upperclassmen as peer leaders in FYS courses (Zhang, 2017). Zhang (2017) reports that upperclass mentors positively affect academic achievement, campus involvement, and persistence of FYS students. These types of studies underscore the importance of peer role models in FYS classrooms.
A faculty-UTA team can create a strong alliance and sense of community in the classroom. One objective in FYS isto encourage academic communication based on a framework of trust and respect that would be a springboard to learning content. To do this, we use clear FYS program learning objectives that encompassed both discipline-specific critical thinking and advising/integration goals. Referring to these learning objectives throughout FYS helped students become aware of common responsibilities and the course trajectory. The UTAs were excellent role models in messaging both content knowledge and academic advising. Sometimes, faculty can lose relevancy as role models due to age, lack of social connection, or demographic differences, but they can adapt through new pedagogies, energy, and humor. Upperclass mentors in the classroom in strong alliance with faculty work to bridge new collegians to academic life.
At The College of Wooster (OH), FYS is an interdisciplinary writingintensive course that develops critical thinking skills and serves as a platform for successful academic advising and college integration. Faculty focus on content-knowledge and social adaptability in small class sizes (~15 students) because FYS is critical to student retention at Wooster, a residential, private, liberal arts college with an enrollment of ~2000 undergraduates. The college is best known for its senior capstone experience, required of all graduates since 1947, so FYS is important as the writing and research foundation for future scaffolding in individual departments. Most FYS sections (~35-40/year) at Wooster use one undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA), and some use a peer mentor, an upperclass student formally trained at the college in academic advising. Our purpose is to outline how discipline content, transition advice, classroom community, and mentoring was achieved in a remote FYS during fall 2020. We incorporated more UTAs than usual (3) plus an academic peer mentor. This team approach increased interactions with students and provided flexibility during mentoring. Both building community and establishing credibility were integral to our geospatial-themed FYS course. To accomplish this, conversations in FYS often strayed outside the boundaries of disciplinary topics. This can stretch faculty who are accustomed to bringing their discipline-specific knowledge and pedagogy into the classroom. Relatedly, it can be puzzling for students to listen to and implement faculty-based suggestions from adults whom they do not view as role models. To mitigate this, UTAs became invaluable to our FYS approach, serving as upperclass mentors.
The UTA Program At Wooster, UTAs are full-time students enrolled in an experiential learning course, Teaching Apprenticeship. FYS faculty with UTAs also oversee the Teaching Apprenticeship course, which is graded and worth 1.00 credits (3 contact hours/week). For some UTAs this counts as one of their four semester courses; for others it is an overload. Because they are full-time students, UTAs do not pay extra tuition, nor are they paid. UTAs gain experience with course design, pedagogical decisions, and classroom/office hour situations. Faculty teaching FYS not only support and encourage their first-year students, but they also simultaneously mentor individual UTAs, providing formative feedback when needed.
Team Composition During fall 2020, I (SJudge) used three UTAs and one peer mentor in a remote FYS section. Three UTAs attended each class session and were selected to improve the student-to-UTA ratio (5:1) so that small group discussions each had a mentor. Each UTA had previous geospatial coursework, so they helped with content knowledge and software. One UTA had served earlier as a Wooster Course Design Assistant (CDA) for my FYS planning during summer 2020. Launched by our Dean for Faculty Development (CCraven), the CDA program had undergraduates assist faculty with course design “pivots” due to the pandemic. The remaining two UTAs in my FYS brought valuable experiences in a range of co- and extra-curricular activities on campus. Every few weeks our team collaborated with a peer mentor assigned to our class. Wooster’s Office of Advising, Planning, and Experiential Learning (APEX) hires and trains upperclass students in techniques the support positive college transitions. Our peer mentor attended FYS discussions focused on academic advising but also excelled at one-onone meetings with students outside of class. Because the roles of UTAs and peer mentors did overlap, students were able to select compatible role models.
