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Developmental Reading and English Course Redesign. By Karen Cowden, M.A. Ed Design support by Wes Anthony, M.S. What do we hope for: the engaged student. What makes me celebrate: collaborative teams. Redesigning Courses – All Models. The first thing:
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Developmental Reading and English Course Redesign By Karen Cowden, M.A. Ed Design support by Wes Anthony, M.S.
Redesigning Courses – All Models • The first thing: • Consider key student learning outcomes that must be achieved. • Important factors: • Technology is a tool that will continue to be relevant to student’s long-term success in work and life. • Peer-to-Peer collaboration builds best comprehension. Current Dev. Ed. models Redesignedmodels
Combining Courses • The second thing: • Combined planning session between English and Reading faculty must be partnered with key players at the college such as: • Academic Advising, Financial Aid, Bookstore, Student Services, New Student Orientation Teams, and more. Current Student Services RedesignedStudentServices
Problem Solving take Passion and Persistence married to meaning, progress, and action
“4C’s of college”™: • Choice • Control • Curiosity (connections) • Collaboration
My Resources My Sources of Inspiration
My new academic agenda: Help students learn the “insiders language” of college and our culture.
Currently, more than 80% of community college students entering higher education institutions across the United States need some form of remediation.
Students do not want prep work….. They want real work! AND…. They want to know how to “do” this thing we call college!
Summative Notes from my Sources Avoidance is counter productive – personalevidence build success Confusion chipping away at student’s self-concept – radical acceptance Student’s primary motivation for enrollment– good job/financial security Low tolerance for confusion or making mistakes – model peaceful behaviors Help student’s overcome fear – submit to the feelings and overcome it through acceptance
“Does college have to be so hard?” – Student “Nope, it just takes some tools. I will show you.” – Professor
How I did course Redesign: Lab and Lecture (Instructor supported) • Active Learning Lesson/Lecture sections meet twice weekly to support learning. • L.A.B. = Learning Actively through Basics • Students provided Open Lab setting facilitated by an instructor that allows peer-to-peer practice at least once a week (best twice a week). ActiveLearningLesson
A new vision of learning environments: Reduce students’ “fear factor” of college in general. Reduce their fear of failure in their coursework (always allow retake opportunities). Fundamentally integrate technology. Foster Peer-to-Peer Learning.
Goal = Learning how to consume information Kovach, Rosentiel, and Leyva regard the value of information, even in the midst of a changing culture, as “relevant to the one who consumes it.”
Help students link it all together. Connections to my personal/social life Connections to my campus Connections to my career Information Literacy & Me! Connections to my community Connections to my college courses
We all need to know we can come back to our resources when needed
Longitudinal Success Rates Further, 92.9% of the students from the pilot group passed their Freshman Composition course with an A, B, or C.
The Silver Bullet of Success = Consistency of Curriculum In no small measure, the “silver bullet” was providing a “safe space” for developmental students to clear-up confusion with reading comprehension in advance of their credit-course sequence. Providing students opportunities to work together to achieve personal, social, and career goals, collaborating and building critical thinking, lead to an empowerment experience.
Best Practices: Creating Modules • Choose an appropriate number of modules for each course. • Create Power Points and choose videos which clearly teach the information for each topic. • Use vocabulary chapters for each Module. • Include a writing assignment as part of the Module work. (Also include this as a question on the Module test. Use this as a rough draft/final copy).
“Start Here” - options Peer-to-Peer Practice/Lab section My Skills Lab Begins with two pre-tests Ends with two post tests Students work through a study plan based on their scores on the pre-tests. Students can be exempted from areas thanks to pre-tests. Students also get a second chance at mastery through a shorter second diagnostic pre-test. • Two contact hours per week • One credit hour • Begins with peer-to-peer review of assignments, activities, etc.
Instructor Workload: Day-to-Day • Grade Module tests, submissions, and clear alerts regularly. • Check student notes, writings, and reading assignment answers before they attempt a Module test. • Design the active learning activity for the unit – prepare all materials. • Collaborate with lab assistants to prepare the session for the week. (Topic, activities, assignments, etc.)
A few things to remember • Make certain that all students take the diagnostic tests seriously. That means providing sufficient time to take the tests. • Make students take those diagnostics tests under instructor supervision. • Remind students that doing well on the diagnostics may mean less work in MSL. • Build partnerships with other areas and individuals in the college – remember a teamwork approach is the best plan.
In Closing • This has been a successful format in my courses so far, but we are constantly looking for new, innovative ways to improve our program to make the experience more beneficial for our students. • It has morphed a bit from the initial offering, but it gets better and runs more smoothly with each subsequent semester. • Pilots of our redesign implementation will be formal in spring 2014; however, many of the pilots are already in the works. Reports will be available soon. • Contact me if you need on-campus support or collaboration. • Karen Cowden, M.A. Ed. • kcowden@valenciacollege.edu • 321-695-0877 (cellular)
