[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-595525-105":59,"doc-detail-595525-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","building-connections-in-the-first-year-undergraduate-experience-article-2","Building Connections in the First-year Undergraduate Experience - Article 2","","Concerned with first-year student success and retention in their program, the authors designed and implemented a compulsory set of learning experiences to support students’ transition from high school to university. The initiative focused on strengthening students’ sense of belonging within a community of learners and clarifying how their first-year core courses relate to one another. Strategies were refined through student feedback over multiple years, and the paper reports pedagogical moves, lessons learned, and findings with implications for broader teaching contexts.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/building-connections-in-the-first-year-undergraduate-experience-article-2/595525/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/building-connections-in-the-first-year-undergraduate-experience-article-2/595525.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Well Done","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What problem does the paper address regarding first-year students?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The paper addresses low success and retention among first-year students, evidenced by attendance issues, late or poorly done assignments, and students reporting feeling overwhelmed.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What are the two main goals of the compulsory learning experiences?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The experiences aim to (1) develop students’ sense of belonging to a community of learners and (2) articulate the interrelationships among their first-year core courses.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How was the Music Immersion initiative developed and studied?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The authors designed the initiative at the department level, implemented it as a series of required experiences for all first-year students, obtained permission to conduct action research, and then reported conclusions drawn from their data analysis.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},595525,1792161927,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":46,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":31,"preview_page_count":4},5909892210082,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/56001069da27c9f41e8?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1789614185077863061","The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning  \n\n| Volume 4 | Issue 2 | Article 2 |\n| --- | --- |\n| 12-31-2013\u003Cbr>Building Connections in the First-year Undergraduate Experience\u003Cbr>June Countryman .\u003Cbr>University of Prince Edward Island, [jcountryman@upei.ca](jcountryman@upei.ca)\u003Cbr>Andrew Zinck\u003Cbr>University of Prince Edward Island, [azinck@upei.ca](azinck@upei.ca)\u003Cbr>Follow this and additional works at: [http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea](http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea)\u003Cbr>[http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2013.2.2](http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2013.2.2) |  |\n\nRecommended Citation  \nCountryman, June . and Zinck, Andrew (2013) \"Building Connections in the First-year Undergraduate Experience,\" The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 2.  \nDOI: [http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2013.2.2](http://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2013.2.2)  \nAvailable at: [http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol4/iss2/2](http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol4/iss2/2)  \nBuilding Connections in the First-year Undergraduate Experience  \nAbstract  \nConcerned about the success rate of new students in our program we designed and implemented a compulsory set of experiences which aim to support students in their transition from high school to university by 1) developing their sense of belonging to a community of learners and by 2) articulating with them the interrelationships among their first year core courses. We initiated various strategies which we have refined in response to student feedback over the past three years. In this paper we describe the pedagogical moves that constitute our initiative and the lessons we learned. We explore essential academic and personal issues that first-year students in all programs face. We share our research findings and address the big ideas that could be applied to any discipline or multi-disciplinary program.  \nPréoccupés par les taux de rétention des étudiants de première année, les auteurs ont conçu et mis en oeuvre un ensemble d’expériences obligatoires dont le but est d’aider les étudiants à effectuer la transition entre l’école secondaire et l’université. Ils ont établi deux objectifs : (a) développer chez les étudiants le sensd’appartenance à une communauté d’apprenants et (b) démontrer les corrélations qui existent entre les cours de base de première année que les étudiants suivent. Diverses stratégies ont été entreprises et plus tardaméliorées, à partir des rétroactions fournies par les étudiants au cours de l’étude de deux ans. Cet article présente une explication des actions pédagogiques de cette initiative et explore les questions essentielles académiques et personnelles auxquelles sont confrontés les étudiants de première année dans tous les programmes. Les résultats de cette étude sont résumés et les idées générales qui peuvent s’appliquer à n’importe quelle discipline ou à des programmes multidisciplinaires sont présentées en détail.  \nKeywords  \nacademic engagement, first year university experience, significant learning  \nThis research paper/rapport de recherche is available in The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning:  \n[http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol4/iss2/2](http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol4/iss2/2)  \nCountryman and Zinck: Building Connections  \nWe are professors in a small Bachelor of Music program in Eastern Canada, where we both instruct core courses required of all first-year students. We were troubled by the number of students who struggled with the combination of academic, personal and social demands of university life, as evidenced by attendance issues, late and poorly done assignments, and verbal admissions of feeling overwhelmed. We determined that a first-year initiative situated at the department level—outside individual courses but more intimate than the campus-wide offerings—might help our students negotiate a successful transition from high school ","cbCaiqyLG6BbIm5W","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqyLG6BbIm5W","pdf",190441,"English","# Abstract\n# The Music Immersion Initiative\n## Rationale and retention trends\n## Design and implementation approach\n## Research process and data analysis\n## Conclusions and transferable ideas","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the paper address regarding first-year students?\",\"answer\":\"The paper addresses low success and retention among first-year students, evidenced by attendance issues, late or poorly done assignments, and students reporting feeling overwhelmed.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the two main goals of the compulsory learning experiences?\",\"answer\":\"The experiences aim to (1) develop students’ sense of belonging to a community of learners and (2) articulate the interrelationships among their first-year core courses.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the Music Immersion initiative developed and studied?\",\"answer\":\"The authors designed the initiative at the department level, implemented it as a series of required experiences for all first-year students, obtained permission to conduct action research, and then reported conclusions drawn from their data analysis.\"}]","Building Connections in the First-year Undergraduate Experience - Article 2 | PDF",1792081319]