Strategic Decision Making for Fast Tracking Developmental English Students

1. Strategic Decision Making: Fast Tracking Developmental English Students Dr. Barbara Buchanan, InstructionalDeanDeirdre Hayes-Cootz, Grant DirectorDr. Lana Myers, Associate Professor of English

2. Presentation Topics • College Demographics • Innovative Strategies • Curriculum Redesign • Linked Classes • Integrated / Fast-Tracked Classes • Sustainability

3. College Demographics

4. College Demographics(Spring 2012) • One system; 6 colleges • LSC-M: 3rd largest college • 13,230 students at LSC-Montgomery 13,230 4,311 LSC-University Park Source: http://www.lonestar.edu/departments/institutionaleffectiveness/SP12_Official_Day_Daily_Reg_and_Site_Enrollments.pdf

5. College Demographics(cont.) • 62% Female • 38% Male • 72% White • 20% Hispanic • 9% Not Specified

6. College Demographics(cont.) • 37% of students are 20-24 years old • 87% of students are In-District

7. English Department • 17 Full-time faculty in the English Department • Two full-time faculty dedicated to DE through grant funding (Instructors began teaching in fall 2011) • Other full-time faculty teach one, or more, DE courses per semester Elizabeth Pena EuraDell Davis

8. Dev.English Course Sections

9. Curriculum Redesign

10. Curriculum Redesign • Transition from “In-House Labs” to MyReading / MyWriting Labs • In fall 2011, 50% of instructors used MyReadingLab/MyWriting Lab; 50% used “In-House” labs • In spring 2012, comparative data prompted transition to 100% use of MyReading/MyWriting Labs (lab paid for by grant) • In fall 2012, students will purchase lab codes with their textbooks • Drop-Policy Change – starting spring 2011, students with 8 hours of absences (two weeks of class) are dropped for non-attendance

11. Curriculum Redesign (Cont.) • Curriculum Alignment Review - Developmental English Chair reviewed all instructor syllabi for strict alignment to the Learning Outcomes for the course and standard assessment percentages for labs, the final exam, etc. (ex. 15% for labs; 10-20% for Final Exam) • New Curriculum developed for Integrated Reading and Writing Courses • Integrated Reading and Writing I • Integrated Reading and Writing II(To be discussed under Integrated/Fast Track discussion)

12. Linked Classes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHjxzTPGNII

13. Linked Classes • Linked classes – two instructors collaborate to link assignments, readings, themes, and assessments • Linked class options for students: • All four Dev. English classes + 1 student success course (fall 2010; fall 2011) • 1 upper-level Dev. English reading or writing course combined with speech, psychology, or sociology • Gateway Developmental English (Developmental Writing II) paired with Composition and Rhetoric I (college-level English) • Developmental Writing Review (four week course) paired with Composition and Rhetoric I (12 weeks of college-level English)

14. Linked Classes: Data FALL 2011

15. Linked Classes: DataFall 2011 (Continued) • Developmental English paired with college credit courses Writing II and SPCH 1311 • Summary: ENGL 0307 Control vs. Cohort Fall 2010 • Cohort ENGL 0307 completion rate was 96%, and Control completion rate was 84%. • Cohort ENGL 0307 success rate was 95%, and Control success rate was 81%. • Cohort SPCH 1311 completion rate was 96%, and Control completion rate was 87%. • Cohort SPCH 1311 success rate was 95%, and Control success rate was 79%.

16. Linked Classes: DataFall 2011 (Continued) • Developmental English paired with college credit courses Reading II and Psychology • Summary: ENGL 0305 and PSYC 2301 Control vs. Cohort Fall 2011 • Cohort ENGL 0305 completion rate was 56%, and Control completion rate was 83%. • Cohort ENGL 0305 success rate was 100%, and Control success rate was 76%. • Cohort PSYC 2301 completion rate was 65%, and Control completion rate was 92%. • Cohort PSYC 2301 success rate was 45%, and Control success rate was 79%.

17. Linked Classes: DataFall 2011 (Continued) • Gateway Developmental English paired with college credit English course Writing II and Comp. I • Summary: ENGL 0307 Control vs. Cohort Fall 2010 • Cohort ENGL 0307 completion rate was 95%, and Control completion rate was 96%. • Cohort ENGL 0307 success rate was 76%, and Control success rate was 92%. • Cohort ENGL 1301 completion rate was 95%, and Control completion rate was 98%. • Cohort ENGL 1301 success rate was 63%, and Control success rate was 58%.

18. All Developmental English Courses – Data: Completion and SuccessBaseline vs. Cohort Comparison of Completion and Success Between 2-Year Baseline and Cohort by Subject • Summary: Baseline 2008-09, 2009-10 vs. Cohort Year 1 2010-2011 • DE ENGL completion rate remained 86%, while success increased +6% in Cohort Year 1 2010-2011.

19. All Developmental English Courses – Data: Completion and SuccessFall to Fall Comparison Comparison of Completion and Success Between 2-Year Baseline and Cohort by Subject Fall 2008, 2009 to Fall 2011 • Summary: Baseline Fall 2008, 2009 vs. Cohort Fall 2011 • DE ENGL completion rate decreased by -4%,while success increased +8%.

20. All Developmental English Courses – Data: Completion and SuccessFall 2010 through Fall 2011

21. Integrated / Fast Tracked Classes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY5MZoVp9nk

22. Integrated / Fast Tracked Classes • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) charge – combining reading and writing to accelerate student progress through the developmental sequence • Theoretical Background – Combining Reading and Writing • Research suggests that there is an especially beneficial effect to combining writing with reading activities (Graham & Perin, 2007). • Tierney et al. (1989) notes that "reading and writing in combination have the potential to contribute in powerful ways to thinking.” •  Langer (1986) purports, "When writing essays, students seem to step back from the text after reading it - they reconceptualize the content in ways that cut across ideas, focusing on larger issues or topics. In doing this, they integrate information and engage in more complex thought.”

