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A Fresh Perspective on College Freshmen
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Beloit College Mindset List c/o 2011 Members
of the class of 2011, entering college fall 2007,
were mostly born in 1989.

• For these students
• Fox has always been a major TV network.
• Russia has always had a multi-party political
  system.
• What Berlin Wall?
• They have never rolled down a car window.
• Wal-Mart has always been a larger retailer than
  Sears and has always employed more workers than
  GM.
• MTV has never featured music videos.
• "Google" has always been a verb. (taken from c/o
  2010 list)
• Thanks to MySpace and Facebook, autobiography can
  happen in real time.
• The WWW has been an online tool since they were
  born.
• When else fails, the Prozac defense has always
  been a possibility.
• Rap music has always been mainstream.
• Womens Studies has always been offered as a
  major on college campuses.
• They will encounter roughly equal numbers of
  female and male professors in the classroom.

Source www.beloit.edu/publicaffairs/mindset/2011
.php
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National Norms for Fall 2007

• Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP)
  
• Freshman Survey administered by the Higher
  Education Research Institute at UCLA.
• Conducted for 42 years Over 13 million student
  participants
• Over 1900 schools
• Published each year in The American Freshman
• 2007 data based on responses of 272,036 students
  at 356 4-year colleges and universities
• Examines characteristics and expectations of
  incoming students before starting college
• http//www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/index.php

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Most Frequent Habits of Mind

• Students were asked to identify how likely they
  were to engage in each of the following over the
  last year
• Support opinions with a logical argument -
  58.2
• Ask questions in class - 54.4
• Revise your papers to improve your writing
  - 46.8
• Seek feedback on your academic work - 43.9
• Evaluate reliability of info you received -
  35.0
• Explore topics on your own - 29.0
• (even though it was not required for class)
• Look up scientific research articles and
  resources- 21.2

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Parental Involvement

• Survey assessed students perceptions of parental
  involvement with college-related activities.
• Latino students were more likely to report too
  little parental involvement.
• Activity White Latino
• Choosing college activities 16.1 43.3
• Choosing college courses 18.6 43.5
• Dealings with officials at college 12.1 32.2
• Application to college 11.9 27.3
• Decision to go to college 4.2 11.5
• Note Indicates percentage who reported too
  little parental involvement for each activity.

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Social Networking Sites

• According to the HERI website, 94 of first year
  college students use them.
• 49 reported spending 1-5 hours per week on sites
• 32 reported spending none to less than 1 hour
• 19 reported 6 hours or more
• Women were more likely than men to use them
• Doesnt appear to take time away from studying
• (51 reported spending 1-5 hours per week on
  HW/studying)
• Those with high use do report less confidence in
  study skills and time management

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Additional Findings

• Research indicated an increase in overall
  importance of diversity issues.
• Slight increase in the importance of
  environmental issues (although not as high as it
  was in early 90s).
• When asked about reasons for selecting a
  college/university, results indicated slight
  increases in the following factors
• Academic Reputation
• Job Outlook for Graduates
• Graduate School Admissions
• National Rankings
• Cost/Affordability

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FIUs CIRP Data

• In 2007 FIU participated in the CIRP survey
• 2114 FIU first-year students participated
• The following data offers comparison between
  responses and perceptions of FIU students and
  their national counterparts.

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FIUs CIRP Data

• Demographics
• Ethnicity FIU National
• White 20.7 86.7
• African Am./Black 8.9 6.8
• Latino/Hispanic 71.6 5.3
• Asian Am./Asian 5.2 3.8
• Pacific Islander/Hawaii 0.5 0.8
• Other 6.0 2.5
• English is Native Language 61.9 96.7
• Note This reflects data from only those
  students who completed the survey

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FIUs CIRP Data

• High School Information
• HS Type FIU National
• Public 60.1 82.1
• Public (charter/magnet) 20.4 3.3
• Private religious 15.6 9.9
• Mostly white 23.1 59.3
• Mostly non-white 42.6 7.4
• Note This reflects data from only those
  students who completed the survey

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FIUs CIRP Data

• Parental Information/Background
• Income Info FIU National
• Income 100,000 25.0 38.5
• College Degree FIU National
• Father 45.1 52.6
• Mother 44.7 52.8
• Note This reflects data from only those
  students who completed the survey

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FIU freshman spent more time than their national
counterparts

