What Do I Need To Know About American Universities? Webquest

Developed by Joshua Durey
josh.durey@gmail.com
http://www.atueli.blogspot.com

Overview

Students will develop an understanding of academic culture in American universities with regards to acceptable behavior, student-teacher relationships, and required responsibilities of an American university student.



Entering Freshmen in the English Language Institute at Arkansas Tech



The student will:

Analyze and evaluate information found on the internet
Extract information relevant to their situation as a university student
Contrast their findings with those of other students
Create a group PowerPoint presentation on academic culture in American universities
Use other media, including the whiteboard or an easel
Write an individual essay paper discussing their findings


Introduction

American universities can be difficult to understand! If you want to be the best student possible, you should ask yourself these questions:



1. How can I make the most of my first year at college?
2. What are good study habits and I how can I practice them?
3. Where do the professor’s responsibilities end and the students’ responsibilities begin?


What are the answers to these questions with regards to most universities in your home country? How do the two academic cultures differ?


What would you recommend to a new international student based on what you learn from this Inquiry?


Each team will be assigned one question. In your groups, brainstorm what you already know (or think you know) about the question, and think of at least two smaller questions that are related.


Investigation

Collected Web Sites:


http://www.foreign-student-union.com/

Tips for international students here in America, geared to each country!


http://www.collegefreshmen.net/issues.html

Gives lots of great advice on how to deal with being a freshman (“The most difficult year”), roommates, professors, and more.


http://www.smu.edu/alec/whyhighschool.html

Excellent advice for all college students: How College is different from High School.




Information on Cultural Perspective

Which areas of information surprised you? What will you do to become a “good student?”


Using the information you have found, conduct a search for information on how these new ideas are different from those most widely-held in your home country.


Writing Activity


Be sure that you are taking good notes as you research this information. You will be required to write a two-to-three page essay paper based on your findings. You may choose to first post your information to a blog or Web site.



Jigsaw

Once you have finished your research, prepare your presentation for your group. Decide who will be responsible for the following:



Charts
Graphic organizer
Flowcharts
PowerPoint presentation


Consensus: The group decides if more research is needed or organizes the information for the class presentation.


Gathering and Sorting

Gathering:

List and annotate Web sites that further explain the essential question and the questions you asked.



Sorting:

Sort through the information you have collected and organize it into categories. Information that will be helpful in the group presentation is separated and made ready.



Identification of other resources that may be used to complete the task(s):

Other resources may include:



Any URL links provided in this section
Classroom encyclopedias
Color printer
Periodicals
Library books


Evaluation

You should provide enough information so that your classmates will understand your topic even if they know nothing about it.



You may choose to present your information using the following:



Flowcharts
Web pages
Summary tables
Concept maps
Venn diagrams


To see how you will be graded for your presentations (your group’s grade),click on the following link:



http://edWeb.sdsu.edu/triton/tidepoolunit/Rubrics/collrubric.html