STLHE 2016 SAPES

First-Year Transition to University as an Intellectual Journey


First-year students often find it difficult to make the academic transition from high-school level study to the more demanding intellectual expectations of university. They expect that the learning experience will be different, but they do not know how it will be different, and what changes they will have to make as thinkers and learners to function well in this new environment. In this session, participants will have an opportunity to explore strategies for supporting first-year students that highlight the intellectual dimensions of transition.


Presenters will begin with an account of an educational leadership project they undertook in developing and implementing a first-year transition course with an academic focus. Participants will engage in a small-group activity involving comparative analysis of a selection of current transition courses being offered at various universities.


In the final phase of the session, the presenters will share a reflective account of the challenges they faced in cultivating a culture of support among faculty colleagues and administrators for the academic transition course initiative. Participants will be invited to discuss educational leadership opportunities they see in their own academic communities for developing new kinds of academic transition support for first-year students.