This is a somewhat delayed response to your earlier Listserv requests for freshman-seminar course syllabi, particularly those that have a holistic focus. Attached herewith is a file containing the syllabus for our seminar, ID 117: The Art of Being Human which has a holistic development focus. A second file is attached containing a review and synthesis of content derived from textbooks and related publications focusing on the first year seminar from which the content of our course was derived. The last attachment is a file which contains information on the teaching-learning process for the seminar, i.e., classroom pedagogy and out-of-class assignments.
I feel that a seminar with a holistic focus which extends beyond the strictly cognitive domain of study skills courses and academic first-year seminars to include social, emotional, and physical elements of personal adjustment and growth has three key advantages:
(1) Holistic development seminars may effectively address the full range of factors that contribute most to student attrition. National research has shown that the vast majority of students who depart from college do not flunk out, i.e., only about 20% are dismissed for academic reasons. Most students who attrit are in good academic standing at the time of their departure, suggesting that their withdrawal is due to non-academic reasons and that freshman seminars which focus exclusively on academic or cognitive skill development will be missing the boat with respect to addressing the key issues that underlie the brunt of student attrition.
(2) Holistic development seminars that focus on the development of the whole person are congruent with the broadening goals of liberal learning and are more likely to be perceived as an integral part of the general education curriculum, thus enhancing their perceived credibility (and credit worthiness). This union of holistic development and liberal education also can serve as a foundation for first-year seminar partnerships between student development professionals who are conversant with the holistic development concept, and college faculty who are conveyors of the formal general-education curriculum. [For a classic article articulating this marriage, see: Kuh, G., Shedd, J. & Whitt, E. (1987). Student affairs and liberal education: Unrecognized (and unappreciated) common law partners. Journal of College Student Personnel, 28(3), 252-259.]
(3) Holistic development seminars more effectively address the institutional purposes expressed in college mission statements. Research has revealed that the vast majority of college mission statements refer to intended student outcomes that are not strictly academic or cognitive in nature. See the following supporting references:
Astin, A. W. (1991). Assessment for excellence: The philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education. New York: Macmillan.
Lenning, O. T. (1988). Use of noncognitive measures in assessment. In T. W. Banta
(Ed.), Implementing outcomes assessment: Promise and perils (pp. 41-52). New Directions for Institutional Research, No. 50. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Finally, with respect to Nicole's question about impact of particular wellness content on student outcomes, research conducted at the University of South Carolina on a sexual health component/intervention delivered as part of the freshman seminar curriculum has revealed that freshmen reported more responsible sexual behaviors than did peers who were not enrolled in the course (e.g., safer sexual behaviors included increased use of condoms, increased abstinence, and fewer sexual partners). For a more complete description of the intervention and the methodology used to assess its impact, consult the following reference:
Turner, J.C., et al. (1994). Promoting responsible sexual behavior through a college freshman
seminar. Aids Education and Prevention, 6(3), 266-277.
- Joe -
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© 1999 thomas.kesterson@kctcs.net