Becoming A Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education

Reimagining the First-Year Experience Curriculum

How can FYE programs organize their curricula and programming around the “why” of higher education to create learners with strong habits of mind? Join Harrison Kleiner, Heidi Kesler, and Matt as they explain how to reframe your FYE program around three “Big Questions” that take all that we do in FYE and connect it to the meaning and purpose that students need to understand in the first year of college. These big questions clarify FYE objectives for faculty, students, and administrators alike, creating a more intentional and impactful first-year experience.   Additional Resources: * Read the Episode Summary. * Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d [https://a.co/d/ePiv11d]   About Matthew Sanders Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu. About Harrison Kleiner Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education.  Harrison can be reached at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu. About Heidi Kesler Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu [heidi.kesler@usu.edu].

Cultivating Habits of Mind

Another example of a common reading that addresses students' most pressing concerns is Cultivating Habits of Mind by Harrison Kleiner. Join Matt Sanders and Harrison Kleiner as they explore how this common reading helps students realize that college offers them more than just information and credentials. Higher education helps students cultivate intellectual and behavioral habits of mind that affect how they think about and engage the world for their entire lives. These habits are the lasting outcomes of college and the primary driver of future success. Additional Resources: * Read the Episode Summary. * Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d [https://a.co/d/ePiv11d] Presenter Information About Matthew Sanders Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu. About Harrison Kleiner Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education.  Harrison can be reached at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu.

Becoming A Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education

One example of a common reading that addresses students’ most pressing concerns about meaning and purpose is Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education by Matthew Sanders as a common read. Join Heidi Kesler and Matt Sanders as they explore how this common reading sparks critical conversations about learning, challenges students’ assumptions about college, promotes intentional action, fosters accountability, and encourages students to confront the deeper why questions that shape their educational journey and life after college. Additional Resources: * Read the Episode Summary. * Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d [https://a.co/d/ePiv11d] Presenter Information About Matthew Sanders Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu. About Heidi Kesler Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu [heidi.kesler@usu.edu].

Rethinking the Common Read

Common reading programs can foster a valuable shared intellectual experience, but only when the topic and content students read is truly common to all students and their most pressing concern as they begin college:  meaning, purpose, and the “why” of higher education. How could FYE change if we had a truly common reading for all students and faculty over time? Join Harrison Kleiner, Heidi Kesler, and Matt Sanders as they discuss how Utah State University transformed its common reading program to have greater impact and meaning for students and faculty. This approach reimagines the common read to directly connect students with the mission and purpose of higher education. Additional Resources: * Read the Episode Summary. * Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d [https://a.co/d/ePiv11d]   About Matthew Sanders Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu. About Harrison Kleiner Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education.  Harrison can be reached at harrison.kleiner@usu.edu. About Heidi Kesler Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu [heidi.kesler@usu.edu].

Re-Examining Our Models of Change in the First-Year Experience

FYE seeks to change students’ mindset and readiness so they will persist to graduation. But what is the model of change we are using in our FYE programs? And is that model of change intervening at the level of meaning or at just the level of “what’s” and “how’s”? Join Matt Sanders and Heidi Kesler as they explore different models of change and how FYE programs can intervene at the level of meaning to help students discover purpose, build confidence, and confront today’s widespread crisis of meaning. Additional Resources: * Read the Episode Summary. * Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d [https://a.co/d/ePiv11d]   About Matthew Sanders Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at matt.sanders@usu.edu [matt.sanders@usu.edu].   About Heidi Kesler Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at heidi.kesler@usu.edu [heidi.kesler@usu.edu].