Re: My experiment, at the end of 1st year

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High School English Teachers Chatboard

Report from the field - how my study worked out.

by marjoryt

Dec 31, 2013

Summer 2013 I began an informal study and continued it into the Fall 2013 semester. Here's some of the data: THE BACKGROUND Our college has several methods of teaching courses: - traditional 18 weeks, meeting 3 hours per week on all sorts of schedules (fall and spring) - summer schedule 1 month, meeting 4 hours 4 days a week (in June and another in July) - online (about 16 weeks, and the students plan their own schedules; we make them reach an attendance marker every week such as taking a test; the students do 2 proctored tests also) - some weekend classes (all day for 2 weekends, then show up for an exam - this is limited to just a few courses, and the students are expected to do plenty of work in the off time) - short term "fast attack" courses (FOCUS OF MY STUDY)

WHY OFFER THIS: 1) We have students who basically know quite a bit of this material, and they need to move quickly through the course and get on to more work. 2) Neither the federal government nor the state legisla...See MoreSummer 2013 I began an informal study and continued it into the Fall 2013 semester. Here's some of the data: THE BACKGROUND Our college has several methods of teaching courses: - traditional 18 weeks, meeting 3 hours per week on all sorts of schedules (fall and spring) - summer schedule 1 month, meeting 4 hours 4 days a week (in June and another in July) - online (about 16 weeks, and the students plan their own schedules; we make them reach an attendance marker every week such as taking a test; the students do 2 proctored tests also) - some weekend classes (all day for 2 weekends, then show up for an exam - this is limited to just a few courses, and the students are expected to do plenty of work in the off time) - short term "fast attack" courses (FOCUS OF MY STUDY)

WHY OFFER THIS: 1) We have students who basically know quite a bit of this material, and they need to move quickly through the course and get on to more work. 2) Neither the federal government nor the state legislatures want to fund developmental courses, and the studies show the longer a student stays in developmental, the less likely that student is going to graduate from college. In addition, it's very possible for a student to completely use up the PELL grant funding before finishing a degree! 3) Our student athletes need to finish those developmental courses and "catch" up with their peers, so that they can keep playing eligibility for transfer. 4) Some majors require many, many courses - pre-med, nursing, music, art. The sooner the students can get through the "core" courses, the sooner they can focus on their major (and be more likely to stay in college). 5) Especially with freshmen, we lose some students, mostly to attendance issues (can't get out of bed to make it to class). There are also a few who register too late, or don't get the funding fixed. We can offer these students a "catch up." 6) Over and over, I hear from my students, "I DON'T like video math!" "I like doing my assignments with you around, rather than using a tutor or a lab assistant." "I'd like to have you for all of my English courses, because you understand my learning curve, and we won't repeat the same material." 7) Students don't have access to resources outside of class (instructor, materials, computers, time) HOW IT WORKS 1) Basically, I took what I've learned from the years here on Teachers.net about block classes, my own teaching experiences, my experiences with the students, and some outside research. I also had many conversations with the coaches, the ADA coordinators, and the computer lab staff. What complaints did they hear, what would they like, what's really hard to deal with....all that. 2) I offered 2 "fast attack" courses in 1 semester. The students signed up for developmental English and English Comp. 1. They were with me for the 2nd and 3rd periods, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That's a total of 6 hours per week. They purchased only the Comp. 1 materials. 3) There were 30 students in the class - that's twice the number recommended for developmental English. About 20 of them were athletes. About 12 of them also had ADA issues (yes, including some athletes); there was ADD, ADHD, 1 PTSD, and 1 Asberger's. I also had a single mother going through some major lifestyle issues. HOW THE CLASS WORKED Monday: 2nd period: Welcome the class, return any papers, review the week's unit, emphasize due dates, show course progress (usually a graph showing the congregate grade average), begin unit. I tried to provide a basic handout with spaces for them to fill in essential information - some handwriting issues in the class. 3rd period: We go to the lab, and students primarily work on their grammar software. Some will be revising their essays from last week. I take conferences and questions as needed. Wednesday: 2nd period: We really get into the week's writing assignment. As we go further into the course, the class does more work before coming in. I'll also show students example papers from the next course. We'll spend part of the class on "Stump the teacher" when they can ask questions on the grammar software, how to fix grammar problems, technology issues, advice about college. The student must ask the question formally and politely, so that the whole class can hear it. (Sometimes the student will ask the question before class privately, so I can help on the phrasing. I don't want them embarrassed in public.) I try to answer the question, or post a link to an answer in our LMS. 3rd period: Students choose how to use this time - reading, grammar, or composition. Friday: 2nd period: We meet in the classroom for a few minutes. I bring up the next week's unit very briefly, remind them about upcoming dates and work. If students have completed their weekly unit, I verify this and they are done for the day. Everyone else then goes to the lab early. Our focus is to complete the week's work; I'm there to help them however possible. (Sometimes I act as typist while they dictate the content. Often I'm tutoring with the grammar software.)

Every Wednesday, I download the LMS grade book, simplify it to show the main grades, and send that report to the coaches and ADA coordinator. Since we are all employees of the college, this is private information I'm allowed to share. Of course the students can always see personal grades. The coaches and ADA coordinator can make adjustments or contact me as needed - it's usually to let me know if their students need to leave early for a game or that they will emphasize more work in the course.

OTHER We end the first course at 9 weeks. The students have spent the same time with me as in a regular semester. Developmental students have been working in the same software and textbook as the Comp. 1 students, just doing assignments with more support from me. Comp. 1 students are doing regular assignments. In December, the students have 2 courses (6 semester hours) under their belts. Most of them have developed strong computer skills and good instructor/staff-student relationship skills. They have saved textbook costs for at least 1 course.

RESULTS: This is data over 2 semesters and 6 classes. 85% retention (average retention for developmental courses is about 50%) 82% average grade (at our college, this is a B, which makes the coaches joyful and really motivates the former developmental students)

SLO DATA FOR THESE STUDENTS: 1. 90% Achieved MLA format documentation standards appropriate to the course(developmental students format the document, Comp. 1 students format the document and include simple quotations and simple works cited page, and Comp. 2 students write an MLA format research paper with various quote styles and a bibliography.) 2. 98% of the Comp. 1 students submitted a passing bibliography assignment (finding and formatting sources from books, introductions, work in anthology, website, journal article in online database, journal article from printed journal/magazine/newspaper, video) 3. 92% of the Comp. 2 students submitted a passing literary research paper with a minimum of 9 applicable MLA format quotations. 4. 95% passed an analysis/argumentative essay assignment based on a college-appropriate reading assignment. The essays were in MLA-format, minimum of 5 paragraphs, and met department standards for thesis, content development and organization, and grammar.

So, this is working. Here's what I'm finding to be essential: 1. Ask your customers what they actually want, what are the problems they and the students experience, and whatever advice they can offer (the coaches are getting really excited about this, and they are being very supportive). 2. Don't let student issues stop you from success. I lent books and got free computer software access for those students who really needed it. I escorted several students to the counselors and VP of Students so they could get help. Once I showed up at the ladies basketball study hall to help my students. 3. Don't be afraid of the data. It was really scary to post those scores to the coaches and ADA staff every week! It was even worse to show those scores to the students. However, the scores provided the "buy in" the others needed, and the scores became very motivational. 4. Nothing is set in stone. If my students wanted 2 hours in the lab on Wednesday, I made that happen. If they wanted me to sit in an area outside the lab for very private conferences, I did that too. 5. Bump up the assignment difficulty, but provide a clear map for getting there. If the goal is for the student to write an argumentative essay, then I started the students on argumentative essays. We didn't do a single narrative or descriptive assignment in developmental English. They did narrative and descriptive paragraphs as support in those argumentative essays. I did lots and lots of modelling and had plenty of examples (textbooks, examples I wrote, examples from former students, examples online). 6. I did plenty of change ups - my normal lecture was 5 minutes, then do an activity (such as the whole class go to the whiteboard and write a paragraph, while I watched from the back and asked questions).

Onto the next semester! 3 other instructors will be joining me in the effort.

Comment

(3)

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Novel Really interesting to read. You have some flexibility in how you approach your teaching blocks...that helps. I would love you to teach my children :-)

Jan 1, 2014

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marjoryt I'm happy to tell you the 8 week plan has proven to be a success, not just with me, not just at my college, but across the state's community colleges. At least 3 more also offer these classes. Here are some more benefits:

1) Fewer teacher preps. 2) Catches the students who had cut out or had major health problems - just retry again the nex...See More

Dec 10, 2014

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Betty Ann marjoryt, I really appreciate hearing from you about what's working and what's not. This short term, intensive approach seems like a good idea for many reasons. I often find (alternative school setting) that students start out with a resolve to do well THIS time. By giving them the setting, schedule, tools to make it possible, you are having succes...See More

Jan 10, 2015

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