Embracing the Challenge of the Year

The Developmental Education Conference held at Disney's Coronado Springs in March 2008 was rich in scope and design. The conference's host, Houghton-Mifflin, included a variety of sessions to meet the needs of all attendees. I attended several sessions; however, one session, "Embracing the Challenge of the First Year" stands out above all because of my interest in helping to advance University College. Dr. Mary Stuart Hunter, the session's presenter, focused one of the most important questions students ask when they begin college these days: "Why is the transition to college so difficult?" With this question in mind, Dr. Hunter shared theory, research, and promising practices as relates to the first-year college experience. She described a range of programs offered by college and universities and the role faculty can play in making students' first-year experience rewarding and memorable.

Dr. Hunter stressed the importance of

• defining first-year student success,
• planning early for assessment,
• developing and communicating learning outcomes,
• sending consistent messages to students and faculty,
• communicating high expectations of students, and
• using assessment results to improve teaching and learning.

As a result of attending this and other sessions, I came away with new insights on how WSSU can enhance its developmental education program.

Developmental Studies

This conference which was sponsored by H & H Publishing Company, Inc. focused on helping students to get ready for college level classes by taking remedial work at the college or university. We discussed strategies to improve reading, writing, math and study skills. The workshops I attended dealt with study skills. Students have to have a study plan and faculty have to help remind them of their plan if they are to be successful. The hardest thing for any student is time management and students need to have a firm handle on their class and study times. Several methods such as a daily record they keep and analyze to find out where their time goes, meeting with tutors and teachers for help at the first sign of trouble understanding in class were discussed.

Developmental Education Conference

Two weeks ago, I attended Houghton Miffin's "Meeting the Challenge, A Faculty Programs Conference on Developmental Education" at Disney's Coronada Springs. I attended sessions on Conceptualization in Basic Mathematics, Engaging All Students in Mathematics, and Teaching Study Skills for Mathematics. I also heard a keynote speech on Embracing the Challenge of the First Year.

In the Conceptualization in Basic Mathematics session, we examined exercises that would encourage students to apply and formulate mathematical concepts. The exercises presented were ones that asked students to determine impossible answers, to decide the operation required, and to explore the reasonableness of an answer.

In the Engaging All Students in Mathematics session, we discussed the importance of engaging all students in mathematics, and we looked at ways that we can ensure that all of our students learn mathematics.

The session on Teaching Study Skills for Mathematics was extremely informative. It focused on how math study skills can be incorporated into mathematics courses. We discussed student motivation, reading the text, completing homework, taking notes, test anxiety, and test-taking skills.

The keynote speech was given by Mary Stuart Hunter, the Director of the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at the University of South Carolina. She shared theories and research about why students have such difficult times transitioning from high school to college. She described the role faculty can play in this transitional period, and she described various programs offered by colleges and universities.

This conference was great!