First Year Academics

June 2014

Dr. Jenne PowersDirector of First Year AcademicsAssistant Professor of Humanities & Writing

Dr. Grace Kim Associate Professor of Psychology

Dr. Eleonora Villegas-ReimersAssociate Professor of Education

Prof. Scott VotelAssistant Professor of Humanities & Director of Composition Programs

Field Experiences

First Year Seminar (FYS)

First Year Seminar (FYS)

Human Biology Citizenship in Context Moving our Minds Rhythm and Resistance Introduction to the Arts World Religions Women in Literature Anthropology and Globalization Questioning Russian Authors

Media and Race American Leaders Film and Fiction

FYS Learning Outcomes

Use critical thinking and inquiry to recognize, investigate, analyze, and solve problems and to value the process of that discovery

Bring wide-ranging disciplinary knowledge to their lives and professions, and pursue a lifetime of intellectual growth;

Communicate effectively using written, oral, and digital means and appreciate the creative and practical functions of language;

Read and analyze texts and/or other media closely and critically for main ideas, supporting ideas, details, meanings and assumptions

Connect and synthesize disparate information and ideas, and adapt to personal, intellectual and professional challenges;

Understand, evaluate and analyze evidence and/or data in one or more fields of academic inquiry

Demonstrate research (and information literacy) skills by locating, evaluating, and synthesizing information 

FYS Goals

What is your purpose in pursuing higher education?

What role will you play in the Wheelock community?

Team approachCohort modelPersonal connections

English (ENG)

Composition at Wheelock at a Glance

Two primary composition courses at Wheelock

• ENG 120 – Critical Reading and Writing I

• ENG 121 – Critical Reading and Writing II Students will take a placement exam during FYI

• Some students will be placed into ENG 121 in the fall, though the majority of students will be placed in ENG 120

• The placement exam, in conjunction with SAT/ACT scores, is meant to assess the right composition track for each student (i.e. ENG 120 is not remedial and ENG 121 is not advanced)

Critical Reading and Writing I and II (ENG 120/121)

Instructors start with two basic assumptions about writing1. Writing is a process that involves pre-writing,

drafting, revising, editing, and sharing

2. Writing is a necessary part of both encouraging and demonstrating critical thinking

Our primary goal is to teach our students how to use writing to both generate ideas worth writing about and then to share those ideas in the most appropriate and effective way

ENG 120/121 Goals

We believe that successful students will be able to achieve 7 key goals in ENG 120/1211. Embrace writing as a process that involves pre-

writing, drafting, revising, editing, and sharing

2. Use writing to engage in critical thinking and to illustrate the process of that critical inquiry for an audience

3. Generate productive questions and seek insightful answers both through formal research and thoughtful reflection

ENG 120/121 Goals, cont

4. Recognize genre conventions as a way to anticipate the needs and expectations of a given audience

5. Craft rhetorically effective, logically cogent, and structurally sound essays that utilize the conventions of different genres

6. Use library resources (including FLO catalog and online databases) to conduct productive research

7. Demonstrate the literacy skills necessary to pass all portions of the WLCE

Wheelock Literacy and Communication Exam

WLCE serves two primary purposes1. Diagnostic of a writer’s strengths and

weaknesses, allowing us to tailor instruction to a student’s individual needs as a writer

2. Assessment of literacy skills taught in ENG 120 and ENG 121, which reinforces the college’s commitment to producing students who are prepared for academic, professional, and civic life beyond Wheelock

WLCE, continued

WLCE contains two individual tests:1. Copyediting

Students learn standard grammar and punctuation conventions throughout the semester

Exam consists primarily of copy-editing sentences

2. Critical Response A short passage that introduces an issue and argues a

position by a single author Students have two main tasks:

1. Summarize succinctly and accurately the passage

2. Enter into a discourse with the author by either corroborating or refuting the argument

Graded Pass/Fail by two independent readers

WLCE, continued

Successful completion of the WLCE is a graduation requirement Completion of the WLCE is also a requirement of most pre-practicum

and practicum courses Once a student has passed a section, she has completed her WLCE

requirement Students who need WLCE support after ENG 111, can register for

RWS 100, a once-a-week individualized tutorial with a composition instructor, to receive additional support

Writing Support

The vast majority of your student’s assignments, especially final exams, will take the form of essays

To assist all students with their writing, we offer three primary support systems:1. Writing Center

2. Writing Coach Program

3. WLCE Tutorials (RWS 100) after successful completion of ENG 121

Human Growth and Development

Human Growth and Development (HGD)

Provides foundational knowledge about lifespan development

One of the corner stone courses at Wheelock College and a critical course for many professions

Taught by fabulous professors! Most students take HGD for their entire first year (HGD I & II).

Classroom learning & application in real life through field placements (3 hours x 10 weeks = 30 hours/each semester)

Q: What will my son or daughter do/learn in HGD?

Gain critical thinking skills about how people develop, grow, and change through the lifespan.

Consider individual growth AND individuals in contexts – families, schools, communities, cultures

Learn about important theories in developmental psychology

Learn to observe children’s behaviors with a scientific eye.

Write analytic papers & give oral presentations

The Fall Semester: HGD I

From prenatal development to early childhood (around age 5)

Learn about theories; write observation & analysis papers on:

Physical development Cognitive development Language development Socio-emotional development

Field Placements in early childhood settings

The Spring Semester: HGD II

Middle childhood (school age), Adolescence, & Adulthood (early, middle, late); Death and Dying

Expanded focus on contexts – families, peers, schools, communities, cultures

Field Placement options are more diverse - e.g., schools, community settings; working with children, adolescents, adults, etc.)

Assignments are more diverse – interviews, autobiographical analysis, current event critiques, etc.

Q. How can I support my student’s learning in HGD?

Please ask about what she is learning.• What age group?• What theorists? (e.g., Piaget? Vygotsky? Bronfenbrenner? Gilligan?)• What types of development? – physical, cognitive, language, socio-

emotional, etc.

Please ask about her field placement. • What is she learning from the children? • From the site? • About herself?

Please ask her what she thinks about current events in relation to her learning in HGD class.• E.g. What does she think about bullying in schools? How can

people prevent bullying? How can she apply what she learned in HGD?

Q: How can I support my student’s learning in HGD? (Continued)

Please encourage your child to take ownership of her learning.• Encourage her to utilize resources – meet with

professors, field experience office, peer tutors, writing center, oral presentation coaching, etc.

• Support her in trying new experiences.• Encourage her to pace herself and persevere.• Remind her you and many other people at Wheelock

are behind her, wanting her to succeed.

Thank You