Transylvania University New International Student Orientation

Module #1
Summer 2015
Step One: Answer these pre-reading questions on your blog:

Why have I decided to attend Transylvania University?

What do I expect to do as a student there?
What do I know about a liberal arts education?

Step Two: Study this vocabulary list. Use the Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary to help you
define the terms below. In your responses/blog posts, practice using five (5) of these terms:
assumption (argument)
argument (academic)
develop
challenge (verb)
question (verb)
respect (verb)
fair (adjective)
discipline (academic)
describe
collaboration/collaborate
inquiry
process
doubt
contribute
suggest

detail/details (noun and verb)

discover/discovery
reason
interpret
evaluate
analysis/analyze
critical/critically (academic)
issue
evolve
rubric
habits
interdisciplinary
overgeneralization
oppose

liberal arts
draw (verb)
examine (verb)
reflect on (verb phrase)
viewpoint
academic community
belief/beliefs
underlying (adjective)
perspective (noun)
survey
shape (verb)
curiosity
stereotype
agree/disagree

Step Three: Study these cultural considerations:

In the United States, critical thinking is defined as an act of discovery and freedom
through reason and imagination.

Education here emphasizes individual responsibility for generation and public expression
of ideas and includes collaboration between people in different academic disciplines.

Students are expected to ask critical questions that often show disagreement with
classmates and professors.

Step Four: Visit the websites below and read about critical thinking and the meaning of the
liberal arts:

The Critical Thinking Community at criticalthinking.org:

http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

Transylvania Universitys definition of liberal arts:

https://www.transy.edu/about/liberal_arts.htm

Step Five: As an international student working in English as your second (or third, fourth, etc.)
language, prepare for some common academic practices at Transylvania. Read each entry
below very carefully, and make sure to click on all links, studying the online material:

View your education as more than a path to a good job. Liberal arts institutions, like
most universities, emphasize critical reading, writing, and thinking about subjects and
issues. But the difference between Transylvania and other kinds of institutions is in our
approach to critical learning. Your classes at Transylvania will focus on critical skills and
will not always relate directly to any particular job or profession. You will spend much of
your time studying and discussing connections across disciplines. For example, as a
business student, you might study how cultures address economic problems. You might
read a novel in an English class in which the main character is an immigrant to the
United States. In a history class, you might study the history of immigration in America
and at the same time study the social problems of immigration in a sociology class and
the politics of immigration in a political science class. Always approach your studies with
an interdisciplinary curiosity, and develop critical skills that allow you to understand and
communicate about these connections.

Define your progress beyond the grades. The academic culture of the United States,
especially in liberal arts institutions, does not focus on grades as the only measure of
learning. Your progress as a thinker and the richness and sophistication with which you
can critically discuss ideas and solve problems are most valued.

Learn through process. Most classes at Transylvania will use some form of processbased assessment. This means that you will receive feedback from instructors in the
form of comments on your work. Often, your instructors will meet with you one-on-one to
develop strategies for improvement of your work. You then will revise assignments or
otherwise apply instructor suggestions to future work you complete in the class. Much of
the written work you do will require many drafts, each substantially revised. The grades
you receive reflect your progress over the series of drafts.

Learn about forms of address before you arrive in the United States. There are a
few tips to remember about addressing people with whom you interact in the classroom
and beyond. Purdue OWL offers this advice: When in doubt, ask. If the person you are
speaking with doesnt explicitly tell you their preferred form of address (although many
instructors will on the first day), just say, What should I call you? or How should I
address you? Its a certain way to get it right.
Who cares if shes married or not? In recent years, women without a doctoral degree
have shifted away from Mrs. and Miss toward the more generally applicable Ms.
(pronounced mizz). Single men in academic and professional spheres are addressed
as Mister, and after getting married they are still addressed as Mister gender

equality means that marital status is just as unimportant for women. Use Ms. unless
the person is explicit about her preference for Miss or Mrs.
Titles are used only with family names. Some people will mistakenly apply a title to a
given name (for example, Ms. Nancy for an administrative assistant named Nancy
Krajenski). Addressing someone this way comes across as unusual, and even as a bit of
a joke. Instead, use only family names (last names) with titles (Ms. Krajenski).

Check your email dailyand more than once. Staff members, professors,
administrators, and students all use email as an essential form of communication in the
United States. Failing to respond to an email at the very least communicates a lack of
interest and could result in your missing essential information about classes, campus
events, and emergency information. Always, respond to emails as quickly as possible.
Remember to follow appropriate etiquette, too (see Email Etiquette in Module #1 tab on
blog). Be polite and direct. If youre unsure about the correctness or appropriateness of
an email that you write, before you send the email show it to someone you trustan
instructor, your International Student Coordinator, a Writing Center consultant, a
roommate, or friend on whom you can depend.

