Saturday 7 June, 2008 17:31
Academic Program
Students will have a chance to work with each other in classrooms, labs and rehearsal and recital halls. Meal time in the university cafeteria will be an excellent time during which students can discuss classes, pass along important information and share experiences in general. Students will also share time in the mandatory study hall in the evening. Let us be clear about our intentions: there is very little time for entainment in this program as this program is focused on academics.
The typical freshman at DSU arrives at the first week of classes and says the following: "I have lots of time to do my reading and homework. I'll just spend time with my friends or join them in the gym." This is the first and sometimes the last fatal error of first year students.
Perhaps the most difficult part of moving from high school to university is realizing that there is no "down time" if a student wants to achieve excellence. In this sense, it should be clear that the Athenaeum is not a summer camp. It is an academic program designed to move students to a higher level of performance.
Standards and Assessment
Program standards have also evolved over the years. We have arrived at one conclusion: unless students are expected to work at the highest level, we are doing them no service. Our standards begin with this assumption: work that represents exactly what is offered by faculty in lectures or class explanations will be considered average work.
The reasoning behind this is that university work is designed to get students to do critical thinking, to work independently, and to go beyond the material presented in courses. University work requires students to learn how to make choices in an increasingly complex and competitive world. For most students, those four years spent on a university campus will be the last time they have to contemplate exactly who they are and what they hold to be true and valuable.
All students will be graded this summer. The grades will be understood in the following way:
A = mastery
B = competency
C = average work
D = below average work
F = failure
Assessment
We have developed a program of assessment intended to show academic progress. We also ask instructors to evaluate on a daily basis the behavior profile of each students. This analysis can help both students and parents in adjusting habits and attitudes that can assure student success later in life.
Diagnostics
During the orientation program on Sunday, June 8, students will be required to complete a math diagnostic exam, an English diagnostic exam and a student survey. The Athenaeum staff will be using the diagnostic exams to set a benchmark for student progress. The math diagnostic will be used to separate students into our pre-calculus and algebra 2 math sections. The student survey will help our staff in getting to know our students a little better and will be used as an aid in the College Skills class.
Courses
Mathematics
Assuming enough students pass the diagnostic test for pre-calculus, we will offer a separate section for this subject. Otherwise, faculty will teach two sections of algebra and offer extra support for students who qualify for pre-calculus.
If it runs, the pre-calculus class will offer students an opportunity to study linear relations and functions, the nature of graphs and functions, and exponential and logarithmic functions. Both Dr. Paula Norris and Ms. Laura Little will serve as our mathematics instructors this summer.
Our algebra course is intended both to help students who have wrestled with the basics and continue to need help and to move others to stronger skills in the subject. We intend this course as a way to help students with math in the ACT.
Literature
The English literature class is divided into two sections so that students receive more personal attention. Students will be reading two novels and several pieces of critical analysis. The literature for the 2008 program includes The Stranger by Albert Camus and One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
In the third week of the program students will be composing original critical analyses on an aspect of one of these works. This class is intended to reflect a college writing course and to provide students with an understanding of how to write a critical analysis. Course instructors are Mr. Morgan Dean and Mr. Nathan Duff.
Physics
Dr. Alina Gabryszewska-Kukuwa will teach the physics course. This course is intended for non-science majors and aims at helping students understand the nature of, for example, rainbows, motion, ocean tides and the basic scientific terminology associated with these phenomena.
Music
One of the music courses we are offering this year is the “Community Drumming Experience: Music for West African Djembe Ensemble.” This course is designed to be an experience of African music as well as a team-building exercise. The primary focus of the class is to learn the basic African djembe technique of drumming and will culminate in a performance during the end-of-program ceremonies. Dr. Karen Fosheim will be the director of the course, assisted by DSU student Mr. Gene Kachenovich.
We will also offer a full period of choral singing. Students will learn to perform materials selected by the course director. The students will be performing these pieces in a small program for students at the end of the second week of the program (Friday, June 20). The director of the Athenaeum Chorus will be Mr. LeMorris Hunt.
College Skills
This course is intended to emphasize the importance of time management, communication skills and work ethic in a university atmosphere. Students may be given presentations on college and career opportunities by DSU Career Services faculty and members of the Cleveland and DSU communities.