Making STRIDES: Incorporating Equine-Assisted Learning in a First Year Student Experience Course
Location
Boston 1
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
Undergraduate admissions use proxy indicators of cognitive abilities – such as high school GPA and ACT / SAT score – as predictors of college success; however, succeeding in college requires more than cognitive abilities alone. Success in college demands noncognitive abilities, as well (Duckworth et al., 2007). Noncognitive refers to learner attitudes and beliefs, social and emotional qualities, learning processes, and personality traits, all of which influence how students perform academically and how they persist to graduation (Lipnevich & Roberts, 2012, p. 174).
Noncognitive abilities affect students across all levels of higher education but are particularly impactful for first-year students. A First Year Student Experience (FYSE) course offers an opportunity to introduce first-year students to the topic and implications of noncognitive abilities, as well as to foster the growth and development of these abilities among first-year students.
The VSU Students Together Reaching Individual & Educational Success (STRIDES) FYSE course uses Equine-Assisted Learning for first-year students to explore who they are as learners by investigating their own noncognitive abilities with a focus on growth mindset (Dweck, 2006), grit (Duckworth, 2016), and self-direction in learning (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991). This work will occur in both in the academic classroom and at an equine facility.
Keywords
First-year students; retention; equine-assisted learning
Professional Bio
Gwen Scott Ruttencutter, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Technology & Workforce Development at Valdosta State University, holds a PhD in Educational Psychology & Research from the University of Tennessee. Her scholarship broadly examines teaching-learning in higher education through the lenses of adult learning and positive psychology. Kate Warner, PhD, professor and Associate Dean of the College of Education & Human Services at Valdosta State University, holds a PhD in Marriage & Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University. She conducts and publishes research on family preservation, resilience, equine assisted learning, and working therapeutically with migrant farm workers.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ruttencutter, Gwen Scott and Warner, Kate, "Making STRIDES: Incorporating Equine-Assisted Learning in a First Year Student Experience Course" (2024). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 7.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2024/2024/7
Making STRIDES: Incorporating Equine-Assisted Learning in a First Year Student Experience Course
Boston 1
Undergraduate admissions use proxy indicators of cognitive abilities – such as high school GPA and ACT / SAT score – as predictors of college success; however, succeeding in college requires more than cognitive abilities alone. Success in college demands noncognitive abilities, as well (Duckworth et al., 2007). Noncognitive refers to learner attitudes and beliefs, social and emotional qualities, learning processes, and personality traits, all of which influence how students perform academically and how they persist to graduation (Lipnevich & Roberts, 2012, p. 174).
Noncognitive abilities affect students across all levels of higher education but are particularly impactful for first-year students. A First Year Student Experience (FYSE) course offers an opportunity to introduce first-year students to the topic and implications of noncognitive abilities, as well as to foster the growth and development of these abilities among first-year students.
The VSU Students Together Reaching Individual & Educational Success (STRIDES) FYSE course uses Equine-Assisted Learning for first-year students to explore who they are as learners by investigating their own noncognitive abilities with a focus on growth mindset (Dweck, 2006), grit (Duckworth, 2016), and self-direction in learning (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991). This work will occur in both in the academic classroom and at an equine facility.