Building Community Faculty often relinquish some control when encouraging a climate of mutual respect, kindness, civility, and support in the classroom. A significant strategy used to foster community in our FYS was the UTA-peer mentor team because they modeled college behavior to 15 first-year students—eight on campus and seven participating remotely from Georgia, Ohio, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, and Ukraine. The UTAs enriched FYS by participating in class discussions, helping teach geospatial concepts, and meeting one-on-one with students for academic and personal support. UTAs also were responsible for “TA Moments,” time on Fridays devoted to life as new collegians. FYS students responded positively to the UTAs, always asking many questions. The cadre of upperclass mentors fielded those questions with grace and ease. They advocated for
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eSource for College Transitions, Vol. 18 No. 2 April 2021 the same student success strategies as the faculty, telling students to eat right, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and take good notes. Where faculty might have been met with overt eyerolls, the UTAs were able to initiate credible, meaningful conversations.
Assessment and Impact Improving the student-to-UTA ratio was a priority to improve individual attention in the classroom and to promote student integration. This priority paid dividends by the end of the semester because we fostered effective and cordial communication among all students. FYS became a welcoming entry point into a community built around academic inquiry. The payoffs were tangible for everyone involved, class participation was notably high, and the students learned the academic and social expectations of Wooster courses. In addition, because the FYS team supplied academic assistance and focused on improving individual student writing in a respectful mentoring environment, new students obtained the foundation for their four-year college career.
activities at the beginning of the semester and punctuated throughout is needed to enhance communication. Finally, faculty will select at least one of the three UTAs from outside of the home department to expand academic discourse. Students in FYS often do not yet know their majors, so it is important that they interact with UTAs from diverse perspectives because that will prepare them for the discipline communities the FYS students will enter as they embark on their college careers.
References Goodman, K. & Pascarella, E. T. (2006). First-year seminars increase persistence and retention: A summary of the evidence from How College Affects Students. Peer Review, 8(3), 26-28. Zhang, L. (2017). Student involvement as a mediator of the relationship of peer leaders in first-year seminars to academic achievement and persistence [unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of South Carolina.
At the end of the semester, student perception of UTA impact was assessed in a survey. Students rated ten statements on a five-point scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” and then answered open-ended questions about the role of each UTA. Survey results illustrate the positive influence UTAs had on students. Over 90% of students thought the UTAs helped them adjust to college, improved class discussions, treated them with respect, and acted with enthusiasm during class sessions. Between 75-80% of students felt the UTAs helped with writing, technical skills, and academic success. The UTAs were role models for our maturing collegians. In a post-semester assessment reflection, the UTAs reported they felt confident, prepared, and relaxed while carrying out their FYS duties during the semester. The only “pressure” seemed internal: to provide the proper advice to students and to ensure their advice did not conflict with others on the FYS team. One UTA said, “As UTAs, we’re just students. The reason why we were so effective was because we didn’t have the same limitations and were not vastly older than the first-year students.” UTAs provided insights on things that faculty could not, such as social events and dorm life. They overcame faculty limitations, allowing faculty to focus on disciplinary expertise, pedagogical knowledge, and the occasional nugget of advice from life experiences.
