Boot Camp

Detailed Faculty Mentor / Ambassador Schedule with Session Notes

 

Monday 7/14

 

8:00 OC Tour / 9 AM SAN Tour

 

Boot camp participants--faculty, ambassadors, and students--should park in the lot by campus security and check in at the tables set up in front of the theatre.

 

9:00 Depart from OC / 9:30 Depart from San Elijo

 

10:30 Arrival / Greeting / Room Check In

(Jim Sullivan / Beth Clary: Founders Hall)

 

We had hoped to have our introductory activities first, but logistics require that we do the check in / drop bags off in room / change into colored boot camp t-shirt stuff before we kick things off.

 

11:00 Introductory Activities

(Jim Sullivan: Sacred Heart Hall--This location may be different than the one that appears in the student schedule!)

 

Expectations activity: use stickies write down and post expectations for the boot camp / we all share together

Introductions: college staff -- mentors -- ambassadors

Divide into mentor groups

 

12:00 Lunch

(Everyone with Mentor Groups: Hahn University Center)

 

1:00 Mentor Group Session #1: Connecting To Each Other

(Mentor Groups: Grassy Knoll)

 

(Designed by Wendy, Christina, and Freddy)

 

 

 

2:00 Connecting Beyond Our Mentor Groups: Broadening Our Network Through Play!

(Jim Sullivan, Rita Naranjo: Grassy Knoll)

 

1) Get to know you Bingo (whole group)

2) Tinkertoys...building competition (mixed smaller groups / different than mentor groups)

 

2:45 Break

 

3:00 Framing the College Experience / MiraCosta Student Panel

(Edward Pohlert, Rita Naranjo: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

Introduction: High School specifics; College essentials (Edward 15 minutes)

The Making of a College Identity

 

a. Participants list all the things they'll miss/not miss from high school, non-school life

 

b. What skills make a college identity?

1. Analytical

2. Oral communication

3. Written communication

4. Group study

5. Listening

 

c. What kind of college student do you want to be?

 

Student Ambassador Panel

 

Questions / Group Processing

 

1. Panel Facilitor will provide brief intro to panel discussion

2. Each Ambassador will provide a 1-2 min introduction

3. Questions (opened to audience after panelists answer each individual question)

a) What made you decide to go to college?

b) What challenges have you faced during your educational journey and how have you overcome these obstacles?

c) What are your plans for the future? (These can be changed or modified. We can add more as well.)

 

 

4:00 Classroom Success Strategies

(Mentor Groups, David Bonds: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

Sample Lecture: David Bonds - 30 minutes

Mentor Group Discussion - 30 minutes

Brainstorm Strategies for the Lecture we just heard

Broaden Discussion to strategies in other disciplines

After discussion, distribute and walk through success guide

 

 

5:00 Dinner

(All: Hahn University Center)

 

6:15 PuzzleQuest

(Jim Sullivan / Mentor Groups: Grassy Knoll)

 

Mentors will have answers to the puzzle in a sealed envelope. Please only open this envelope if you are absolutely desperate--say if your group has spent more than 15 minutes trying to solve one of the three puzzles. Even then, try to give only incremental clues. When you arrive at your next location, show the puzzlemaster at the site the puzzles your group has completed. You will then receive a new puzzle or the name of your final destination.

 

7:15 Mentor Group Session  #2: Accountability and Responsibility

(Mentor Groups: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

The focus of this dialogue is to problem solve scenarios utilizing principles 1 and 2 within the college student context. 

 

A context of college expectations will be set up for all mentor groups. This context includes how high school's focus is on students receiving information and constantly being given direction/structure/rules...

 

The college focus and expectation is on student exploration of new concepts and accepting responsibility for learning. Two distinct principles within this context are: 1.) How to engage your own learning by asking questions and making daily decisions, 2.) How to embrace a commitment to action.

 

These sessions need to explore examples of the two principles above. Faculty will share strategies on how to begin building these skill sets. A section in the handbook on accountability and responsibility is recommended as a written reminder of the college expectation.

 

The following scenarios are examples for mentors to utilize during this discussion:

 

A. On a Monday, a student is absent froma Monday/Wednesday class. The student misses the foundational classroom presentation/explanation.  What does the student do before re-entering class on Wednesday?

 

B. A group has been formed to complete a class project. The group is very diverse and is not working well together as they find out about each other's learning preferences. What can a student do to promote unity, group cohesion, and task completion?

 

C. A student has a hard time understanding the lecture/presentation/material in the large class structure. How does she/he go about securing the information/skills necessary to avoid falling behind or failing the skills assessment?

 

 

Jim or Edward will facilitate larger group discussion at the end of these mentor group discussions

 

 

8:00 Break

 

8:15 Learning Comes Alive! Anthropology Lecture and Discussion

(Lynne Miller: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

Immediately following Lynne's lecture, In small groups, mentors could ask students questions such as:

1. When you listened to Lynne's lecture,what was your personal experience? (enjoyable, intimidated, intensely interested, bored, overwhelmed, anxious...)

