Coloring Everything

Swatches of colorful paper are displayed.

Prologue: A Pre-Orientation for NYU Dramatic Writing Undergraduate Students

Problem

  1. Following trends reported nationally, Department of Dramatic Writing
    faculty increasingly report that our students more frequently are absent and
    miss deadlines. They are not meeting expectations for professionalism.
  2. When students arrive on campus for Welcome Week, they are given lots of
    information that they are expected to remember, but often don’t.

How might we reduce information overload at orientation and
make sure students know what they need to know to be
successful in their program?

Solution

Prior to arrival at NYU Welcome Week, Dramatic Writing students will complete an asynchronous, virtual course in Brightspace.

They will be introduced to key resources, program details, and basic expectations that are usually discussed at our in-person orientation events. They can also start to connect with their new community via discussion boards on the course site.

Lessons are written in a conversational tone using relatable examples to increase memorability.

By completing the program over the summer, they will have more time to absorb information and begin to recognize their own agency in their learning experience.

Gallery

Modules created in Articulate Rise 360 were embedded into a Brightspace course. A benefit of this approach is that students will become familiar with the LMS before their courses begin, and it allows advisors to monitor progress and participation. Additionally, the LMS afforded the option to invite students to connect with one another in discussion board activities.

  • The Prologue Welcome page on Brightspace introduces students to the training.
    Students access Prologue via Brightspace.
  • Students navigate through Prologue into the Program Requirements section.
    Students learn about program requirements and the degree progress tool.
  • Students navigate through Prologue to the Staying Organized section of Prologue
    Students complete modules on how to use and leverage Google Email, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Sheets.
  • Students navigate through Prologue to the Understanding Community module.
    Students are introduced to community expectations within the department.
  • Students navigate to the end of Prologue
    Students reach the concluding module of Prologue and are prompted to complete an exit survey.
  • Students participate in discussion boards to get to know one another before their arrival on campus
    After completing all modules in Prologue, students connect with one another through structured (and monitored) discussion boards.

Close-up of a section of a module in Articulate

  • A narrative describes a new student's excitement during the first couple of weeks of college.
  • The narrative continues, describing the student's ability to stay on top of the work.
  • The narrative describes the student's experience of fatigue at mid-semester as they start to fall behind.
  • The narrative concludes, with the student suddenly very behind on their work and catching a bad cold.
  • A scenario describes the student deciding to skip class and sleep.
  • A scenario describes the consequences of skipping class to sleep.
  • A scenario describes the student going to class but without their homework.
  • A scenario describes the consequences of going to class without completing the assigned work.
  • A scenario describes the student turning in imperfect work on time.
  • A scenario describes the consequences of showing up for class and for their classmates.
  • The scenario concludes with a recap and prompt to the reader to consider how they can avoid putting themselves in this situation.