First-Year Seminars
All first-year students are required to take an Argument and Inquiry (A&I) seminar during their fall term. These seminars are designed to provide students with an understanding of the meaning and value of a liberal arts education during their first months at Carleton.
A&I courses explicitly introduce the ways that scholars ask questions, as well as find, use, and evaluate information effectively and ethically in constructing arguments. They give students opportunities for critical reading, thinking, discussion and college-level writing on a variety of topics, and are designed to enhance students’ abilities to collaborate effectively with their peers and professors.
Carleton Resources
Considering A&Is from the Student Perspective
LTC Lunch video 10/10/2023
Considering A&I
LTC Lunch video 5/2/2023
Placing Civil Discourse: Experience and Experiment
LTC Lunch video 1/10/2023
Building Trust in the Classroom
LTC Lunch video 9/20/2022
German Summer Circle Report: Syllabus Workshop
LTC Blog post
Learning Strategies for Students who Struggle with Focus on Deep Work, including Reading
LTC Teaching Toolbox resource document
The Invisible Curriculum and First-Generation Students
LTC Teaching Toolbox resource document
Rethinking Day One
LTC Teaching Toolbox
Coaching Students on Collaboration
LTC Blog post
Example Informal Reflective Writing Assignments for A&Is
WAC resource
WAC resource
Materials for Other Colleges, Universities, and Organizations
- Nancy Sommers and Laura Saltz, “The Novice as Expert: Writing the Freshman Year” College Composition and Communication 56:1 (Sept. 2004): 124-149.