2. Did you follow the presentation easily? Were you distracted by anything? If so, what? (hunger, sleepiness, noises, personal thoughts, Lynne's enthusiasm...)

 

After a short discussion, have students do a quick-write asking them to summarize Lynne's presentation by writing down the 3? or 4? most important points that Lynne made (ask Lynne how many points she wants to make).

 

Then, either come together as a large group and have Lynn reveal her main points, or have mentors present Lynne’s main points, as determined ahead of time by her.

 

Lastly, ask students whether their main points aligned or differed from Lynne's. If they differed, reassure them not to worry because....IMPORTANT SEGUE>

We will be covering learning styles first thing after breakfast on Tuesday. At that time we will be sharing ways to improve their attention, understanding and learning based upon this information.

 

9:25 Pulling Together Our Day: Highlights and Learning Opportunities

(Jim: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

9:40 Walk to International Building Patio

 

9:50 SeaWorld Fireworks Viewing

(All: Kroc Peace and Justice Patio)

 

10:30 Social Opportunities: Film (Sacred Heart Hall), Games and/or Conversation (Dorm Lounge)

 

Faculty mentors and student ambassadors are expected to float around the dorm and join in the social opportunities as part of our efforts to build a learning community that can continue to develop during the school year.

 

Midnight: Students All in Rooms

 

Jim and student service personnel will roam the hallways and supervise this "curfew." Faculty mentors and ambassadors will knock on student doors in the morning at 7:00 AM

 

 

---

 

Tuesday, July 15

 

8:00 Breakfast

(All: Hahn University Center)

 

8:45 Learning Styles Workshop

(Julie Haugsness-White, Marty Spring, and Christina Hata: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

In large group:

 

1. Present a brief story (~4 sentences) then ask a series of questions about it. (Marty) (4-5”)

 

2. Discussion: What does this exercise demonstrate to us? What can we learn from it? (Marty, Christina & Julie each relate a personal story 90

sec. each) (5” total)

 

3. Powerpoint Presentation of Learning styles

 

A brief introduction to the various learning styles & types of questions used to characterize each. (Christina will reference a table of questions to introduce styles & will include visual/verbal vs. visual spatial subcategories) (5”)

 

4. Reflective writing: Students will respond to question: “What do you think your learning style is?” (Christina) (3”)

 

In Mentor Groups

 

Worksheet – 24 question Lehigh inventory will be administered to all students. Scoring to approximate personal learning style immediately follows. (Julie) (20”)

In small groups (cohort groups):

 

1. Process learning style inventory with each other. (20”)

Go thru a script of questions (Julie makes a list based upon my anat. homework) (See attached document entitled 'Mentor's Script')

 

2. Address the question: “what’s next in “your brain triathalon?” Share ideas on how students can make the most of all possible learning styles. (5”)

 

Ask students: “How are you going to use your preferred learning style to your advantage?” “How can you begin to improve your weak learning styles before school even starts?” (suggestions will be provided to mentors and available in the published Boot Camp 'bible' that they receive) (See attached document entitled 'Brain Triathlon')

 

9:45 One-Way, Two Way: A Communications Experiment

(Rita Naranjo, Billy Buster, Ambassadors: Grassy Knoll)

 

Faculty mentors should participate with students in this activity--everyone will be randomly paired up.

 

10:30 Thinking About Your Fall Schedule

(Wendy Horton, Freddy Ramirez: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

Effective class scheduling - Discussion about strategies to select the first semester of classes. What is an ideal first semester schedule? How does work, family, and other responsibilities impact your class schedule?

 

11:00 Mentor Group Session #3: Mapping Out a “Typical” Week of Our Lives in the Fall

(Mentor Groups: Sacred Heart Hall)

 

What does your weekly schedule look like? Students will fill-out their weekly schedule taking into consideration class time, study time, work, family responsibilities, etc. Is there enough time in a week to successfully accomplish everything you want? Everyone--faculty, ambassadors, and students will fill out a sample schedule. Freddy and Wendy will distribute blank forms--and you can find extra bland forms in the student success guide.

 

11:30 Check Out and Pack Up

 

12:00 Lunch

 

12:45 Closing Activities

(Jim: Sacred Heart Hall / Grassy Knoll)

 

 

We will have a brief slide show of photos from the boot camp (thanks to I-photo!)

 

Then, in mentor groups, pose some or all of these questions:

 

1) How did this boot camp go for you? How are you feling now at the end of the boot camp?

2) Did it meet your expectations? (Consider what you wrote at our first session)

3) What's next? How will you build on what you have started here during the coming semester? What expectations do you have for the first semester? How will you deal with it when some of those expectations are not met?

 

1:30 Departure for OC and SAN campuses

 

2:30-4:00 Course Registration at OC and SAN Campuses