Freshman Seminar Program

"My Winter students apparently felt that more weekly meetings would help and they probably would. (I had like 6 or 7 class meetings and 5 or 6 performances.) It's too late to do anything about that this quarter, but next Fall (I will propose this course in Fall and Winter, not Spring) I will hold the class weekly without interruption."

"My response was mixed.  This issue is active participation.  Of the 18 or so students I had, about 7-8 really participated actively on a regular basis.  They seemed to know why they were there and exploited the opportunity to "get to know a professor." The others basically sat there and rarely if ever participated…the one's who came forward made the whole thing worthwhile for me; in fact, I still get together with them from time to time this quarter.  I'm giving them academic advice; writing letters of recommendations for them, etc."

"I much enjoyed my experience teaching a freshman seminar especially down at SIO near to my office. I found the students bright and interested. They seemed to enjoy the experience of actually getting to converse with a faculty member in a non-threatening environment. I will offer another seminar in the fall quarter next year."

"I of course learned what things to do/not do next time I do this, and one in particular is that I can apply some of the funds for food for the students (I was told otherwise), though apparently not for books!  It is clearly an excellent and (for the students) exciting program, and I will proselytize about it with my faculty."

"I enjoyed teaching my seminar class.   The students were very responsive to the efforts I made.  Freshman seminar is a fantastic idea.  I will definitely teach it again."

"The biggest lesson I learned was a straightforward one--these are freshmen in their (in my case) second quarter; they haven't necessarily yet developed all the skills for participating in small classes, particularly classes in which they have to participate actively. Next time, I'll be clearer about the art of participation as well as the reading assignments! Corollary to this lesson is another obvious one--their learning experience includes lots of matters that have nothing to do with the content of the seminar. One student wrote me an email after the class saying she wished she'd spontaneously talked more often. And she was a young woman in a small class of only young women. Of course, the fact that she's thinking about this is a good thing!"

"It was a very rewarding and satisfying experience, and served to recharge my batteries in more ways than one (For example at times it reminded me clearly why I chose to be a faculty member rather than a researcher at an industrial/govt. lab).  Its great seeing gears mesh and lights going on with a gleam in their eyes."