Objective: Encourage the development of the relationships between students and other members of the Simpson community.
Implementation:
I. Meal with LAS class
II. In addition, require one of the following activities or develop a suitable alternative:
I. Meal with LAS class
The meal with the faculty advisor is one of students’ favorite components of the Liberal Arts Seminar. You can get everyone together for a meal once, or you can get together more than once.
Budget
You will have a budget of $10 per class member (students, DLs, and yourself) to cover the cost. Most choose to pay for the dinner themselves and then be reimbursed. Just give your receipts and reimbursement request to Shelly Priebe. Any check request that is submitted by Wednesday noon will be cut by Friday.
If you would prefer to receive an advance for the money, that can be arranged. Just keep the time frame above in mind. In addition, you will need to provide the receipts afterward and return any extra money.
Where to Eat
Your home: Many faculty members invite students to their home for this meal. Students appreciate being invited.
A Restaurant: For faculty members who don’t live in Indianola or who don’t have the space to have 20 people over for dinner, the meal could be held at a restaurant. Just be sure to contact that restaurant before you go.
On Campus: If you plan to share this meal on campus, the Matthew Simpson Room is one of the best locations for the meal. Since students eat on campus all the time, eating in an elegant room can help make the meal more special for students. To make arrangements for this meal, contact Shelly Priebe.
What to Serve
When planning the menu or selecting a restaurant, you may want to keep in mind that some of your students may be vegetarians or have specific food allergies. Talking to your students about the meal before you finalize the plans can help avoid uncomfortable moments during the meal itself. Soliciting students’ input regarding the meal also can be an effective way of increasing their interest in coming to the dinner.
When to Meet
Whether you have the meal early in the semester or later is up to you. Some people like to have the meal early in the semester to help create a sense of community and give everyone an opportunity to get to know each other better. Many faculty members combine the meal with attendance at a Forum event. For example, they might have dinner together and then go to see a play.
Multiple Events
Depending on how much you spend on the food, you may be able to eat with your students more than once during the semester. You may be able to afford two class meals. However, there are other creative ways of getting students together over food. You could invite students for coffee and dessert following a forum event.
II. Additional Activities
Helping students connect is the most important goal of the First Year Program. So include at least one additional requirement in your syllabus to encourage students to form these relationships. The possibilities described below are offered as options for you to consider using in your own class. Copy one that you like or use them as inspiration to design your own.
Consider getting to know your students better by having informal appointments with them early in the semester. These meetings could be with individuals or small groups. They can be held in your office or in a more casual setting such as Holy Grounds (the coffee shop in Dirlam Lounge), at the Grill in BSC, or at Pfeiffer.
Murphy Waggoner has had great success when she assigns her students to interview a faculty member. Although nervous about it at first, her students report enjoying the interviews and being glad they did them. Here is the information that Murphy provides to her students:
The purpose of this activity is to help you get to know at least one Simpson faculty member well (besides me) and to possibly help you investigate a major and/or a career. The reading below should help you understand the value of a faculty interview.
Procedure:
1. Choose a member of the Simpson faculty to interview. You may choose someone you have class with now or you might consider interviewing someone in an academic area that you are interested in knowing more about. Select alternate faculty members just in case your first choice cannot meet with you.
2. Call or e-mail the professor to make an appointment. Allow 30 minutes for the appointment and tell the professor the interview is an assignment in your Liberal Arts Seminar.
3. Prepare a list of questions and take the list to the interview. Sample questions are below or you can develop your own questions. Eight to ten questions are sufficient.
4. At the appointment, introduce yourself and remind the professor about the interview. Be considerate of the professor’s time and stick to the schedule.
5. Ask the questions you planned and take some brief notes. Feel free to venture off to other questions than the ones on your list if you want, but having the list will be keep you from having to come up with questions on the fly.
6. Verbally thank the professor for spending his or her time with you. Shaking hands is a nice touch.
7. Write a thank-you note the day after you conduct the interview and send it to the professor in campus mail or by e-mail.
8. Write a summary of the interview and describe how the interview was helpful to you.
Sample Questions:
• What is the highest academic degree you have earned and what is your discipline of study?
• Where did you go to school for your undergraduate and graduate studies?
• In your eyes, what makes a student come across as a high academic achiever?
• How are today’s college campuses different from the campuses of your day?
• What is the biggest mistake you have seen a student make (in class, in life, wherever)?
• How would you describe the quality of life of a college faculty member?
• Of the concepts you teach, which are the most difficult concepts for students to grasp?
• What is your favorite course to teach and why?
• What was the favorite course you ever took and why?
• What was your biggest problem as an undergraduate student?
• Knowing what you know now, what classes would you have taken as an undergraduate that you didn’t take?
• What was your most important undergraduate experience?
• How would you characterize your teaching style?
• Why did you become a university professor?
• Did you have another profession before you got into teaching? If so, describe it.
• Give an overview of a day in the life of a professor.
• What job opportunities are there for a Simpson graduate in your discipline?
• What is the job market like for Simpson graduates in your discipline?
• What advice would you give to a student in your discipline?
Although you might want to require all of your students to attend the class meal, perfect attendance at such events is rare. Invariably someone has a conflict with a work schedule or athletic event or has the misfortune to get sick that day. One way of handling this is to give students a list of options and require attendance at one or more of them.
Brian Steffen listed the following options on his syllabus:
Ice Cream Social at Sigler House: The president and his spouse invite all the first-year students to Sigler House for an ice cream social during the second week of the semester. You will receive an invitation identifying the specific time they are invited to attend. Invitations to Sigler House are rare, and they provide you with an opportunity to visit. There is no cost for this event.
Class Cookout: An informal cookout at Brian Steffen’s home in Ankeny will feed you on a Sunday night and introduce you to the joys of Sharon Steffen’s legendary pumpkin bars. (Just ask Vania.) 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 21, 1218 Northwest Cedarwood Drive in Ankeny. Directions will be provided. There is no cost for this event.
Midterm Decompression: Burned out at the end of your first midterm examination week? Unwind with a cup of cappuccino or other beverage at Des Moines’ best coffee house – and take in the best singer-songwriters in the Midwest. 9:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 10, Java Joe’s Coffeehouse, 214 Fourth Street in downtown Des Moines. Directions will be provided. Your first drink will be on Brian; the rest is up to you.
Class Dinner Before Theatre Simpson Performance: LAS students are required to take in at least one arts-related Simpson Forum event during the term. Here’s a chance to kill two birds with one stone. The class will have a formal dinner in the Matthew Simpson Room — the college’s prime banquet room — prior to our group attendance of Theatre Simpson’s performance of “A Very Old Man with Very Large Wings”. 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21 in the Matthew Simpson Room in College Hall. There is no cost for these events.
The Bucs Stop Here: Near the end of the term, the class will attend a game with the Des Moines Buccaneers, the city’s Junior-A team in the United States Hockey League. If there’s enough interest, the class will hit Stella’s Blue Sky Diner before the game for a burger and Stella’s famous poured-on-your-head malts. (Really.) 6 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6, Metro Ice Sports Arena, 73rd and Hickman, Des Moines. Directions will be provided. Students will be responsible for their own food costs and game tickets.
Option 4: Extracurricular Activities
Simpson offers a tremendous number of different opportunities for students outside the classroom. Students who join organizations or otherwise get involved in extracurricular activities not only get more out of their Simpson experience, they are also more likely to graduate with a Simpson degree. Students who spend the bulk of their time watching TV or playing video games are at risk of dropping out. Consider requiring your students to participate in at least one extracurricular activity. This page offers a wide range of possibilities.