Ask for help. If you find yourself feeling frustrated in your new educational environment,
remember that the goal of the liberal arts education is to encourage constant
questioning of and reflection on your own assumptions and views. Your instructors very
carefully design their courses to guide you through this process. Address your frustration
by setting up a time to meet with your instructor. Never ask him or her, Why did I get a
C on this assignment? Instead, ask, How can I improve on the skills that this
assignment required? This approach says to your professor that you want to work with
him or her to learn the skills and not just make the good grade. Remember that at
Transylvania your instructors encourage you to keep in touch with them about your
academic progress and your concerns. They want to work with you!

Participate actively and thoughtfully in class. Unlike large universities, Transylvania

keeps the number of students enrolled in courses low. Within these small classes,
students and instructors openly interact, debating, analyzing, and interpreting the ideas
found in required texts. Instructors will ask you questions about what you read and will
expect you to respond thoughtfully. This way of engaging in class discussions helps you
learn to fairly and critically listen and then respond to the views expressed in texts and in
class. At times, you will agree and disagree with your classmates and your instructor.
The important thing is to be fair and respectful in your approach. You might feel that your
classmates and instructor think that your English is flawed. Dont let these feelings stop
you from speaking in class. You will find that everyone values your thoughts as essential
contributions to the conversation. Speak out and share your unique views!
NOTE: if you feel that you cant speak out in class, meet with your instructor about
alternative ways you can express your views. Also, consider visiting your English as a
Second Language Instructor, James Wright (me!), about helping you work out some
options for active participation in class.

Attend all classes and arrive on time. Instructors and university policies require you to
attend your classes, to arrive on time, and to come prepared with all required materials
(e.g. textbooks, notebooks, pencils/pens, laptops, etc.). Instructors at United States
universities have very little tolerance for tardiness and lack of preparedness.

Make group work productive. Liberal arts schools like Transylvania consider
collaboration a vital part of education. When peer-reviewing written work, creating
projects, developing presentations, or completing other assignmentsboth during and
outside of class timeyour instructors will ask you to work closely with other classmates
in small groups, frequently in partnership with organizations in the Lexington community.
Such work teaches you to generate ideas collaboratively, to effectively bring those ideas
to a particular audience, and to reflect on your own interactions with partners and
communities. You also practice intellectual responsibility. Take these collaborative
activities seriously by contributing actively and by always producing work that shows
your full engagement in the entire process. Of course, you might not be familiar with this
kind of work. Let your instructor know about your lack of familiarity and work with him or
her to find ways that you can improve. Also, meet with your English a Second Language
Instructor, James Wright (me!), to discuss options for making group work productive.

Study across the disciplines. Take a lot of courses in a wide range of subjects:
science, math, sociology, business, language, psychology, art, and on and on. This
approach allows you to see people, places, and things from many viewpoints and can
lead you to dynamic interpretations, arguments, and solutions. Stay curious about
everything!

Ask strong critical questions about what you read, see, and hear. Some examples
include, So what? and Is this an accurate or inaccurate assumption? and How does
this affect the argument and the community involved? and Do I agree or disagreeor
both? and How can I respond? These questions help you discover your own critical
understanding of arguments.

Be a dynamic learner and problem solver. Show respect for and fairness to beliefs
and knowledge very different from your own, possibly even allowing these differences to
shape your own understanding of the world.

Take a stance on problems and issues. Thoughtfully and critically oppose, agree, or
suggest more accurate assumptions and new ways of arguing about the same idea,
concept, problem, or issue. These practices give you a chance to influence others and to
contribute to positive change in the world.

Pay attention to details. Carefully interpret and reflect on what you hear, see, smell,
taste, think, and feel. Considering the details allows you to draw accurate conclusions
and avoid overgeneralizations that lead to stereotypes and prejudices.

Keep track of what you learn. Map your emotional and intellectual reactions to texts
and arguments in a journal. Research shows that writing down what you learn improves
your recall and leads to discovery of new ideas and solutions. Consider keeping a
reading/learning journal or a blog to record and respond to key concepts/ideas,
arguments, etc.

Step Six: Answer these post-reading questions on your blog:

What does the phrase liberal arts mean to me?

How is learning at Transy different from learning in my home country?
What is my plan for addressing these differences?