Why get involved with First-Year Seminars?
"...getting to know the students in a small setting, and covering discussion topics
of interest to them and me. It is the type of course that I enjoy teaching, with discussion
of societal implications of technology, ethics and the engineering profession."
Art Motta, ME/NUCE
"I received an e-mail from a student who said I was the best professor he had and
he was interested in Civil Engineering because of my course." "...I decided to try
something different." "I learned a lot about their anxious feelings towards university life."
Walt Kilareski, CE
"Can you remember what your freshman experience was like? Maybe you had the opportunity
to interact with engineering faculty in a small class setting; I did as a freshman at
Penn State in 1973. It helped me to better understand what engineers do and made me feel
better about my choice to pursue engineering. And it provided some focus for the many
basic education courses that freshmen must take."
Andy Lau, EDSGN, FYS Coordinator
Introduction
This guide is an aid for College of Engineering (COE) faculty who want to teach a First Year Seminar (FYS). It is meant to answer some of your initial questions and to help you understand the logistics of teaching a FYS.
Brief History
Penn State's COE has had freshman seminar courses at various times in its history. In 1995, a colloquy was held in the COE to discuss ways to improve undergraduate education, particularly in the first two years. One of the results from that meeting was a plan to develop more small seminars for freshman across the College. The next year, in February 1996, the chair and chair-elect of the University Faculty Senate appointed and charged the Special Committee on General Education to review the General Education requirements. One of the recommendations from this committee in October 1997 was for one-credit FYS's. These become required in Fall 1999.
Rationale
The seminars are intended to do a better job of engaging incoming students by involving them in small, discussion-centered classes taught by full-time, regular faculty.
Examples of Some Successful Seminars
Enigmatic Engines — In this half-semester course, students take apart, explore, and reassemble a Briggs & Stratton engine. Focuses on teamwork. Upper division engineering students help to facilitate and discuss their majors.
Environmentally Conscious Engineering — Introduction to current engineering practices and projects that are environmentally friendly: recycling electronic components, remote waste clean-up, passive noise control, and others.
Toy FUNdamentals — Students brainstorm, design, build and test toys. Market research with local elementary schools and interaction with industry are involved. Upper division engineering students help to facilitate.
Scheduling
A variety of delivery modes and scheduling patterns are encouraged, including offering seminars in the dormitory or commons in conjunction with a Special Interest House, during the evening, or during the summer. The distribution of time between in-class and outside preparation may vary from course to course. To earn one credit, a student should spend, in a semester, at least forty hours of work that is planned and arranged by the faculty (ACUE Policy C-1). Example seminar patterns include:
- One 1-hour class, once a week for 15 weeks (with at least 25 hours of assigned outside work or activities).
- Two 1-hour classes, or a single 2-hour class each week for 15 weeks (with at least 10 hours of assigned outside work or activities).
- Two 1-hour classes each week for 7 weeks and one class in the 8th week.
Resources
Support is readily available in the College of Engineering through the Coordinator of First-Year Seminars. First and foremost, there is financial support available both for the offering of seminars and for their initial development.
There is a multitude of other resources that are available. See the Resources link in the frame on the left.
The FYS Coordinator, Andy Lau, is available to answer your questions and provide further details. Contact him at (814) 863-9075, or via e-mail at andylau@psu.edu.