Integrating New Students into a School - A Start-up Day

A short description of the day

I was asked to take part in Amok's start-up day for new students at the beginning of the summer. My role was to share my experiences of studying on the course with the new students, and give them some tips about how to complete the studies successfully. There were also three other former students telling their stories. We all came from slightly different backgrounds and studying strategies, and therefore we all had something special to distribute. I mainly concentrated on encouraging the new students to complete part of their studies abroad.

The event was held partly in classrooms and partly in a big hall, where they had built big tents and a Laplander's hut (tepee) for carrying out workshops. The former students were located in one of the tents. There were other people giving out information concerning the studies in the other stuctures, too. The idea was that the new students would visit all the workshops in their study groups. One visit always lasted for 10 minutes.

At the beginning of each visit we had just over a minute per former student to briefly tell about our experiences. Or that was the plan at least. Very soon we found out that we were talking too much and there was not enough time left for discussion.

After the fifth group or so it started to feel that I was just repeating myself. I had to remind myself that the audience was different every time. We had over ten groups visiting us so the day was rather hectic. I personally think that there could have been more breaks between the groups. However, after the event we had a lovely buffet waiting for us. It was nice to exchange some thoughts with the other former students and staff members. I found the atmosphere very relaxed and supportive - Amok must be a really nice place to work.

How I found the day

All in all I found the day very useful. I wish we had have such a day at the beginning of the studies. The new students were interested in hearing our experiences and I hope they got some good tips that will make their studies not just easier but also more efficient. I have always emphasised the importance of international knowledge. It was great to see that in each group there was one or two students showing interest in doing training or some courses abroad. It would be great to hear if there are more students actually going this academic year!

The problem with such start-up days is the amount of information. There is no way one can remember everything the following week. Maybe providing the students with contact information (at least web addresses to our e-portfolios) and photos of the former students would be useful. At least I would be more than happy to reply to some questions afterwards, too (as long as it does not become a daily task).

Organising a start-up day in such a way

I think the start-up day was successful. First of all it was probably a good way to do team-building. In a classroom setting it is difficult to talk with anyone else than the one next to you. Once the whole group is walking around chatting with others become easier. Getting out from a classroom makes learning also more fun which - in my opinion - also provides a better learning outcome. It was also a good way to introduce the new students with such an approach - they are after all the future teachers.

The students had been given some questions they had to find answers to. I am not sure they always remembered to ask those questions though. And if they did, how well do they still remember them? It maybe a good idea to provide each group now with the answers by posting them on Optima (and why not also names and links where to find more information).

All in all I think Amok has improved the start-up day since I started my studies. Yet I think it would be good to have the iVet group taking part in it next time. I am sure they could have the very same workshops in English. This would make them see the big picture and also meet other teachers whose optional studies they will anyway take.

Adopting the approach in my teaching

I think the day was a great learning opportunity for me as well. I got some ideas how to use the very approach in my teaching. So far I have come up with three different situations where I could use it. I think the beauty of the approach is that it can be used in various situations, environments and groups of people. I personally think that learning should be made fun: it increases students' involvement and school attendance. Changing the approach to learning in the classroom setting or having a totally different learning environment is always refreshing. Next I will discuss briefly the three situations where I could use the very approach.

1. Team-building day for my new students

If I was to organise a team-building day for my new students I would divide them in small groups in which they could visit different workshops. I would have workshops run by a student counsellor, a school secretary, a tutoring teacher, a co-ordinator of international affairs and tutoring students. In each workshop they would have some tasks to complete. This way the new students would get to know the personnel and other students. They would also learn more about the school than just by listening some mass lectures. I think this would be a great way to integrate the new students as well as do team-building. It is important to make the new students to feel welcome in order to decrease the amount of dropouts among the vocational students.

2. Introducing the optional studies for the students

In the college I work, we have a day when all the optional courses are introduced by the teachers. I think the day could be organised with this approach as well. In addition to the teachers, the third year students who have already taken the courses could also be there sharing their experiences.

3. Presenting the outcomes of group works

I like students doing small researches in groups of three or four. However, they are a bit bored with presenting the outcomes always in the same way (Powerpoint presentations in front of the classroom). I think I will ask them to prepare something different next time. I cannot build up any tents or tepees in our sport hall but surely we can have some presentations outdoors and use our building in a more innovative way than normally. I would like to see if this would make them to prepare their presentations with more enthusiasm. I would expect the audience to show more interest in the presentations too. This would obviously increase learning: they would not just learn the content but also different ways to give presentations.