A Sophomores Guide to the University

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A Sophomores Guide to the University

• Sixth Annual Professional Development Conference
  on Academic Advising
• Lisa R. Lattuca
• Center for the Study of Higher Education
• The Pennsylvania State University
• October 5, 2007

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Hello, my name is Lisa. Im a recovering
sophomore.
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Professors are from Mars

• How do we help students make sense of the
  information gained in their first year?
• How do we help them understand the college or
  universitys
• mission and culture
• inhabitants and customs
• and, possibly, themselves?

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Learning to Think in the Disciplines

• Physics is all about the way you approach a
  question. You have to analytical and not at all
  intuitive, to break it down into its parts, and
  not look at the question all at once.
• Physics student
• (Donald, 2002, p. 1)

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• There isnt a right answer. Different theories
  can account for the same results with the same
  validity. How to think analytically is
  importantin other words, dont believe
  everything you read, try to understand what the
  writer is saying and does he or she follow
  through.
• Psychology student
• (Donald, 2002, p. 1)

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• The trouble with English is that there are no
  answers. There are only evaluations and critical
  judgments backed up with evidence and strong
  argument. The ability to make a case through
  reasoned, logical argument, and the ability to
  marshal evidence and to read widely in supporting
  literature is crucial.
• English professor
• (Donald, 2002, p. 1)

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Learning to think

• Imagine the predicament of the entering
  university student registered in courses in each
  of these three areas of study. These ways of
  thinking. . . have certain commonalities. The
  student must be deeply engaged. The student must
  have the vocabulary and theory of the field or be
  in the act of acquiring them. But each discipline
  requires a different mindset, and contrasting
  strategies need to be employed.
• (Donald, 2002, p. 2)

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Educational jigsaw puzzles

• Where is the box with the picture on the cover?
  When do students get to see the picture theyre
  putting together?
• (King, 1999, p. 2)

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Academic Disciplines

• Subject matter - a body of knowledge
• A cognitive structure or a way of thinking
• Assumptions, concepts, models, relationships,
  theories
• A set of questions or problems to be studied
• A language or specialized discourse
• Method(s) of inquiry

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• A knowledge/professional community with
• Norms for teaching, research, interactions
• Values and commitments about what is worth
  studying and how it should be studied
• A scholarly identity

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Disciplined approaches

• Strong evidence that disciplinary affiliation
  influences faculty attitudes and behaviors
• Norms for research
• Perceptions of students and teaching
• Course design
• Instructional methods

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Typical Disciplinary Groupings

• Humanities
• English
• Philosophy
• Classics
• Visual Arts
• Modern Languages
• History
• Music

• Social Sciences
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Economics
• Geography
• Anthropology

• Sciences
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Geology
• Mathematics
• Biology
• Computer Science
• Anatomy

Adapted from Murray, H.G. Renaud, R.D. (1995)
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have different intellectual goals

• Sciences and mathematics break down complex ideas
  into simpler components (reduction)
• Humanities and social sciences seek more holistic
  appreciation of phenomena
• often try to preserve complexity

• Scientific knowledge primarily concerned with
  universals
• Non-scientific knowledge often concerned with
  particulars
• Scientific knowledge typically considered neutral
  or objective
• Social sciences and humanities tend to view
  knowledge as value-laden

(Becher, 1989)
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different conceptual structures

• More specific, explicit, and concrete concepts in
  sciences
• About 90 of concepts in social science courses
  are abstract
• Science courses typically expect students to
  learn more concepts than social sciences and
  humanities courses
• (Donald, 2002)

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different logical structures

• Refers to relationships among concepts
• In science courses,
• average number of relationships
• exceeds average in social sciences (Donald,
  2002)
• and humanities
• Relationships tend
• to be hierarchical

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different logical structures

• In social sciences, concepts cluster, tend to
  pivot on key concept
• In humanities, concepts tend
• to be loosely-linked or stand on their own

(Donald, 2002)
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different ways of seeking and validating
knowledge
(Adapted from Donald, 2002)
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(Adapted from Donald, 2002)
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Academic Environments

• According to Holland, most people can be
  classified into one of six personality types and
  corresponding environments
• Realistic
• Investigative
• Artistic
• Social
• Enterprising
• Conventional
• Individuals choose occupations
• consistent with their motivations, knowledge,
  personality, and abilities, and
• once in an occupation, are supported and rewarded
  for those attitudes and behaviors

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Academic Programs

• An academic program is
• home to a group of individuals with similar
  motivations, knowledge, personality, abilities
• engaged in distinctive sets of activities and
  with distinctive competencies and values
• a socialization setting
• that encourages new members to adhere to
  prevailing ways of thinking, feeling, and
  behaving
• (Smart, Feldman, Ethington, 2000)

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• Investigative Environments emphasize
• Intellectual and analytical activities
• People in these environments attain analytical,
  scientific and mathematical competencies
• Are less interested in skills of persuasion or
  leadership
• They perceive themselves as critical, curious,
  independent, precise, rational and scholarly
• They reward skepticism, persistence in problem
  solving, documentation of new knowledge

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• Enterprising environments
• Foster leadership, interpersonal, and persuasive
  capacities
• Encourage attainment of personal or
  organizational goals
• Encourage people to see themselves as energetic,
  ambitious, extroverted, sociable, aggressive and
  optimistic
• See the world in terms of power, status, and
  responsibility
• Reward self-confidence and initiative in pursuing
  financial or material accomplishments

• Social environments
• Stress working with others in helpful or
  facilitating ways
• Encourage interpersonal competencies mentoring,
  treating, or teaching others
• Encourage people to see themselves as cooperative
  empathetic, idealistic, responsible, concerned
  for the welfare of others
• See the world in flexible ways
• Reward empathy, sociability humanitarianism

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The curriculum of academic advising

• the institutions mission, culture, and
  expectations
• the meaning, value and the interrelationships of
  the institutions curriculum
• modes of thinking, learning, and decision-making
• the selection of academic programs and courses
• the development of life and career goals
• the transferability of skills and knowledge
• (NACADA, 2006)

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A Sophomores Guide to the University

• Sixth Annual Professional Development Conference
  on Academic Advising
• Lisa R. Lattuca
• Center for the Study of Higher Education
• The Pennsylvania State University
• October 5, 2007

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Teaching and Learning Cultures

• Realistic and Investigative
• Stress achievement of career-related goals, and
  emphasize acquisition of specific skills and
  credentials
• Prefer more formal and structured teaching
  arrangements
• Ask students to meet clear-cut, specific
  requirements
• Place a high value on grades and examinations

• Social and Artistic
• Prefer students set their own goals, and pursue
  their own interests
• Prefer collegial modes of interaction, and more
  informal, unstructured learning arrangements
• Emphasize emotional development and self
  understanding
• Believe students should share in educational
  decision making do best work independently