Navigating emerging adulthood through the Collegiate environment

The first year experience of identity formation,

belonging and purpose

Lincoln College Snapshot

•Established 1952, women admitted 1973

•Methodist – UCA

•Affiliated with all three Adelaide Unis

•Not physically located on any campus

•226 rooms, possible 230 residents

•4 heritage buildings, 3 middle aged buildings

•4 live on staff, Resi tutors, Academic tutors, SWOTs, College Club

•95-98% pass rate; very high retention rate – 98%

•51%men 49% women (this year!) 1/3 international, 1/3 country SA, 1/3 rest of Oz

•Uni percentages vary each year

Transition issues

• New environment – physical, language, cultural etc

• Larger class size and different teaching format

• Academic expectations- assessment, tasks, end goals etc 1 year to 4 years – light further away

• Support structures • Increased freedom and

flexibility plus increased accountability

• New ways of thinking • Dependent - independent

Lincoln Philosophy Lincoln College takes the view that a residential college is a cross section of the university – a cross-section that integrates the community rather than segregates it. Personal, academic, and professional enrichment and development are keys to a fulfilling student life and beyond.

Collegiate life should also contain large elements of social enjoyment, and fun, and provide spaces where students can meet each other informally for interaction.

Community designer Jim Diers calls these “bumping spaces”

College is a space where life-long friendships are formed, beliefs tested, and resilience bolstered. A College should be a step between home and independence, where new patterns of thinking, acting and behaving are forged in an environment of conversation, participation, discovery, forgiveness and exploration.

Lincoln staff are guides, mentors, touchstones and occasionally, but lastly, disciplinarians. The College philosophy, support structures and policies acknowledge and embrace this whilst ensuring that residents are focused on their academic goals and that risk is mitigated.

Why this philosophy? What are we on about?

• Resilience, Confidence, Happiness and Flow (Seligman, Diener, Harris)

• Agency and ownership (Erikson, Schwartz, Giddens)

• Emerging adulthood (Arnett) • Risk and experimentation

(Buckingham, Williams, Foucault et al)

• Belonging and identity formation (Butler, Buckingham, etc)

• Learning styles and attitudes (Kolb, Carol Dweck etc)

• Safety and Community (Diers, Diener)

So what are the core things we need to focus on for first years?

• Managing expectations • Orientating them to new

language and environment

• Setting boundaries • Growing confidence

through doing • Monitoring their progress • Counselling them • Supporting them • Guiding them towards

agency and resilience

Key assumptions

• Not all students begin university life or college life from the same starting position – one size does not fit all: gap years, learning styles, mental health, resilience, cultural baggage, country/city; private/public; boarding/daybug

• Belonging is a crucial aspect of identity formation, identity formation is a key aspect of emerging adulthood

• See the diamond

• It’s a partnership

Erikson – psychosocial moratorium ...sees adolescence as a critical period of identity

formation, in which individuals overcome uncertainty, become more self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and become more confident in their own unique qualities. In order to move on, adolescents must undergo a “crisis” in which they address key questions about their values and ideals, their future occupation or career, and their sexual identity. Through this process of self-reflection and self-definition, adolescents arrive at an integrated, coherent sense of their identity as something that persists over time. (Buckingham )

Fluidity emerges and the idea of Emerging adulthood 18-late 20s

– “In sum, the results indicate that emerging adults are diverse in their characteristics, and that their diversity should be kept in mind in any attempts to characterize them as a group.” Schwartz et al p.224

– “The shared experiences of this group led him [Arnett] to conclude that merging adulthood is an age of feeling ‘in-between,’ experiencing instability, exploring identity, believing in possibilities, and engaging in self-focus. Emerging adults spend these years finding out who they are and where they want to go with their lives. Arnett’s survey research supports his conclusion that becoming adult is more about the process than the outcome.” Focal Point, Summer 2010, p.8

“Resilience is understood as a dynamic process by which individuals utilize available personal characteristics and ecological resources to successfully reflect on and negotiate life as it is faced...Ahern (2006)proposed that adolescent resilience is an outcome derived from the interactions between personal attributes and characteristics, and available social support, community resources, and health-promoting interventions. Strengthening social capital, through strengthening family, friends, school, local community, governance, and cultural attributes, promotes resilience at the interacting systems level...Strengthening resilience can enhance competent functioning and life outcomes...” Smith et al pp1-2 SAGEopen

Don’t give them a blind-folded triple-jump hurdle race (Assoc Pro Jan Orrell)

• Set them up for success and manage their expectations before they even walk through the door

• How do we do this? – Application forms

– Website

– Facebook photos and groups

– Tours

– Interviews

– Room allocations

Getting to know you...

• Tell me about your family

– 1st to go to uni?

– Lots of siblings?

• Travel

• School and your community

• Work experience

• Health and wellbeing – 4 questions

• Study stress

• Learning style

– Group work

– Independent

– Music/silence

Getting to know all about you

• Why have you chosen this course – what about this area of study makes your brain happy? – Work experience

– Got the marks

– Make money

– Want to help people

– The stall at open day was exciting eg robots, CSI

• Tell me about an achievement you are really proud of – Sports related more often

than not or

– Maths/science comps

– Going on exchange

• Tell me about an important decision you have made – Schools choices, gap year,

uni degree choice

Purpose and prospects

• What would your best friend say is your worst quality? – How might this impact on

your ability to live in community?

• How are you hoping to change or transform yourself over the coming years at College – Goals, hopes? – “I want to become more

independent”

• what do you know about college life? – Nothing – My sister went/goes to ... – A little bit a friend of a

friend

• What are you most looking forward to?

• What are your fears and concerns? – Homesickness – Distraction – Wrong course

Hurdle questions Do you understand that you are signing a legal contract?

Do you understand that you are responsible for all fees and charges?

Do you agree to abide by all of the rules and conditions of the College and these include state and federal laws?

So you agree to be a proactive participant in college life and share your gifts and talents with others?

Do you understand that you must make satisfactory academic progress?

Do you think you understand what my expectations of you and what the community expectations of you will be?

Welcome them to their new home

Greet them with enthusiasm and welcome

them to your community. Help the parents to

let go. Help the students to venture forth.

Move in marathon weekend Saturday - AF

• Door signs and corridors set up

• Student leadership groups

• Sat morning move in

• Sat lunch with parents

• Sat arvo separation – Senior staff n parents

– Tutors n residents

• Corridor meetings

• Academic dinner

• Building parties

• While many living-learning communities are primarily for freshmen, the residential college model emphasizes a living arrangement where freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students live under the same roof. As a result, students who return to the community, often for multiple years, play an important mentoring and leadership role in the environment.

• “The multi-generational/multi-disciplinary nature of a residential college is a really important component,” said Shushok. “Students reside together and mentor each other; there is a greater sense of connection to the place. It becomes a home, and you teach the people who follow you how your home operates.” – http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2010/09/0901

10-dsa-rescollege.html

Why we don’t have a separate Fresher O week

Fire safety; mental health first aid certificates; senior first aid certificates; conflict resolution Referral and advice Crisis management and critical incidents Event management Duty officers Pastoral care

Residential Tutor Team

Sat Arvo induction

• Safe sex

• Party safe

• Safety in general

• College rules

• Kitchen duty

• Where stuff is

• Who people are

• Fair treatment and EO

• Noise

• Hygiene and room management

• Fun fun fun

• Getting to know them...

What you can and

cannot have in

your college

room?

dogs?

Dogs?

NO

Normalise Homesickness; celebrate difference

Identify it

Talk about the triggers

Tell them what they can do to reduce it

Join in join in join in!!!

Get them to self identify into groups - the are you sporty or non sporty etc.

Move in marathon weekend Sunday

• Breakfast – proof of life

• Real farewells

• Academic induction

• Big brother Big sister lunch

• College Club Craziness and merchandise – tribal gear!

• Fresher Item – purpose = not hazing!!

