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Listen "Reimagining the First-Year Experience Curriculum"
Episode Synopsis
How can FYE programs organize their curricula and programming around the “why” of higher education to create learners with strong habits of mind? Join Harrison Kleiner, Heidi Kesler, and Matt as they explain how to reframe your FYE program around three “Big Questions” that take all that we do in FYE and connect it to the meaning and purpose that students need to understand in the first year of college. These big questions clarify FYE objectives for faculty, students, and administrators alike, creating a more intentional and impactful first-year experience.
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 Harrison Kleiner
Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education. Harrison 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 Harrison Kleiner
Harrison Kleiner is Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Philosophy at Utah State University and holds a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University. He is deeply involved in general education, the first-year experience, and student success, leading institutional efforts in curricular and assessment reform. He chairs or serves on several state higher education system committees and consults nationally with faculty on general education, assessment, and excellence in teaching. He teaches and writes on issues in perennial philosophy, theology, political thought, and liberal education. Harrison 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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