23. Integrated / Fast Tracked Classes • Two new, integrated courses developed: ENGL 0302: Integrated Reading and Writing I (for fall 2012) (Dev. Writing I (0306) + Dev. Reading I (0304)ENGL 0309: Integrated Reading and Writing II (piloted spring 2011, fall 2011, and spring 2011 (Dev. Writing II (0307) + Dev. Reading II (0305) Each course meets four hours per week – 3 lecture; 1 hour lab

24. Integrated / Fast Tracked Classes (Cont.) • Scaling of Integrated Reading and Writing II (ENGL 0309) Pilot • Spring 2011 – 25 students; 2 sections • Fall 2011 – 60 students; 3 sections • Spring 2012 – 44 students; 3 sections

25. Integrated / Fast Tracked Classes (Cont.) • Pre and post-testing with THEA-IBT • Students offered an incentive to pre and post-test with the THEA-IBT • THEA-IBT cost covered through Dev. Ed. grant • With access to the students’ THEA-IBT data, instructors assessed students’ strengths and weakness at the onset of the semester and then adjusted lesson plans as needed

26. Integrated / Fast Tracked Classes (Cont.) Fall 2011 THEA-IBT Data • Reading score avg. increased by +18.12 points • Writing score avg. increased by +37.71 points Skill Area improvements: • DEV ENGL instructors focused on the four skills areas with lowest avg. scores. • Instructors collaborated, developed, and shared lesson plans to address skill development in areas: Word Meaning, Critical Reasoning, Mechanics, and Effective Sentences. Spring 2012 THEA-IBT Data • THEA-IBT Pre-Testing project is in progress for all 3 sections of ENGL 0309

27. Integrated Reading and Writing - Data: Completion and Success • Summary: • First sections of ENGL 0309 offered in Spring 2011. • Spring 2011- 2 sections offered, 25 students enrolled. Completion rate was 92% and success rate was 70%. • Fall 2011- 3 sections offered, 66 students enrolled. Completion rate was 88% and success rate was 84%. • Spring 2012 – 3 sections offered, 45 students enrolled. Data will be evaluated in summer 2012.

28. Integrated Reading and Writing- Data: Persistence • Question: Are we helping or hurting students via accelerated and integrated course delivery? • Response: • Although the pilot is small, initial data appears to show that students in the accelerated courses are maintaining the same completion and success rate as those who are completing DE ENGL through separate, semester long, reading and writing courses.

29. Integrated / Fast Tracked Classes – Skip-A Level(Cont.) • Skip-a-Level – THEA-IBT Retesting • Activities: • Case managers and instructors recommend students re-take THEA-IBT. • DEDP funds used to purchase THEA-IBT units. • Outcome: (Summer and fall 2011) • 16 students skipped 1 DEV ED course • 2 students skipped 2 DEV ED courses • $2,862 = Total tuition savings of 18 students* • Time Saved-Opportunity for students to enroll immediately into college level courses • Other Considerations: • Retention Rate • Operational cost savings • Cost = $812 ($29/unit * 28) • *based on in-district tuition $159 per 3 credit hours, page 39 of LSCS 2010-2011 catalog.

30. Sustainability

31. Sustainability • Two full-time Developmental English, grant-funded faculty moved to hard money (optimally) • Professional Development • As a cohort, faculty have pursued 9 hours of graduate coursework in Developmental Reading / Developmental Education from Texas State University - San Marcos; some of the coursework applies to a Certificate in Developmental Education offered by TSU-SM. • Five ENGL faculty completed RDG 5320 Foundations of Literacy Instruction Summer 2010 • Five ENGL faculty completed READ 5324 Content Literacy Fall 2011 • Three ENGL faculty enroll in DE5324Teaching Learning Strategies and Critical Thinking Spring 2012 • Strategies learned through the graduate coursework are shared with FT and PT faculty through Dev. English workshops • Dev. Education experts have been brought-in to provide workshops to FT and PT faculty concerning critical thinking, student engagement, and active learning • Over a dozen Faculty attended a week-long TIDE (Technology in Developmental Education) conference in San Marcos, TX in summer 2010 and summer 2011 • Faculty have receiving training on the lab software used in Dev. English classes

32. Sustainability (Cont.) • Integrated Reading and Writing I and II will become the only Dev. English curriculum options in fall 2012 and beyond • Developmental English is pursuing NADE Certification • Intrusive advising will be attached to Education 1300 (Study Skills) course • Part-time advisors attached to Integrated Reading and Writing I and II courses • Use of online lab in all Dev. English courses (Aplia [Cengage]) standard starting in fall 2012

33. Sustainability (Cont.) • Integrated Reading and Writing I and II will be linked to EDUC 1300 (Study Skills) courses • Continue to encourage students to Skip-a-Level by retesting on THEA-IBT • Develop a dedicated, Dev. English lab to serve students by supporting practice outside of the classroom environment

34. Works Cited • Alverman, D., Phelps, S., & R. Gillis. (2010). Content Area Literacy and Reading. 6th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. • Langer, J.A . (1986) Reading, writing, and understanding: An analysis o f the construction of meaning. Written Communication, 3(2), 219-267. • Tierney, R. J. (1985). Reading Writing Relationships: A Glimpse at Some Facets. Reading Canada Lecture, 3(2), 109-116.

35. Questions? Thank you for your time! Barbara.L.Buchanan@lonestar.eduDeirdre.R.Hayes-Cootz@lonestar.edu Lana.C.myers@lonestar.edu