Future Implications An FYS program should continually improve based on assessment results and classroom experiences. From assessment results, our FYS core value of building a congenial and respectful academic community is a characteristic that future FYS sections must embrace. Academic achievement and social integration within the community led to increased student retention, an outcome important to institutions. There also are ingredients for building community that must persist. UTAs will be viewed as role models, so they should demographically represent the student body. The UTA team needs to complement one another so that diverse perspectives are added to our FYS academic environment. However, to build camaraderie within the classroom, there must be team cohesion between the faculty and the UTAs. Whether the UTAs are from the faculty’s home department or another department across campus, primary consideration should be the quality, honesty, respect, and ease of interactions between the faculty and UTA team because students will respond constructively to agreement and purpose in the classroom. Future iterations of this FYS will see modifications, based on assessment data; however, the format will be in-person instead of hybrid. While the same student-to-UTA ratio will be a priority to encourage small group mentoring, the formation of micro-FYS communities that pair one UTA with several students would foster deeper academic and social connections for the first-year students. An increase in team-building
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“New School New You”: The UAB Transfer Student Podcast Halle Baldwin, Department of Psychology Jeremy Chu, Department of Neuroscience Ryleigh Fleming, Karishma Parbhoo, Diana Bucio, Sarah Adkins-Jablonsky, & Samiksha Raut, Department of Biology Cinnamin Cross, Biomedical Sciences University of Alabama at Birmingham Almost half of the students in higher education in the United States begin their journey at a community college. Transfer students are often first-generation college students belonging to underrepresented minority groups (URM), and/or are from low socio-economic backgrounds. Their unique pathway to a successful college completion is more than often accompanied by a temporary decrease in their academic performance due to academic differences once they transfer from a two-year to a fouryear institution, known “transfer shock” (D’Amico & Chapman, 2018). This transfer shock is further enhanced by lack of social support systems at the transferring institutions. These adverse experiences have shown to impact a student’s sense of belonging and further retention, especially for STEM majors. Thus, it is imperative that institutions of higher education should help address this critical issue related to transfer students’ needs. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), is a public research university located in the heart of Birmingham, and is Alabama’s largest degree-granting university with more than half of its students enrolled in STEM related programs. Moreover, UAB is a preferred destination for transfer students from nearby twoyear institutions constituting 11% of the overall annual enrollment (College Transfer, 2021). Therefore, targeted strategies focused on retention and graduation of the transfer students are important to enhance the mission of undergraduate education at UAB. While UAB has transfer resources, few are student-run or highlight firstgeneration, URM, or low Socio-Economic Status (SES) student perspectives. Considering that a recent survey suggests that the audience for podcasts is at an all-time high with podcast playing in 50% of U.S. homes, and 48% of the podcast listenership are college aged adults (Winn, 2021), podcasts represent an ideal platform for broadcasting peer-to-peer conversations to help mitigate adverse transfer student experiences. In 2020, an Associate Professor in the UAB Department of Biology (S.R), drawing from vast experiences implementing and assessing Service-Learning projects (Adkins-Jablonsky et al., 2021; Mendoza et al. 2020);) and working with one-on-one transfer students in large enrollment courses, envisioned creating a podcast that summarized the insights and experiences of transfer students to serve as a guidepost for future and in-coming transfer students. S.R. recruited seven undergraduates across four STEM disciplines at UAB to establish the podcast series “New School New You”, accessible at the following web-link: https://anchor.fm/ newschoolnewyou. This undergraduate student team recruited transfer students, particularly those who were first-generation, URM, or low SES students to be interviewed to share their transfer stories. The following logistical workflow was established for “New School New You” and thus may be of benefit to other educators and stakeholders seeking to establish an institutional podcast.
Logistics 1. Include students on the podcast team who reflect the identities of the transfer students - The recruited student team (including authors H.B., J.C., R.F., D.B., and C.C) all as allies of this student community. 2. Mapping content stream - To prepare the episodes, the student team worked with the faculty advisor (S.R) and transfer students to identify literature and perspectives that led to assembling topics, creating a robust question set, and finalizing the content stream. For examples of these episodes, see “2 Example Episodes” below. Materials were assembled in a shared Google Drive that included folders for episodes/script writing, podcast image art, audio introduction, and audio recordings. Students practiced interviewing with each other and the faculty advisor as an informal training, and all team meetings were held virtually.
