Academic First Year Experiences Archive

Archived Events, Handouts, and Websites from the Freshman Faculty Series

• Breaking the Spell of Self-Absorption: Introducing Freshmen to the World Beyond Themselves (3/26/08)
• Crash Course for Faculty Teaching Freshmen (9/08)
• DIGLA: Taking Your Class Out to Learn in Los Angeles (2/3/09)
• Effective Writing Assignments: A "Core Commitment" across Disciplines (11/14/08)
• Freshman Connection Learning Communities: Collaborating for Success (2/23/09)
• Freshman Convocation 2009. The captioned video (should be available in late September 2009). Meanwhile, here are photos from Associated Students.
• Handling Disruption and Distress in the (Freshman) Classroom: Mark Stevens (Director of University Counseling Services) and Jennifer Zvi (Center on Disabilities) (12/2/08)
• Help! My Freshmen Are Out of Control! (4/30/08)
• "Reflections on the Teaching of Freshmen" with Dr. James E. Sefton (9/25/08)
• Scaffolding Freshmen without a Hanging: Pedagogy in the Freshman Classroom (4/14/08)
• Teaching First Generation Students: Understanding and Supporting the Learning Process for First Generation College Students at CSUN. (5/5/09)
• Teaching Tips Index: this fabulous website, originally posted by the Faculty Development folks at Honolulu Community College, offers a comprehensive list of Teaching Tips beautifully grouped in usable categories (such as Core Abilities, Critical Thinking, The First Day, and How People Learn). A classic! (That is: clearly old but really good.) URL: http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/teachtip.htm
• Faculty Book Group: Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education by Kathleen F. Gabriel (offered in spring and summer 2009; currently available again in fall 2009)
• Tomorrow's Professor is a mailing list and blog archive that offers "Desk-Top Faculty Development, One Hundred Times A Year." It is sponsored by the Stanford Center for Teaching and Learning.
• The Toolbox: A Teaching and Learning Resource for Faculty: "The Toolbox is an online professional development newsletter offering innovative learner-centered strategies for empowering college students to achieve greater success. The newsletter is published six times a year, and the online subscription is free." Recent issues have included topics such as "Organizing Teaching to Promote Learning," "Web-Based Assignment Venues," "If You Are Here, Raise Your Hand: The Attendance Dilemma," and "Going Retro--Teaching Techless" (among others).
• When Students Don't Do the Reading, What Can You Do? Resource list of suggestions and recommended readings.
• For more information: x6535 or email cheryl.spector@csun.edu