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Listen "Re-Examining Our Models of Change in the First-Year Experience"
Episode Synopsis
FYE seeks to change students’ mindset and readiness so they will persist to graduation. But what is the model of change we are using in our FYE programs? And is that model of change intervening at the level of meaning or at just the level of “what’s” and “how’s”? Join Matt Sanders and Heidi Kesler as they explore different models of change and how FYE programs can intervene at the level of meaning to help students discover purpose, build confidence, and confront today’s widespread crisis of meaning.
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at [email protected].
About Heidi Kesler
Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at [email protected].
Additional Resources:
Read the Episode Summary.
Click the link to learn more about the book Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education https://a.co/d/ePiv11d
About Matthew Sanders
Matt Sanders is a Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has a long-standing interest in helping students improve their college experience and enjoys working closely with the orientation and first-year experience programs at Utah State. He is the author of Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education. In addition to his writing and speaking about the college experience, he also teaches classes and publishes research on the topics of leadership, the nonprofit sector, and pedagogy. Matt can be reached at [email protected].
About Heidi Kesler
Heidi Beck Kesler is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Academic Belonging & Learning Excellence, as well as the founder of the Aggie First Scholars program at Utah State University. She also established an academic success coaching program at Utah State. She helped develop a series of 1-credit behavioral habits of mind courses that provide students will timely needed help in specific learning skills. She holds an Master’s Degree in History from Montana State University. She is motivated to help students, and their communities, connect to the elevating power of education. Heidi can be reached at [email protected].
More episodes of the podcast Reframing the First Year Experience
Cultivating Habits of Mind
29/09/2025
Rethinking the Common Read
29/09/2025
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