Album cover for podcast series “New School New You” by Karishma Parbhoo
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eSource for College Transitions, Vol. 18 No. 2 April 2021 3. Working with a population of interest - Transfer student interviewees were recruited and were provided with a list of episode topics. Each student was asked to select a topic of interest dependent on their personal transfer student experiences. While student teams and transfer students’ interviewees were not monetarily compensated, all students were encouraged to highlight the interview experience on their resume/CV. 4. Partner with on-campus organizations - We sought feedback from UAB Service-Learning and Undergraduate Research as well as from the UAB Media Studies Program. Many transfer student interviewees were recruited by the student team from the UAB Transfer Student Organization (TSO) and Student Multicultural & Diversity Programs at UAB. TSO is continuing to advertise “New School New You” to UAB’s transfer student population through its social media platforms. 5. Choose open-source and free podcast platforms - All interviews were planned using Google documents and e-mail correspondences. Furthermore, interviews were recorded via Zoom interface on students’ personal computers/smartphones and edited using a free software called “Audacity”, and then uploaded to Anchor, a free podcast website that can connect to other podcast platforms (i.e., Spotify and Apple Podcasts). The entire production of this podcast was student-run and free of any incurring expenses, implying that no additional university resources were required. This makes the podcast a viable strategy for institutions interested in developing transfer student resources. 6. Ensure continuation of project - It is likely that student team members have varying graduation dates;it is therefore imperative to add new student members so that the team can continue production of new episodes in case a few members’ graduate. The advisor will maintain the Google Drive so that the future team members can continue accruing episodes. The podcasts will remain public indefinitely. 7. Assess progress and make target goals - On average, there have been ten full external plays from start to finish of each episode. Episodes are on average, 36 minutes long, so there have been over 5,000 minutes of combined air play of “New School New You” as of April 2021. Continued partnership with the TSO is demonstrating increased interest in the podcast. The target is 100 state-wide listeners by the end of 2021 achievable through a wider dissemination with TSO and via social media platforms such as Instagram.
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Example Episodes Imposter Syndrome and Your Identity and How to Find It Each episode involved two trained student interviewers asking questions related to current evidence-based educational research to one or more invited transfer student interviewees. In this way, transfer student experiences were positioned within a broader transfer community context while being able to still highlight students’ unique stories. Two episodes and their summaries are outlined below:
1. Imposter Syndrome: The Imposter Syndrome description reads: “In this episode we will be discussing what imposter syndrome is and how it can affect students in an academic and social environment. Come and learn about how to overcome these feelings and hear from two transfer students that are currently experiencing imposter syndrome and see if you can relate to them.” In the Imposter Syndrome episode, a student interviewee noted she struggles with imposter syndrome as a transfer student and non-traditional student noting, “... obstacles have made me feel like I don’t belong in academia.” The student said there were unspoken assumptions about community college education which fed into her undermining her own accomplishments. A close community of colleagues and mentors who understand your perspective and potential, she says, is vital for feeling personally and academically supported as a transfer student.
2. Identity and How to Find It: This episode description says, “In this episode we will be discussing ever changing identity and how to recognize yourself even through the madness of college. Come and learn about how growth and change is expected during the college experience and hear two transfer students discuss how their identities changed when they transitioned to a four-year university.” Transfer students often report that it is rather difficult for them to strike new friendships at a new institution, especially if they are living off-campus and pursuing off-campus work. A transfer student’s advice to future students would be to be friendly because these casual conversations can manifest in long-term relationships grounded in genuine human connection and empathy. She continued to explain that social campus organizations, like honors programs and community service groups, allowed for the establishment of her social and professional identity.
Outlook
Acknowledgements
The podcast descriptions above, which are akin to oral histories, summarize non-identifiable publicly available information without making generalizable findings, and thus, do not constitute authentic research data. With that said, research on transfer student identity is sparse, and we therefore, recommend rigorous education-based research studies explore these themes in order to make conclusions that can impact academic policies on transfer student progress, belonging, and retention. Future work can compare and assess interviewer, interviewee, and listener outcomes using validated surveys and open-ended questions. These results could help uncover the degree to which podcast interventions can foster a sense of belonging, reduce transfer shock, and contribute to persistence in a university setting.
