Our Students Placed 2-3 Levels Below College English, but Look What They Can Do!

1. Our Students Placed 2-3 Levels Below College English, but Look What They Can Do! Summer Serpas Assistant Professor of English at Irvine Valley College Caroline Minkowski Instructor, Department of English at City College of San Francisco Andrea Hammock Assistant Professor of English and Reading at Mt. San Jacinto College

2. CALIFORNIA ACCELERATION PROJECT http://cap.3csn.org/ Supporting California’s 112 Community Colleges To Redesign Developmental English and Math Curricula And Increase Student Completion An initiative of the California Community Colleges’ Success Network (3CSN), funded through the Basic Skills Initiative of the state Chancellor’s Office. Additional support from the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, LearningWorks, and “Scaling Innovation,” a project of the Community College Research Center funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Katie Hern, Director khern@chabotcollege.edu Myra Snell, Math Lead msnell@losmedanos.edu

3. California Acceleration Project’s Community of Practice • The California Acceleration Project’s Community of Practice is an extended professional development program, led by Katie Hern and Myra Snell, that brings together faculty from colleges across California who are piloting accelerated courses in English and Math for a year of training and practical support in the theories and practices of accelerated teaching. • Over 100 California colleges have participated in workshops and conference presentations to date, and 42 colleges are receiving in-depth training and coaching to offer new accelerated English and pre-stats courses through the community of practice

4. California Acceleration Project’s Three Principles of Acceleration • Backwards Design Instruction should be aligned with students’ educational pathways, with pre-college writing courses focused on teaching the same kinds of reading, writing and thinking skills students will use in college-level writing • Just-In-Time Remediation Instructors should provide help for students when the need arises as they work through college-level reading and writing assignments. • Support for Student’s Affective Needs Instructors should help students through emotional or psychological barriers that block learning and have nothing to do with their cognitive ability

5. The Math of Long Developmental Sequences Chabot College pipeline data for students beginning two levels below college composition and tracked for three years: • Do they pass the first course? 66% • If they pass, do they enroll in the next course? 93% • If they enroll, do they pass the second course? 75% • If they pass, do they enroll in the college-level course? 91% • If they enroll, do they pass the college-level course? 78% Let’s do the math: (0.66)(0.93)(0.75)(0.91)(0.78)= 33% Fall 2006 Cohort. Students tracked from their first developmental English enrollment and followed for all subsequent English enrollments for 3 years. Pass rates includes students passing on first or repeated attempts within timeframe. Basic Skills Cohort Tracker, DataMart.

6. Does Acceleration Work? While we understand the math behind acceleration, we often ask ourselves, “Can students perform at the higher academic levels required of them in the accelerated classroom?”

7. Classroom Case Studies Today, we will look at how students who were placed 2-3 levels below college English perform when we raise the academic bar and allow students to show they are capable of meaningful, complex academic work when we follow the three principles of acceleration.

8. Classroom Case Studies Each presenter will discuss the following: • Traditional vs. accelerated track at her college • Sample assignments and student writing from the traditional track • Sample assignments and student writing from the accelerated track • A comparison of grading strategies in the traditional and accelerated track Today’s presentation is based on information gathered for an article titled “Faculty Across California Impressed by Accelerated English Students” by HomeiraFoth, English Instructor at Chabot College. This article is available on the California Acceleration Project’s website: cap.3csn.org

9. Summer Serpas, Assistant Professor of Englishsserpas@ivc.edu

10. Accelerated Sequence Traditional Sequence Acceleration at IVC

11. Sample WR 301 Assignment

12. Characteristics of the WR 301 Assignment • Simplistic topic—Lack of critical thinking • Categorizing types of friends • Very little reading • 3 ½ page article: “Friends, Good Friends—and Such Good Friends” by Judith Viorst from The Simon and Schuster Short Prose Reader • Prescriptive • Tells the students exactly what they should do and gives them little to no freedom to make academic decisions on their own

13. Characteristics of Student Writing in WR 301 • Formulaic • Student follows the pattern described in the prompt • Lack of analysis • Thesis contains no analytical depth • Lack of critical thinking • Analysis at the end of the paragraphs is very brief • Very little academic creativity • Student makes up a type of friendship not discussed by Viorst in paragraph 3 • Not an illustration of college-level writing • This assignment does not illustrate what the student will be asked to do in other college-level classes, neither in content nor structure

15. Characteristics of the EXP 389 Assignment • Complex and extensive academic reading assignments • High level of critical thinking required • “Consider the grey areas” • Freedom to make academic choices • “Things to Shoot for” • College-level thinking and writing required

16. Case Study: Ypani Guerrero • Ypani placed three levels below college writing and had previously taken our Reading 370 class. • In the previous semester, she tried to enroll in WR 301 (two levels below college-level writing), but could not get a seat. • She was a model student who always asked for feedback and incorporated that feedback into her writing. • She had me shaking my head thinking, “Why was she placed so low?”

