Most Lawrentians look back on Freshman Studies as a valuable and important course, often crediting it with teaching them how to think. When there are complaints about the course, they usually focus on inconsistencies in demands and expectations, and on the inability or unwillingness of some instructors to give detailed, constructive criticism on student papers. Students also suggest that the quality of discussion varies, with some sections wandering aimlessly and others moving in lockstep behind the instructor and a few aggressive students. In general, students acknowledge their own shortcomings; many admit, for example, that they do not do all of the readings. They also insist that they are most upset not by poor grades or negative comments, but rather by a sense that an instructor could not or would not help them to improve.
Teaching Freshman Studies begins by being mindful of these issues: setting expectations that are appropriate for the course and its goals, providing opportunities for detailed commentary and constructive work on writing, fostering lively and insightful discussion, and encouraging students to perform at their best.
Setting Expectations | Writing | Class Discussion | Plenary Lectures | The First Day
Setting clear expectations begins with the basic schedule given during the Summer Symposia to faculty teaching the course. The schedule establishes when each work will be covered, provides dates, locations, and speakers for Freshman Studies lectures, and sets the date of the mid-term exam.
In fleshing out the schedule and transforming it into a proper syllabus, most instructors make specific assignments, dividing up the works in ways that will help students to focus their attention and make good use of their time. Instructors may tell students to pay especially close attention to particular chapters or passages, but they should not invite or encourage students to skip other parts of the text. As was noted earlier, Freshman Studies has always been a course in which students, instead of relying on excerpts or snippets, examined works in their entirety.
Several “instructor’s choice” days are usually provided in each term. Instructors may use these days in a variety of ways, and most give careful thought to what they want to accomplish with them. Some use them as “extra” days to follow-up discussions that may have been rushed earlier. Some use them to get an early start on the next work. Some use them to focus on student writing.
Students should be informed that attendance is expected at all lectures. Some faculty emphasize this point by giving short written assignments involving the lecture, such as a synopsis or reaction to its argument. Most instructors also make class attendance and participation mandatory, and many base some portion of the final grade on class participation. To discourage uninformed debate, some instructors also require regular written summaries or reactions to the day’s assigned reading.
Two formal examinations, a mid-term and a final, are traditional in Freshman Studies. As described above, a committee of the teaching staff generally creates common exams, but because sections approach works differently, their use remains a matter of each instructor's choice. Quizzes, though deemed an appropriate teaching device in the course, also remain optional. Instructors should encourage students to think about possible exam questions and topics arising from each work as they read and discuss them.
Over the history of Freshman Studies, faculty have expressed more concern over the quality of student writing than any other matter. Clearly, the improvement of basic writing skills requires a great deal of attention from the faculty in the program.
Our goals as teachers of writing are fairly modest. We believe that students should leave the course knowing how to make and develop an argument. Thus, we discourage students from thinking of their papers as summaries or personal narratives or op-ed pieces. Instead of disputing Plato’s view of censorship, for example, students should be asked to analyze or account for his position.
It is worth adding that although student papers may refer to points raised in lecture or discussion, they should not rely on outside research. Students should be able to get everything they need from the text itself—and should be actively discouraged from going to the library (or online) for further information.
Students are expected to observe correct form, usage, and grammar in their papers, and the degree to which they do so should be reflected in the marking of papers. A dictionary and a style manual are required reference tools for the course (and, by implication, serve as institutional standards). Students who do not already own a good standard dictionary of the English language should be asked to purchase one. In addition, students must purchase an approved style manual which is provided to all faculty teaching in the course. Students are asked to refer to it for information on style and grammar.
The principal responsibility for teaching writing skills in Freshman Studies rests in the hands of the faculty. For this reason, instructors are expected to provide extensive written comments on all student writing. Many instructors also discuss writing in class on appropriate occasions and schedule conferences with each student, beginning with the student's first paper, to discuss individual problems and progress.
The Center for Teaching and Learning offers assistance to students needing special aid with their writing. CTL peer tutors are there to supplement, and not to replace, the course instructor. Faculty should do their best to indicate errors of style, grammar, and punctuation in all student writing and to comment upon organization and argumentation as well as the clarity of thought. It is important that these comments offer encouragement as well as critique, and that they provide substantive suggestions for improvement. Perfunctory treatment of student papers conveys to students the erroneous notion that writing is not important in the course. Thus it is important that papers be marked with care and promptly returned.
Ordinarily, the CTL assigns a tutor to each section unless an instructor requests otherwise. The CTL also maintains a pool of tutors who can be assigned to individual students in any section of Freshman Studies (or any other course which requires writing). Tutors typically consult with instructors to determine what assistance students need. The early identification of students needing tutorial assistance and frequent follow-up conferences with those students are vital to the success of the program.
Class discussions of primary works have always formed the basic approach to learning in Freshman Studies. The instructor's task is not to tell the students how to view the works but rather to guide them in exploring the works for themselves. In that sense, they must serve as leaders of educated discourse, involving students in the critical examination of a work. It is for this reason that classes are kept small, scheduled whenever possible in seminar rooms, and conducted informally.
Instructors bear the primary responsibility for generating class discussions. But they should not attempt to summarize material or provide pat conclusions. Instead, they must help students to discover for themselves what is important in each work by showing them how to pose intelligent questions about it and how to seek their own answers. As moderators, instructors must encourage the timid, restrain the over-assertive, and keep the discussion from drifting too far afield. Above all else, they should do their best to demonstrate that well directed discussion trains people to think clearly, not just to vent opinions. Thus students need to be told at times to rethink their ideas, to clarify statements, and to provide proof for a claim—not merely to carry on lively debates.
As the discussion leaders and moderators, faculty members have a great deal of leeway in setting the tone and focus of the course. Regardless of how instructors choose to direct discussion, they should try to center it on the work itself; that is, extract examples directly from the work, use the work itself to answer questions that arise, and bring the class back to the work if discussion starts drifting off course.
While there are no limits to where discussion of a given work might lead, there are several directions that instructors generally agree are not productive. First, to complain, even in jest, about having to teach Freshman Studies does not set a positive tone for discussion. Equally damaging is to question a work’s value or appropriateness for Freshman Studies. The instructor’s role is to help the students learn how effectively to assess the merits and flaws of any work, not just those they like or admire.
Students need to be made to understand that they, too, bear a responsibility for the success of the course. They must carefully study the assigned works before class, attend all sessions regularly, and actively participate in discussions. Some instructors seem to be able to get students to accept these responsibilities in an informal way, whereas others must rely on more formal assignments and class procedures to do so.
To encourage student engagement, some instructors give out suggested discussion topics in advance of class. Other instructors designate specific students to pose questions or advance their points of view at the start of each session. Still others assign one or more students as discussion leaders, and a few even arrange semi-formal debates. Discussion based on possible exam questions or paper topics generally captures student interest. A few instructors have students write out answers to quizzes or practice exams in order to focus their thoughts for later discussion. All instructors stress the importance of careful preparation, informed thought, and precise statement in order to help students strengthen basic skills of analytical thought and expression.
The CTL offers regularly scheduled workshops at which experienced peer tutors help other students to develop their discussion skills. At these workshops, tutors encourage students to feel more comfortable about speaking in class and suggest strategies for improving class participation.
A plenary lecture or performance is usually given for each work. Lectures are normally given in Stansbury Theater, and all students enrolled in Freshman Studies are expected to attend. Lecturers, if they are from the Lawrence community, are encouraged to give a synopsis of their lecture to faculty beforehand. This provides faculty the opportunity to plan discussions leading up to the lecture and to develop assignments focused on the lecture. It also allows faculty the opportunity to ask specific questions about the lecture or work. As noted earlier, faculty are strongly encouraged to attend the staff luncheons following the lectures.
The first Freshman Studies class is held a few days before the start of all other classes, emphasizing the special status of the course and providing instructors with a chance to articulate expectations that apply to almost every course on campus.
The first day can be used for taking roll and reviewing course policies, but some time should probably also be devoted to an initial discussion of the first work on the reading list. A close reading of the first page can be a very enlightening and productive exercise. Whatever approach you take, you should remember that the first class sets a tone for the rest of the term—and in the case of fall term, perhaps, for the next four years. Students are told to read the first work in its entirety before coming to your class, and you’ll want to make sure they’re not sorry they did.