We would like to thank Ms. Michelle Forman, Director of the Media Studies program, and Gareth Jones, Assistant Director ServiceLearning and Undergraduate Research for their technical assistance with the podcast. We would also like to thank Ms. Victoria Smith, Associate Director of the First Year Experience at UAB for her assistance.
Ultimately, “New School New You” enabled peer-to-peer interactions that pave way towards honest and comfortable conversations with an often-overlooked community. The goal was to create an avenue for transfer students to have their voices heard and to amplify those voices as they overcame academic and social struggles. In this way, “New School New You” is offering transfer students much needed support, one interview at a time.
References Aelenei, C., Lewis, N. A., & Oyserman, D. (2017). No pain no gain? Social demographic correlates and identity consequences of interpreting experienced difficulty as importance. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 48, 43–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2016.08.004 College Transfer. University of Alabama at Birmingham Transfer-Profile. (2021). https://www.collegetransfer.net/UniversityOfAlabamaAtBirmingham/ TransferProfile/tabid/145/Default.aspx D’Amico, Mark & Chapman, Lisa. (2018). Community College to University Transfer. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. https://www. myfuturenc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/NEW-Policy-Brief-UnivTransfer-DAmico-Chapman-PS.pdf Winn, R. (2021). 2021 Podcast Stats & Facts (New Research From Jan 2021). Podcast Insights. https://www.podcastinsights.com/podcast-statistics/ Adkins-Jablonsky, S., Fleming, R., Esteban, M., Bucio, D., Morris, J. J., & Raut, S. (2021). Impacts of a COVID-19 E-Service-Learning Module in a Non-Major Biology Course. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 22(1). Mendoza, D. A., Adkins, S. J., Bhatt, J. M., Morris, J. J., & Raut, S. R. (2020). Service-learning curriculum increases climate change awareness. Science education civic engagement, 12(1).
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Vol. 18 No. 3 July 2021
E-Source for College Transitions (ISSN 1545-5742) is published three times a year by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. The National Resource Center has as its mission to support and advance efforts to improve student learning and transitions into and through higher education. The First-Year Experience® is a service mark of the University of South Carolina. A license may be granted upon written request to use the term The First-Year Experience. This license is not transferable without the written approval of the University of South Carolina. The University of South Carolina is an equal opportunity institution.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES
E-Source for College Transitions is accepting submissions for future issues.
For complete guidelines and issue dates, see http://www.sc.edu/fye/ esource. Articles should adhere to guidelines in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).
Articles on a variety of topics related to student transitions are welcome, including those focusing on • college transition issues; • innovative and creative strategies to support student learning, development, and success; • organizational structures and institutional resources for supporting college success; and • reviews of books and other resources supporting the work of student success practitioners.
Audience: E-Source readers include academic and student affairs administrators and faculty from a variety of fields. Style: Articles, tables, figures, and references should adhere to current APA (American Psychological Association) style. Format: Submissions should be submitted online as a Microsoft Word document, via our online submission portal. Length: Original feature-length articles should be 1,000-1,500 words. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions for length. Please address all questions and submissions to: Rebecca Campbell, Editor Email: esource@mailbox.sc.edu
PUBLICATIONS STAFF Rebecca Campbell
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Michelle L. Ashcraft
Amy McEvoy
Purdue University
Dalhousie University
Krista Larson
Marsha Butler
Amelia Noel-Elkins
Lisa Grundy
Tracey Glaessgen
Emily Shreve
Copy editor
Missouri State University
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Jennifer Keup
Charles Haberle
Ahmad Sims
Theresa Haug-Belvin
Michael Sparrow
E-Source Editor
Graphic Designer
Executive Director
Valencia College - West Campus
Providence College
Utah Valley University
Sheryl K. Larson-Rhodes Rhodes State University at New York at Genesco
Elaine Lewis
Utah Valley University
Illinois State University
Tennessee State University
Northampton Community College
Elizabeth Turton
Miami University
Kathryn Wilhite Clemson University
Scott Wojciechowski page 10
High Point University
