Turning Seniors into Freshmen

Article Author name(s): Donna Rodrigues and Cecilia Le Title of article: Turning Seniors into Freshmen Title of journal: Educational Leadership Date of publication: April 2011 Volume of the journal: 68 Issue number of the journal: 7 Article Page numbers: pp. 79-83 Intended audience: high school students, parents, educators http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr11/vol68/num07/Turning-Seniors-into-Freshmen.aspx

Key Points: A “college success course” was created for seniors as a small 7-12 school is Massachusetts. In a deliberate effort to better prepare students for college, students meet twice weekly for the second half of senior year. The program was specifically targeted towards students who are first generation college students; many who speak English as the second language and whose families fall below the poverty level. The four main areas of focus are cognitive strategies, content knowledge, academic behaviors, and contextual skills and awareness. Colleges were finding that new freshman were unaccustomed to the expectation of college level work, and were often hesitant to meet with professors for additional help outside of class time. They also found that students would get lost in a lecture and the huge class size they were enrolled in. Classes within the success course are modeled after typical structures found within college classrooms, and are presented to students in different teaching styles that may be found in a college class. This is to accustom students to bigger class sizes, more writing assignments, better note taking skills and how to recognize the most pertinent information being taught. Students are given an opportunity to fail in this nurtured setting so that students become aware of the expectations of college before they actually get there and end up learning the hard way. Students are encouraged to set small goals along the way and pace themselves when working on larger research projects, and not neglecting the daily assignment either. The first round of participants were surveyed in a long term study, and 88 percent of students who participated in the program had either successfully graduated or were still on track to graduate within six years of college enrollment. Statistics of the college bound students who graduated high school before the program started in 2004 showed only 50 percent were experiencing the same successes.  

Relevance: As I was reading this article, I acknowledged two things. The first is that this is a small school, and the senior class is very manageable in size. The second thing to consider is that this class takes place over the second semester, when students are already aware that they have been accepted into college and may know which school they are attending. It’s nice that the resources of this program are specifically geared towards those students who know they will need better organization/ prioritization skills to get by in college. In a college setting, students must create a support group for themselves, because as we all know, college is not the protected nurturing place we are used to at home and in most high school settings. It’s a new dance that requires preparation and practice.