Education Commons^™

Session 20: Vocation And The St. Norbert Experience, Becky Lahti

Gateway's Pilot Year

In this session, students will be invited to consider their lives through the lense of vocation. After drawing upon their own experience and hearing some brief input, videos and discussion/activities will help students explore the ways that their unique sets of gifts and passions intersect with what the SNC community and greater world need. For it is within these intersections that we are able to live authentically and fully.

Session 19: Personal And Collective Values, Robert Pyne

Gateway's Pilot Year

One of the chief hindrances to social justice is apathetic endorsement of the status quo. This presentation will challenge attitudes of indifference and relativistic isolation, calling for a personal and collective commitment to universal human rights.

A lecture with student interaction taking place through live use of Google Forms or Cahoot. Combined answers will be projected on screen to get student feedback. This will be used for a version of pre- and post-test on a couple of basic points.

Session 18: Diversity, Bridgit Martin

Gateway's Pilot Year

Students will learn about cultural diversity and privilege through video and discussion. You will also lead a conversation about the cycle of socialization and how we learn bias, oppression, etc. and contribute to it

Session 17: Developing Spirituality, Sandy Murphy

Gateway's Pilot Year

This session will help students to explore their perspective on spirituality and religion. Students will have a chance via video to hear from various faculty, staff and students their perspective on these subjects. There will also be a chance for students to share in small group. We will also explore different modes of contemplation, using the Tree of Contemplation, and share ways that they can explore their spiritual life here on campus.

Session 16: Career Planning And Decision-Making, Maryellen Olson

Gateway's Pilot Year

A student’s time in college can be exciting – trying on different majors, enrolling in fascinating subjects, engaging in dynamic dialogue with faculty, and participating in various campus activities. At the same time, some students also report a great deal of stress and anxiety around choosing a major.

During this 1 hour session, students will be asked to participate in some reflection activities to find their starting point regarding notions of a college major while here at St. Norbert College. Upon conclusion of this session, please advise students to take all of these worksheets and make an appointment with the …

Session 15: Catholic Social Teaching, Ellen Mommaerts, Julie Massey

Gateway's Pilot Year

We expect to offer a basic grounding in CST, likely through a video (we’re reviewing a few options of existing videos.) After the video, students will pair share - what words caught their attention in the video. All students provided a handout that gives a brief description of each of the seven themes. Students are broken into 7 groups, each assigned one theme. The small groups are given questions to discuss related to their theme, that help them reflect on how they can be advocates and agents of change related to this theme. Each group creates a meme to promote …

Session 14: Birthday Scavenger Hunt!, Julie Massey

Gateway's Pilot Year

From 2 - 2:15pm, groups will gather in their rooms. Leaders take attendance, share a bit of context on the college’s founding/birthday (with info bullets provided,) go over rules for the scavenger hunt, and hand out/monitor the group ID cards. At 2:15pm, leaders hand out the student scavenger hunt sheets - with the rules reiterated and the clues to the locations. Leaders will not accompany groups on the hunt. Students will make their way to several locations and earn as many points as they can. Groups will reconvene in front of Main Hall at 2:45pm. Students will check in with …

Session 13: Understanding The Catholic Tradition, Julie Massey

Gateway's Pilot Year

After a brief check-in process, students will be asked to pair share their childhood experiences of faith or church and what the term religion means to them. Then the group will brainstorm reactions to the term “Catholic.” We’ll share a very short video that shows some of the expansiveness of the tradition (through celebrities, types/locations of ministry, subgroups that are engaged in the tradition,) and then ask the students to engage the SNC articulation of the Catholic tradition. (It was hoped that SNC articulation would come through the “elevator version” of the Catholic identity statement, but for this year we …

Session 12: Mapping A Transformative Snc Career, Corday Goddard

Gateway's Pilot Year

Students will have a chance to review why they chose to attend St. Norbert College and some of the websites that will allow them to identify experiences they’d like to have during their four years here. Students will then be able to create a “map” of their four years here to plan out what they’d like to accomplish here.