• Socializing with someone of another racial/ethnic
  group
• Using the internet for research or homework
• Volunteering
• Working more than 20 hours per week
• Tutoring another student
• Studying with other students
• Reading for pleasure

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FIU freshman spent less time than their national
counterparts

• Smoking cigarettes
• Talking with teachers outside of class
• Discussing politics
• Being bored in class
• Drinking beer/wine/liquor
• Feeling depressed
• Feeling overwhelmed by all they had to do

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Millennial Students/Helicopter Parents

• Born between approximately 1978 - 1995
• When these students were growing up, they were
  highly scheduled and highly sheltered by their
  parents.
• There are strong bonds between these students and
  their parents and they tend to stay connected.
• They are expected to excel. If they do not excel
  and their parents have the financial means, they
  are provided tutors and coaches.
• Parents expect that individual attention, extra
  help, and other institutional resources will be
  provided. They expect us to protect and educate
  their students.

Source Muntz, P. (2004). Millenials Go to
College, Journal of College Admission. Book
Review.
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The Millennials

• Also called Generation Y, Net Generation, Digital
  Generation, Baby Busters
• Techno-savvy always connected
• Self-confident, optimistic, hopeful,
  goal-oriented, and success-driven
• They are diverse and inclusive
• More global, civic, and community-minded than
  Generation X
• Entrepreneurial
• Approach learning from a collaborative approach
• Believe that education is a good thing
• Thrive on flexibility and space to explore
• Value guidance and partner well with mentors

Source Who Are the Millenials? - Fact Sheet
by Deloitte Consulting (2007).
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High School Experience

• Their days were rigidly controlled
• They often had a personal relationship with a
  teacher which helped to motivate them
• Assigned reading was discussed thoroughly in
  class
• Students were tested frequently covering short
  spans of material
• Their view of learning was often memorizing a
  collection of facts
• Their view of teaching was transmission of
  knowledge from teacher to student
• Many had strong support systems of family and
  friends to turn to for advice, help or comfort

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Their First Year

• sharing a room for the first time
• writing a check for the first time
• finding their way around a new place
• learning a new set of rules and procedures
• adapting to living away from home
• learning to manage their own time
• interacting with people with diverse backgrounds
  and values
• adapting to different classroom norms
• learning how to learn
• altering or developing study habits
• exploring their sexuality
• thinking about their future
• feeling like a small fish in a big pond

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Student Development Theory

• Astins Involvement Theory
• Challenge and Support Sanford
• Identity Development Theories (racial, ethnic,
  GLBT, gender)
• Schlossbergs Transition Theory
• Kohlberg Moral Development
• Chickering Vectors of Identity
• Perry Intellectual Development

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Chickerings 7 Vectors of Identity Development

• k

Moving Through Autonomy Toward Interdependence
Developing Competence
Managing Emotions
Vectors are major highways for journeying toward
individualization-Arthur Chickering
Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships
Establishing Identity
Developing Purpose
Emotional, Interpersonal, Ethical Intellectual
Development
Developing Integrity
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Perry
Facts Black and White Right and Wrong
Just as lost
What knowledge is to them
How they view other students
Container to be Filled
Intellectual Development of new students
Structure, interaction, experience
How they view self
Ways they learn
Source of ALL Knowledge
Memorizing the facts
How they view the instructor
What learning means
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What Can We Do?

• Realize that entering freshmen were high school
  students three months earlier.
• Be explicit about your expectations and the type
  of learning expected in your course.
• Communicate directly the importance of attending
  class.
• Teach students how to prepare for college
  assignments and exams.
• Provide assessment and feedback often.
• Ask students questions during class.
• Encourage students to ask questions or seek
  assistance as a normal part of the learning
  process
• Maximize active, experiential, problem-based
  learning minimize lecturing.
• Use cooperative (team-based) learning
  extensively, both in and out of class.
• Highlight major points at the beginning of the
  lecture.
• Summarize periodically during each class and at
  the end of a lecture.
• Design course in terms of learning outcomes,
  instead of course objectives.

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WHY?

• Our task as educators of freshmen students
  involves far more than teaching the content of
  our courses. We need to teach these students how
  to become effective life-long learners.

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• Charlie Andrews
• Director, Academic Advising Center
• Undergraduate Studies University Park
• www.fiu.edu/advising
• andrewsc_at_fiu.edu
• 305-348-2892