Strategies and Techniques

Marie E. Foley

CAMPUS RESOURCES FIELD TRIP

This activity, used in basic writing class, introduces first-year students to various student resources on campus. It does so in an active way--requiring them to seek out the information rather than sit passively while someone tells them.

Description of the activity

Divide the class into groups of 4-5 and assign each to one campus office: DSPS, the Career Center, the Tutorial Center, the Transfer Center, the Counseling Center, the Nurse's Office. (Call these offices ahead of time to ask permission and to ask them to help inform the students.) Students are to go to their designated office, talk with the personnel and gather brochures and information. They have 30 minutes to do this.

Either that day or the next class day, students collaborate on a written report (or write up separate reports as homework); this provides them with a grade for the project. Each group then reports their information and distributes brochures to the rest of the class. Because students are very receptive to information that comes from their peers, they are attentive. Some become better informed about campus resources than if they had listened passively to a "pitch" from a representative of that office.

Materials needed:

None (but advance phone calls should be made)

Classtime involved:

60-90 minutes