An Integrated Approach to Life Skills,
Academic Success, and Well-Being

Section1 3Dbook
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  • A research-based, student-focused curriculum for the first-year experience

  • A sophisticated, fresh approach to improve student performance

  • An innovative solution that promotes self-reflection and communication

  • Engaging content that creates a transformative experience for students

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Reflect. Journal. Communicate.

Acknowledging that all students contribute valuable, relevant, and diverse experience and wisdom, the textbook and student journal will guide students to own their experience and approach college, and life, with purpose.

Journaling activities promote self-reflection, application of concepts, and critical thinking while simultaneously building writing and communication skills.

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Section2 Journal
Contents
Part I: The Transition to College
  1. Begin with Purpose: Own Your College Experience
  2. Mindset Matters
  3. Engaging Diversity and Why It Matters
  4. The Practice of Engaging Diversity
Part I Toolbox: Tools for Managing Assignments, Workload, and Projects
Part II: Collaborating and Communicating
  1. Collaborating Effectively
  2. Collaboration and Teamwork in College
  3. Being a Writer
  4. Writing in College
Part II Toolbox: Tools for Managing Your Writing Process and Projects
Part III: Beyond College
  1. Investing in Your Well-Being
  2. Investing in Your Future
Special Features

What Instructors Are Saying

This text goes beyond what I’ve typically seen in first-year experience textbooks and includes topics that are crucial to student success such as diversity and mindset. These topics have an impact on a student’s ability to thrive in the undergraduate experience AND have direct relevance to the skills that employers want to see in new hires. —Delia Ann Manginelli, Tennessee Tech University, TN

It includes all the components needed for the student success classes but is organized in a way that provides the application and tools in a clearer manner. This is helpful to the students as well as the instructor. – Rula Mourad Koudsia, Dept. Chair and Associate Professor, Ivy Tech Community College, IN

It is ready to go with great activities that really put the power into the students’ hands. – Andrea Bright, Academic Counselor/Lead Instructor Lake Land College, IL

This is a rather vibrant and daring approach to engaging students to be something new: a student who truly cares about learning. The emphasis on writing as a lifelong example of how we learn is refreshing. The authors are on the right track. —Barbara Audet, Austin Community College, TX

Easy-to-Implement Instructor Resources

Like students, instructors bring diverse experiences and wisdom to first-year programs. This book honors the various contexts in which instructors work and lends itself to adaptation and flexibility.

Online Instructor Resources offer multiple ways to support learners and engage diverse perspectives through self-reflection, assessment, and small- and large-group interactions. Resources include PowerPoint® presentations, assessment software, lesson plans, chapter assignment grading rubrics, and other teaching aids to help instructors easily transition to this new program.

 

No assembly required! Online Instructor Resources also include PowerPoint® presentations, assessment software, lesson plans, answer keys, and other teaching aids to help instructors easily transition to this new program.

  • Chapter Frames
  • Sample Syllabi
  • Dialogue Drivers
  • In Chapter Features
  • In Your Own Words
  • Reading Checks
  • Course Journal Assignments
  • Grading Rubrics
Written by Educators, with a Unique Perspective from a Student-Author
Amy Lee

Amy Lee
Amy Lee serves as Director of the First Year Writing Program and Director of Faculty Engagement for the Career Readiness initiative at the University of Minnesota. With a specialization in pedagogy and faculty development that centers equity and access, she has written numerous books and articles focused on undergraduate teaching, learning, and the first year experience. She is a Morse Distinguished Professor and a recipient of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award.

Margaret Delehanty Kelly

Margaret Delehanty Kelly
Margaret Delehanty Kelly is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. Margaret has an M.A. in English as a Second Language and has spent the last 17 years teaching at the University, 11 of those teaching courses in the First-Year Experience program in the College of Education and Human Development. She is currently the Training and Development Coordinator for the instructors of the First-Year Experience course.

Catherine Lee

Catherine Lee
Catherine Lee is an undergraduate student at Occidental College majoring in History and minoring in Cognitive Science and East Asian Studies. Her most formative experiences have come from studying abroad in China and South Korea, exploring nature during her childhood in Minnesota, and traveling with her family. She is passionate about education and history, and plans to attend graduate school in the future.

Maggie Bergeron

Maggie Bergeron
Maggie Bergeron is a Lecturer at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches a number of courses, including Career Readiness. As a first-generation college graduate, she is committed to helping students navigate their own college experiences with plenty of tools and resources they can then take into the rest of their lives. Maggie graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, holds a B.F.A. in Dance and an M.A. in Teaching.