Practice Makes Perfect? University Students’ Response to a First-Year Transition Course

Oct 15, 2026

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研究聚焦于一年级衔接课程“Foundations for Learning”中所培养的学术技能：学生在完成课程后，从自身视角继续练习这些技能，并在后续课程中观察其对学习态度与大学体验的影响。文中指出部分人将衔接课程误解为补救项目，相关研究与问卷反馈显示新生常感到无助、缺乏发言权，并在学习负荷与期望差距中需要结构化支持。作者进一步描述课程设置及其面向新生的学术文化与学习策略训练。

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Course: Foundations for Learning

4 Practice Makes Perfect? University Students’Response to a First-Year Transition Course Catherine Browning Concordia University Suzanne Le-May Sheffield Dalhousie University This paper shares new insights on the first-year university student transition experience. Our research focuses on students’practice of academic skills developed in a ‘Foundations for Learning’ course, from their own perspective, after they completed the course. Once they had an opportunity to practice what they learned in subsequent courses we investigated how such practice impacts students’ attitudes toward learning and their university experience. Introduction One of the challenges faced by transition course educator-advocates like ourselves, derives from a misperception that preparatory courses are remedial initiatives. John Gardner (2001) says “that only the fittest students survive and flourish, and the weakest fall by the wayside” as “academic Darwinism”(p. 5) . He writes that,“in spite of more contemporary concerns about student attrition, this attitude persists among many college faculty, administrators, and trustees”(p. 5) . We suggest that the struggles of first-time university students say more about their need for formal assistance through a transition course like Foundations for Learning, than it does about not belong- ing or not having the ‘right stuff.’ In response to our survey question,“What should universities know about first-year students?” participants suggested that universities and faculty should not assume that university-appropriate skills are taught in high school: The expectations are so much greater in terms of paper content and workload [than] in high school. I realized [that] university is a really independent learning process and I found so many things I don’t know. Foundations for Learning gives students the opportunity to learn the skills they will need for their entire academic career, without taking for granted that you know what many students would think is common knowledge, like using the library or how to reference a book. In their study of three British Columbia post-secondary institutions, Andres, Andruske, and Hawkey (1996) report that without access to or knowledge of resources and success strategies, first-year students feel “helpless and powerless” and “voiceless”(p. 124) . Our respondents expressed similar feelings: The workload and expectations are such a shock. I was wondering how to learn things by ourselves. University is a scary place, especially in your first year. It’s just as hard, if not harder to go to university at 30. Typically, skills’ course assessments report higher retention and completion rates, positive student attitudes toward university, higher grades as they progress through university than they otherwise might have received, and increased social interaction with faculty and other students, often regardless of students’ age, social class, gender or ethnic/racial/cultural background (Sherman, 1991; Hyers & Nesest, 1998; Starke, Harth, & Sirianni, 2001; Schnell, Louis, & Doetkott, 2003) . Students themselves are cognizant of the value of transition courses. One York University study (Grayson, 1994) found that 40-50% of first-year students did not feel that they had been academically or emotionally prepared for university, and 60-75% felt that they were not prepared in terms of work habit and study skills. When asked if they thought a firstyear preparatory credit course would be a good use of their time, 40-50% of York’s student respondents agreed that yes, it “would be a good, or a very good, use of time.” Grayson suggests that: Answers to this question confirm that firstyear students recognize that they have difficulties not currently covered by the formal curriculum and that they need help in dealing with such matters….While the offering of such a course is unlikely to be a panacea, if offered properly, it could be a step in the right direction of de

FAQs

本文研究的核心问题是什么？

研究关注学生完成“Foundations for Learning”后，是否会继续练习课程中学到的技能与方法；并进一步分析哪些因素影响他们在后续课程中应用所学，以及练习带来的收益。

为什么作者认为衔接课程对新生很重要？

作者指出存在将衔接课程视为补救措施的误解，但新生因资源与成功策略不足而常感无助、无力、缺乏发言权。课程提供正式支持，帮助学生适应更高的学业期待与学习方式。

“Foundations for Learning”课程的基本安排是什么？

课程为3学分“半学期课程”，在Dalhousie University于Fall 2000至Winter 2007间开设；2006-2007学年文理学院每学期开设三个分班，理学院每学期开设一个分班，主要面向30学分或以下的一年级学生。

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa