First Year Symposium

The goal of the First-Year Symposium program is to help students build on the skills they learned in high school in the areas of critical thinking, speaking, and writing.  Skills they will continue to use and refine during the rest of their academic careers.

Teachers of such a course will naturally ask what constitutes competent student thinkers, speakers, and writers, and further, how they become competent in these three areas.

The process involves an interdependent learning situation: thinking stimulates speaking and writing; speaking and writing stimulate thinking. The relationship is reciprocal and each is to be understood as an underpinning of the others.

The guidelines below represent the ideal results of the First-Year Symposium program. Since the development of skills is an ongoing process, ideal results seldom occur at the end of a two-semester course. By describing ideals, the guidelines set goals that give the instructor as much freedom as possible to choose methods which complement a particular teaching style while providing all students with a minimum number and type of common experiences.

Writing Goal: Students will be able to communicate ideas effectively through writing at a level appropriate for first-year undergraduates. 

Reading Goal: Students will be able to read complex texts critically at a level appropriate for first-year undergraduates. 

Information Literacy Goal: Students will be proficient in the application of information literacy to their writing, speaking and research. 

Oral Communication Goals: Students will be able to communicate ideas effectively through oral presentation at a level appropriate for first-year undergraduates. Students will learn the skills needed to become effective participants in discussion. 

Additional FYS objective related to life-long learning: Students will acquire the basic skills and knowledge to take ownership of their learning.

Writing: Since not all professors teach writing in exactly the same way, there can be no ideal number or standard set of writing assignments. Methods will vary. Some writing teachers will wish to concentrate on a few papers brought through many revisions to a stage of high polish; others may wish to have students attempt many rough drafts with only one revision for each. Because of such differences, these guidelines are broad, and when amounts or types of writing are specified, they must be understood as minimum requirements.

1. Competent student writers will show discrimination in their choices of content. They will be able to limit the topic and select content most easily by identifying early in the composing process the purpose of the writing and by then using this purpose to determine an appropriate balance between the concerns of the writers, the audience, and the message. In order to make sound choices about the content, they must be constantly aware that each member of the communication triangle has interests, background, and biases that cannot be ignored.

2. Competent student writers will understand and employ recognized principles of organization.

The use of principles of organization creates discourse that has a clear focus, a logical progression of ideas, and an effective beginning and ending. Such principles include these:

1. Formulation of a thesis sentence that will be developed in the paper. The thesis should be fairly brief and limited and should inform the audience what the paper will assert.
2. Development of a suitable number of paragraphs, each expressing a major division of the topic. Each major division should be expressed in general, abstract language but must be developed through specific and/or concrete language.
3. Arrangement of developmental paragraphs in a recognized pattern such as time, space, or order of importance.
4. Arrangement of sentences within paragraphs in a sequential pattern.
5. Recognition and use of transitional devices.
6. Creation of a satisfactory introduction that develops audience interest, indicates the purpose, and usually designates the thesis.
7. Creation of a satisfactory conclusion that restates the thesis, summarizes major points, and achieves a sense of finality.

3. Competent student writers will acknowledge that their readers’ ability to understand and/or accept the communication can depend upon adequate attention to the conventions of writing.

They will therefore consistently practice editing skills to eliminate errors in sentence structure, diction, and usage:

1. They will avoid using fragments, run-ons, dangling or misplaced modifiers, and other structural errors resulting in sentences which lack unity, coherence, and emphasis.
2. They will replace vaguely suitable words with precise diction appropriate to the context and eliminate jargon, clichés, malapropisms, and meaningless phrases.
3. They will avoid discriminatory, noninclusive language.
4. They will correct errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

4. Competent student writers will employ an effective style appropriate to the writing situation and reflective of the individuality of the writer. A skillful style moves writing beyond the merely "correct" and gives to it interest, rhythm, and emphasis. It demands appropriate choices in tone and vocabulary and includes sentence variety. In short, effective style is the polish which distinguishes good writing.

5. Competent student writers will possess the research skills necessary to conduct college-level investigation.

They will demonstrate research skills in a fully documented paper, produced according to accepted academic requirements (preferably MLA). Therefore, their papers will focus on a properly limited topic and will have a clear thesis (central focus). They will have an adequate number of appropriate sources and will include outline, note cards, text, footnotes or endnotes, and bibliography. Their papers will meet all foregoing standards of organization, clarity, and effectiveness and will demonstrate the ability to quote, summarize, and paraphrase accurately. Students will, in addition, acknowledge original sources, will demonstrate understanding of the proportions between their own material and paraphrased quoted material, and will understand and avoid plagiarism.

Types of Writing

Because this course prepares students for their college, graduate, and life careers, emphasis should be placed on the kinds of writing these careers will require: exposition, argument/

persuasion, critical analysis, and research. Four exercises will comprise the common writing experiences for all students.

1. Through exposition, students will cover a variety of organizational patterns.
2. Through argumentation/persuasion, students will learn the art of skillfully arguing and disagreeing.
3. Through critical analysis, students will present a cogent evaluation/judgment of an event, work of art, or piece of writing.
4. Through research, students will learn to investigate and document meaningful topics within an area approved by the instructor.