17. Characteristics of EXP 389 Student Writing: Ypani Guerrero • An ability to navigate the ideas in two very difficult texts • Strong grasp of the concepts in the text • Ability to integrate quotations into both her writing and her argument • Looks at complexities and shows an ability to see beyond black and white arguments • Struggles in word choice, awkward syntax, missing commas

18. Approaches to Grading • We must look beyond the superficial “prettiness” of papers produced by traditional assignments. • We should see past superficial “messiness” and look for examples of strong critical thinking and an ability to synthesize ideas. • We must praise emerging critical thinking and writing skills.

19. Ypani discusses her experiences in the accelerated class

20. Caroline Minkowski Instructor, Department of EnglishCity College of San Franciscocminkowski@ccsf.edu

21. Accelerated Sequence Traditional Sequence Acceleration at CCSF

22. Sample English 92 Assignment “Jonetta Grissom’s Future” from Integrations • Students read a case study about Jonetta Grissom, a waiter at a restaurant who wishes to take time off work to participate in a government-sponsored computer training program. • Then, they write an essay in which they evaluate arguments for and against granting Jonetta the time off and explain what decision her manager should make and why.

23. Characteristics of the English 92 Assignment • Short, below-college-level reading assignment • 3.5 page case study • Prescriptive • Explicit instructions for thesis and organization • Contrived topic • No real-world connection • No critical thinking • Not likely to generate interest

24. Characteristics of Student Writing in English 92 • Lack of coherence • The paragraph topics do not connect. • Lack of analysis and critical thinking • The thesis is overly broad. • The paragraphs contain a lot of information from the text but not much analysis. • Lack of college-level reading and writing skills • The essay does not synthesize information from multiple sources. • The essay does not contain direct quotes. • Student had no opportunity to make decisions about organization, paragraph topics, etc.

25. Sample English 9293 Assignment Final Project: Can We Stop Gang Violence? • Individually, students answer the course’s driving question using evidence from the texts they read throughout the semester plus one source from the library’s online databases. • In groups, students publish their essays in online zines and present their zines to the class.

26. Characteristics of the English 9293 Assignment • Critical thinking • Argument about a complex, multifaceted issue • Cumulative reading skills • Synthesis of a semester’s worth of academic reading materials • Research requirement • Evidence from one article from the library’s online databases • Real Audience • Essays published online

27. Case Study: Lauren Leung • Lauren placed three levels below transfer. • She grew up in Hong Kong and moved to the United States four years ago. • She was accepted at San Francisco State University but chose to attend CCSF for financial reasons. • She has a growth mindset: she never gave up, asked for help, took advantage of all rewrite opportunities, and was very engaged when working in small groups.

28. Characteristics of English 9293Student Writing: Lauren Leung • Fully comprehends the course’s texts and the articles from the library • Develops arguments with text-based evidence from multiple sources and clear, thorough analysis • Makes original arguments • Acknowledges different points of view • Needs to work on breaking up paragraphs, transitioning between ideas, and identifying grammatical errors • Shows her ability to work more independently

29. Approaches to Grading • Acknowledge what students can do instead of evaluating them from a deficit perspective • Positive competency levels on grading rubric • Exceeding, meeting, approaching, developing, beginning

30. Lauren’s Zine http://kkmblgroup.blogspot.com

31. Andrea HammockAssociate Professor, English & ReadingMt. San Jacinto Collegeahammock@msjc.edu

32. Accelerated Sequence Traditional Sequence Acceleration at MSJC

33. Sample English 62 Assignment “Compare and Contrast” Write a paragraph with a clear topic sentence and appropriate transitional words where you compare and/or contrast your life now to your life one year ago.

34. Characteristics of the English 62 Assignment • Mode-based paragraphs • Little reading • Prescriptive • Explicit instructions for topic sentences, topics, and organization • Basic topic • No critical thinking • Not likely to generate interest

35. Characteristics of Student Writing in English 62 • Lack of interest • Student was unable to “dig deep” • Lack of analysis and critical thinking • Lack of college-level reading and writing skills • Student had limited opportunity to make decisions about organization, paragraph topics, research, etc. • “NO time” for reading or research

36. Sample English 92 Assignment Final Project: What Hinders Our Success? • Students answer a question related to the course’s theme using evidence from the texts they read throughout the semester plus multiple sources from the library’s online databases. They write a 6 page, analytical research essay and present the results to the class.

37. Characteristics of the English 92 Assignment • Critical thinking • Argument about a complex, multifaceted issue • Cumulative reading skills • Synthesis of a semester’s worth of academic reading materials and Outliers • Research requirement • Evidence from 3-5 articles from the library’s online databases • Appropriate use of outside sources

38. Case Study: Robert White • Robert placed two levels below transfer. • Had “never passed an English class.” • Admitted on the first day of class that he does not enjoy English, writing, or reading • Strong writer, critical thinker, motivated • Fixed mindset turned into growth mindset • Now considers majoring in English

39. Characteristics of English 92Student Writing: Robert White • Significant depth and breadth of writing and knowledge • Develops arguments with text-based evidence from multiple sources and clear, thorough analysis • Makes original arguments • Acknowledges different points of view • Grammar errors fixed themselves • Show confidence • Continues to work on considering all solutions to problems

40. Approaches to Grading • Praise and support • Questioning • Emphasis on thinking • Student analysis and self-reflections • Little discussion of grammar

41. Robert Discusses Acceleration