Session 11: Relationships And Conflict, Bruce Robertson

Gateway's Pilot Year

All relationships have conflicts (even Norby) because conflict is simply a disagreement. With this in mind, students experience conflict with parents, professors, friends, and roommates. This session will introduce some basic relationship definitions and walk students through how to handle and resolve conflict. After this session, students will know what to do when they experience conflict and be challenged to see conflict as an opportunity to improve rather than damage their relationships.

Session 10: Learning And Critical Thinking Part 2, Shelly Mumma, Carole Basak

Gateway's Pilot Year

On Tuesday (the session prior to this), you will hand out room assignments to the students in your section about where they should go for this meeting. They will go directly to that meeting room. There will 8 different meeting rooms - 1 for each academic division plus one for undecided students. In each room, there will be a faculty member(s), tutor(s) or TA(s) for subjects in that division, and (maybe) a staff member from Academic Support Services

Session 9: Learning And Critical Thinking Part 1, Maryellen Olson, Robert Pyne

Gateway's Pilot Year

Students and leaders will discuss what assistance might be needed and where to obtain that assistance via imagined scenarios. They will then discuss the topic of critical thinking.

Session 8: Involvement Fair, Shelly Mumma, Cristi Burrill

Gateway's Pilot Year

The Involvement Fair is an annual event highlighting and celebrating opportunities for students to get involved on campus. Each student organization and several campus offices/departments host tables on the Campus Center lawn to welcome new students and provide information on their mission and involvement opportunities. Rain site: Campus Center.

Session 7: Get Involved, Shelly Mumma, Cristi Burrill

Gateway's Pilot Year

This small group session will cover the importance and benefits of engagement, allow students to reflect on what types of opportunities they may want to seek out, and identify barriers to getting involved and how to overcome those barriers. This session will also cover time management.

Session 6: Personal Well-Being, Chrystal Woller

Gateway's Pilot Year

This session will assist incoming students the relationship between underlying personal beliefs and emotional experiences (i.e. stress). Together, the students will articulate strategies to cultivate healthy habits to address stress. Briefly the the class will touch on consequences of unhealthy coping mechanisms. Finally, the students will discuss resiliency and how important the 8 dimensions of wellness are to strengthening their resilience.

Session 5: Strengths, Shelly Mumma

Gateway's Pilot Year

You will provide each student their CliftonStrengths report, help them connect their top 5 Signature Themes to their actions, and work with them to think about ways to continue to develop each theme at St. Norbert College. There will be a mix of time to read their report, interact with each other and wrap up with a reflective exercise that you will collect and use when you meet with the students one-on-one.

Session 4: There's No Communio Without U!, Julie Massey

Gateway's Pilot Year

Session will begin with students brainstorming their past experiences of belonging, including the rules/behaviors that support a strong sense of group. Then we will show a video that depicts SNC community members responding to the prompt “communio is…” by writing a word of phrase on a whiteboard. (The photos were captured in April; we’re still working on the video.) Leaders will provide a brief teaching on the theological foundation of the concept of communio (language is provided in the outline.) Next, the large group will be divided into six groups and each group will receive a sheet with one principle …

Session 3: Transitions And Academics, Maryellen Olson

Gateway's Pilot Year

Students will learn the difference between learning in high school and learning in college. Specific attention will be given to the academic expectations at St. Norbert College and students will learn about important dates and communication methods in order to be a successful student at SNC.

Session 2: Meeting Norbert: Then And Now, Fr. Andrew Ciferni, Rosemary Sands

Gateway's Pilot Year

This plenary session will begin with an MC-narrated 20 minute powerpoint/video presentation followed by a panel discussion. The ppt/video images will highlight the most important events in the life of Norbert relative to the students being here at SNC (conversion, peacemaking, etc.). Panelists will then conversationally share stories of their experiences around these themes - e.g. when have you radically changed direction in your life or how have you worked to bring people together across difference? We will end with a challenge to the students to take the spirit of Norbert into their lives.

Session 1: Transitions, Cristi Burrill, Jennifer Nissen

Gateway's Pilot Year

This session will introduce the program and allow students to get to know one another. Students will begin thinking about habits they would like to form at St. Norbert. Activities have been intentionally selected to allow students to work independently, get to know a small group of their peers and talk with a partner.