New Interdisciplinary Science Course for First-Year Faculty of Science Students - Overview and Preliminary Results from the Pilot

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

The paper outlines a new interdisciplinary foundations course piloted in fall 2014 for first-year Faculty of Science students at McMaster University. It frames the course as research-based learning that builds essential undergraduate skills, helps students use institutional resources, and encourages reflection and supportive networks to improve success and retention. The study describes course design and implementation, upper-level peer support, and presents preliminary pedagogical results assessing impact and student perceptions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Pilot course overview and purpose

Literature on student transition and engagement

Course design, implementation, and support

Preliminary pedagogical results

New Interdisciplinary Science Course for First-Year Faculty of Science Students: Overview and Preliminary Results from the Pilot Robert Cockcroft, Sarah L. Symons, Lori Goff, Kris Knorr, Sarah J. Robinson, Geneviève van Wersch, Devra Charney, and Michael J. Farquharson McMaster University Transitioning to university can be a daunting endeavour, with student success dependent on a myriad of effects (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Understanding how to navigate university systems, who to meet, how to get help, how to study, and what goals to set can be hard to grasp (Valle et al., 2003). We provide an overview of the new interdisciplinary foundations course, which piloted in fall 2014, for first-year Faculty of Science students at McMaster University. This course provides a taste of research-based learning (Healey, Jenkins, & Lea, 2014) and develops essential skills that are important for an undergraduate degree andfuture academic or career plans, exposes students toa wide range of departments and programs in the Faculty of Science, and invites students to reflect on their academic journey and how it may be changing as a result of the course. This customized approach intentionally teaches students how to locate and use institutional resources and the expectations that the institution has of its students, while offering opportunities to create networks of support essentialfor student success and retention (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, & Gonyea, 2008), and speaks to a number of considerations highlighted in the literature (e.g., Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010). Other factors considered include balancing the needs of the Faculty, the resources available, and the goals, demands, and interests of the students. In this paper, we describe the course’s design, structure and implementation, key components of the course, support from upper-level science students, and preliminary pedagogical results, which assess its impact on and perception by students. Introduction There is potential for students who transition from high school to university to fall short of what is expected of them, not because they are incapable, but simply because they are much less familiar with their new environment and how to work within its framework. For students to successfully navigate through their university experience, a wealth of skills, knowledge, experience, and a network of support and contacts are needed. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of the firstyear, first-term course developed at McMaster University that helps science students prepare for their university careers and beyond by introducing students to the people, programs, resources, and attitudes that they will need. There is a vast amount of research literature on the transition from high school to university and from level to level within university, best teaching practices, peer mentorship programs and how students can help one another through their university experiences, and interdisciplinary courses, programs, and critiques (see reviews by Chen, Hsu,& Wu, 2009; Franks et al., 2007; Knight, Lattuca, Kimball, & Reason, 2013; Krometis, Clark, Gonzalez, & Leslie, 2011; and Stone, Bollard, & Harbor, 2009) . We discuss some of this literature below – in particular, papers that recommend approaches to create such a first-year course as described above, that support students through their transition to university. Kuh et al. (2008) explored the relationship between student behaviours and institutional practices that foster student success. These authors examined academic achievement and persistence to determine how students’ engagement (as measured by the National Survey for Student Engagement; Kuh, 2001) during the first year of university can impact subsequent years of their degree and whether the effects of engagement differ according to factors such as socioeconomic background and prior academic achievement. They concluded that

FAQs

What problem does the course address for first-year science students?

The paper explains that students transitioning from high school may fall short of expectations because they are unfamiliar with the new university environment and how to work within it.

What learning approach does the course emphasize?

It provides a “taste of research-based learning” while developing skills relevant to an undergraduate degree and future academic or career plans.

What does the paper report regarding course evaluation?

It describes the course’s design, structure, and implementation, notes upper-level science student support, and presents preliminary pedagogical results assessing impact and students’ perceptions.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay