ferrett+clue+3b

Teacher 1

You as a teacher, have you encountered any transfer students in any of your classes? If so, did you notice anything different in the way they interacted in class compared to students who have been on campus since their freshman year? If so what do you think made them act different in class?

I have not yet encountered this personally here at Bloomsburg University. However from other teaching experience I have noticed a definite trend with transfer students. Most times the transfer students will be more hesitant to participate in whole group conversations or ask for clarification from the instructor on some aspects of the class. In my personal opinion I believe this goes back to the level of comfort someone has with their surroundings. When you are in a familiar area with people that you may not personally know but at least recognize from time past, it makes it easier to participate in activities. I also believe that some of the lack of questioning, when unsure, comes from not wanting to appear that they do not know something that perhaps they should be "expected" to know by now in their college career. Students in any stage of life that transfer into new school surroundings need supports to make them feel comfortable and to have the peace of mind that they are not expected to know everything. It is a continual learning process and everyone is different in the way that they adapt to new situations. These are the observations from my experiences. I hope this is along the lines of what you were looking for from the interview.

Teacher 2

1. Have you ever been in an encounter with a transfer student in any of your classes?

Yes, I had two in my class last spring. One had transferred from Penn State. The other was a returning student who had studied in Europe.

2. If so, did you notice anything different about the way they interact in class compared to those students who have been at school since they were a freshman?

I noticed that they were both very participatory. In their talk and their writing, they had a lot to say: they talked/wrote about being certain about some things they seemed to have figured out (e.g., that Bloomsburg was the right place for them to live/go to school, or that their chosen major was the right path), and also uncertain--searching, even--about some other things (like whether or not they'd be good enough to succeed at something).

3.Why do you think they act different in class?

I'm no expert, but I think perhaps they had made a decision already about college that put a different value on it, so they say their participation as important, rather than as simply a requirement of the class. That is, they talked/wrote because they had something to say, or because they wanted to learn something, rather than because I made them.

4. Do you personally know anyone who was a transfer student, either now or when you were in college?

My wife. Some friends at college. I think these ideas would apply to them, too--they began at community colleges, or in other programs, so by the time they reached the university, they were very motivated to pursue certain things. However, one friend transferred again, and it took him several years to find the thing he was looking for.

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