passport to success
Has anyone tried creating a passport, where they are required to get stamps or signatures of certain faculty? Then,each station then has alittle school suppy there as an incentive to meet everyone.
Michael--
I have not heard of a 'passport' per se, but a school has done a form of Monopoly where it was themed in that manner...the electric company was financial aid, etc. All the materials, stations, and refreshments carried the theme through. It sounds a little weird, but it was very effective for them. I do like your idea of a passport....passport to success?!
Susan
Excellent Michael. You are definitely on the right track.
It worked well in my military career. We had numerous check stations that each student was required to complete. The starting point was designated for each group and then they were on their own. It also allows them to communicate with each other and gain support as they learn who their team-mate is.
Joseph--
The team approach to getting through the process is an effective system as you've outlined. The ability for students to help each other success is important and often overlooked.
Susan
In one school I worked in, we had a check off sheet we used. Once new students began arriving for orientation, we checked them in, gave them a check off sheet and instructions about how to find the places they needed to visit while there. We positioned staff and students various places throughout the building to serve as guides or resources for the new students. Each station visited by the new students "stamped" the check off sheet. After students had visited all stations including financial aid, registrar, graduate services, etc. they gathered in a large room for snacks, meeting new people, and prizes. In this way, students were introduced to the staff they would interact with while in school, they had ID photos taken, picked up books, met new people, and learned to navigate through the school - all things that helped make them feel like they were a part of the college life they had just joined. This was a very positive way to get important information to the students at orientation without having them sit in a room watching a whole lot of staff stand in front of them to talk to them. The whole process would take about 1 1/2 hours for about 100 students to complete. We would conduct these sessions at least twice on orientation day, 3 times if the start numbers indicated the need.
While this may not work for our school as well I find it to be a great tool to be incorporated for their experience at the institute and diferent benchmarks can be signed off to give them a sense of accomplishment and keep them focused on the big picture. Thank you....
They have to be prepare for the next level in their live. Very important point to enfoze is personal image, atitude .Skill and how been more profesional.
Mercedes--
Excellent point. We often get so focused on the actual job skills, we don't pay enough attention to those important 'soft' skills of personal image, attitude, communications, etc. It's the 'total package' that helps them be highly effective.
Susan