• Quiz night

Learning styles

Academic wellbeing inc questionnaires

Identifying at risk students

Triage academic issues

Basic tutorial organization

Time management

Proof reading

Referral to Uni support structures

Basic pastoral care ID The A Team

2013 sem 1

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective lincolnites

• Critical Thinking • Arts & Science Industry

Panel Session • Maths drop-ins • Public Speaking &

Confidence Building • Referencing • Essay Writing • Pain & Injury Management • Other area-specific tutorials

88 all up!!

• Health and Wellbeing fair • Guest speakers • Port n Talks • Leadership Forum • Exam preparation • Critical feedback on first

assignments • Degree change advice • General catch ups • Gelati night in swot vac • Wednesday night drop-ins

in the dining hall

7. I generally complete any test questions at the end of textbook chapters I read for class. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 8. I have difficulty preparing for quizzes or tests because I have trouble predicting what will be

in them. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 9. I generally depend on last minute cramming (the day before the exam or the day of the exam) to do well in tests and quizzes. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 10. I am comfortable approaching my University instructors/tutors/lecturers outside of class

and in class. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 11. I am comfortable with the size of my classes. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 12. I participate in classroom discussions. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never

13. I participate in online academic discussions a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 14. I regularly attend informal study groups with class mates. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 15. I am comfortable finding information in the libraries and using the data bases. a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 16. I use mainly library and academic resources for my research

a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 17. I use mainly the general internet for supporting evidence and research for assignments a) Always b) Often c) Sometimes d) Never 18. I believe that I need help in the following areas (circle however many are appropriate): math skills writing skills note taking skills

Academic induction is not just about resources and names

• Get them to meet in their cohorts again • Get them reading and discussing (yes, all 90 of

them) a fact sheet about transitions to uni and the things that new students find most challenging etc

• Then, get them to comment on it in pairs, small groups and the full group.

• Voila! Critical thinking 101, group presentation 101 completed

• Confidence by doing

Academic Night

Student Wellbeing officers: listen, support,

encourage and befriend. They may also provide

access to information and resources the student

may be unaware of. They do not take

responsibility for fixing a student’s problems!

To everything there is a purpose

• Monday – Uni Walks, formal dinner with guest speaker, barn dance,

• Tuesday – Sexual Assault and Harassment talk – all colleges *MOU

• Fire-walk and pancake brekkie, Scav hunt SWOT

TEAM IN ACTION

For everything there is a reason

• Risk Assessments

• Aims, objectives and reasons eg – Get to know names

– Orientate to North Adelaide

– Catch public transport for the first time

– Find the major landmarks in Adelaide CBD

To everything there is a season

• Thursday – Games on the lawns, pub night or cafe crawl

• Friday – Amazing race, flash mob, Fringe Friday or Disney Club

• Saturday – beach day and chillax night (Woodstock)

• Sunday – AF, games

Belonging – the simple steps

• Know their names

• Help them to know your name

• Make it easy for them to identify who to go to for what – Signage signage signage

– Colour code it

– T shirts and merchandise

– Posters

– Intranet

– Facebook groups

• Establish the rules – there is no such thing as a stupid question, the only stupid thing is to not ask the question

• Talk to them about homesickness – normalise it

• Be approachable

• 7 times to remember new stuff

• Keep telling them that you are there for them

Our Community

• On the corridor

• In their buildings

• In their academic cohort

• In their ethnic cohort

• In their religious cohort

• Interest groups

Door signs, meetings, birthday calendar

Parties and inter-building comps

International/religious events

Tutorials, get togethers

Choir, gardening, chess, LAN parties

The external community bringing us together

• Establish the expectations early eg we do birthing kits as a whole college event within the first two weeks

• TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE AMAZING THINGS FOR OTHERS AND THEREFORE CHANGE OURSELVES

The Principal’s extra mile

• Write them congratulations cards on their achievements – especially their first semester grades

• Have a contingency for grief – eg flowers and cards when grandparents die

• Learn the fresher dance

• Suppers and home cooked meals in Whitehead

• Swot vac and exam bakes and walk arounds

• Get in the garden • Go to a pub night/sport –

that’s when they tell you stuff

• Send their parents photos • Thank them, praise them

in public