All stages of the writing process should be attended to in the course. Some writing assignments may therefore consist of first drafts, notebook, or in-class entries or essays. Other assignments may require revising, editing, or polishing revised work.

Oral Communication

Oral communication encompasses a wide variety of speaking experiences, but the nature of this course places emphasis on learning through discussion. While the art of group discussion requires certain communicative skills that are peculiar to it, discussion also develops more general oral abilities that are used in other speaking environments such as interpersonal communication or formal public speaking. In other words, by learning and practicing group discussion skills, the student will also be developing some ability to communicate effectively and ethically in a range of situations.

1. Competent student discussants will appreciate the role of group discussion in learning and, therefore, in a liberal education.

2. Competent student discussants will contribute to the development and maintenance of an effective group:

1. Creating a warm, accepting, non-threatening atmosphere that helps rather than hinders the free expression of feelings and thoughts.
2. Participating appropriately and encouraging the participation of others.
3. Recognizing that evaluation of one’s own and others' thoughts is an integral part of the discussion process.
4. Attending regularly and preparing thoroughly.
5. Asking pertinent questions to stimulate discussion and clarify ideas.
6. Listening attentively to others in order to understand them and to be able to restate what they have said.
7. Listening critically to others in order to determine when they have not understood and to evaluate the quality of their arguments.
8. Recognizing when efforts to communicate are not successful and intervening in ways that reduce the effects of such failures.

3. Competent student speakers will develop and practice the effective oral skills necessary for other communicative situations:

1. Speaking in a clear, reasoned, and assertive manner.
2. Organizing and expressing thoughts in ways that enable others to understand.
3. Expressing disagreements with others in ways that do not damage the relationship.
4. Adapting to the audience and the situation.
5. Developing an aura of credibility and trustworthiness.
6. Giving encouragement and support to others to build their self-esteem.
7. Recognizing the effects of nonverbal behavior.

4. Competent student speakers will develop and practice ethical communication skills:

1. Assuming responsibility for one’s remarks and for contributing to the group’s success.
2. Showing respect for oneself and others and using inclusive language.
3. Avoiding behavior that creates barriers to communication such as interrupting, monopolizing, using ad hominem, inappropriate competing, withdrawing, etc.

5. Competent student speakers will display a certain eloquence of expression:

1. Using appropriate pronunciation and standard English construction.
2. Using appropriate vocabulary.
3. Using appropriate conversational style.
4. Using appropriate vocal qualities such as articulation, rate, and projection.
5. Avoiding excessive, vocalized pauses, meaningless expressions (e.g., "You know"), distracting gestures, and other behavior that inhibits the full comprehension and attention of listeners.
6. Speaking with assurance, poise, and confidence.

Types of Speaking

Because this course stresses discussion, a number of formal group discussions should be required for each semester. The students’ future courses and experiences may call for speaking activities that are quite different from group discussion. Therefore, while the students will pick up some general oral skills through discussion, some exposure to public speaking, oral reading, and interpersonal communication is recommended.

Public speaking experience will be accomplished through an oral report on a student’s research paper. Such an activity will give the student the experience of standing before a group and presenting a more fully developed idea than is required in discussion. It should also help the student understand the difference between oral and written style. Practice in oral reading through the reading aloud of student papers or excerpts from texts or articles can help with vocal expression, articulation, pronunciation, etc. Attention to interpersonal skills, in the larger group or in dyads, can improve listening, clarity of expression, self-concepts, adaptation, and empathy.

Guidelines and Structures Common to Both Writing and Oral Discourse

Organizational Patterns or Discourse. As an aid to development of communication and thinking skills, students need to understand and be able to use the organizational patterns of discourse: description, illustration, definition, comparison/contrast, classification, process, analysis, and cause/effect. Familiarity and practice with these patterns should be part of the students’ learning. Exposure to these patterns can be given through a combination of reading, speaking, and writing experiences.

Minimum Assignment Requirements. Learning the skills of writing and oral communication requires frequent practice of the various components/stages of these skills. Therefore, one substantial assignment that leads to the development of facility in either writing or oral communication should be required per cycle. To help the students gauge their progress in developing these skills, four formally evaluated writing and four formally evaluated oral assignments are expected for the first semester.

The Research Project, which consists of a formal oral report and a thesis research essay, will take a substantial amount of time during the second semester. The focus on this work will reduce, possibly by half, the number of formally evaluated assignments required for this semester.

Evaluation. No directives can be given concerning how you ought to evaluate students’ discourse, but comment can be made concerning the varieties of evaluation methods. Note the term "evaluation" rather than "grading." Although not all student discourse should or must be graded, students have a right to expect some response to their work. Often this evaluation is informal: a paragraph of response, an in-class reaction, a personal conference, a conference with student peers. Because current practices among our faculties demonstrate the value of conferences in the teaching of communication skills, two student-instructor conferences each semester are part of the common core of activities for the Symposium program.

Academic Advising. Because of small classes and frequent contact, Symposium instructors act as academic advisors to their students, usually in an informal capacity. They can give general program advice and refer the student to more specialized sources of information when necessary. If the student’s major is in the instructor’s field, the Symposium instructor can then directly offer specialized advising sources.