New Student Success Courses
The Division of Student Development, in collaboration with TRU World, has developed two new 1 credit courses to help students achieve greater success in our multicultural classrooms. Courses were piloted in fall and winter sessions and are scheduled for Fridays fall '09 and winter '10. They run for the first 7 weeks only of each semester.
Although both courses were developed with international student integration in mind, domestic students can also benefit. In particular, STSS 106 provides a foundation for students in programs that feature culturally diverse group work or communication, as well as programs that aim to prepare students to work with multicultural populations. STSS 107 can benefit domestic students that have been away from school for a while or those who simply wish to improve the quality of their academic work.
STSS 106 – 01 Intercultural Learning PerspectivesSTSS 107 – 01 Performing to Academic StandardsPlease see the TRU Calender for semester dates and times.
STSS 106 – 01 Intercultural Learning Perspectives
“The intercultural knowledge shown in the class is very helpful for my Marketing and International Business courses, and also helped me to deal with the intercultural issues in my classes better.”
The goal of this one-credit university course is for students to become self-directed learners aware of and responsible for their educational experiences within diverse classroom settings. It will address variations in educational and cultural perspectives and build global competencies that enhance communication skills for confident participation in academic discourse and multicultural group work. Students will integrate academic and communicative skills to emulate the interdependence of these skills in the classroom. Students will assess learning style preferences and develop strategies to adapt to a variety of teaching and delivery styles.
“The most valuable thing I learned from this class was how to be outspoken and how to express myself to other people. It has helped me in my other classes because I can now ask an instructor a question, before I felt so shy to ask.”
Following this course, students will be able to:
• Consider cultural influences on educational perspectives
• Compare and contrast previous classroom experience with that of a TRU classroom
• Develop effective intercultural communication skills
• Identify personal learning style preferences
• Assess personal strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to enhance success
• Demonstrate confidence expressing opinions in class and small group discussions
• Work effectively and contribute responsibly in groups
• Evaluate personal communication and listening skills
• Highlight personal skills for portfolio development
STSS 107 – 01 Performing to Academic Standards
“I improved on my in-text citations because before this I never knew what they were.”
This one-credit university course supports students in understanding and performing to the academic standards of a Canadian university by identifying institutional and cultural expectations and providing avenues for students to practice meeting those expectations, particularly those they may be unaware of or uncomfortable with. The focuses will be on enhancing oral presentation skills and developing a solid understanding of expectations regarding academic integrity. Students are encouraged to become self-directed, reflective learners able to confidently function in academic environments.
“As an international student, citation has always been a problem with me. I’m not familiar with the citation styles, so sometimes I made mistakes when my paper needed bibliography. After the detailed explanation and practice from this class, now I think I’ll be OK with the citation in the future.”
Following this course, students will be able to:
• Understand cultural influences on educational perspectives
• Understand the expectations academic institutions have of university students
• Develop an understanding of TRU’s academic integrity policy
• Demonstrate appropriate academic behaviour
• Confidently make oral presentations
• Use appropriate citation methods
• Demonstrate critical thinking skills