The Last Week

Hi all,

Well, I'm finally home. The Kellogg experience was extremely informative, fun, and exhausting.

Here's some random tid-bits from Week 4:

Developmental Ed's guru, Dr. Hunter Boylan, lead the discussions this week. The main focus was outcomes assessment and program evaluation, and we were visited by Michael Collins of Jobs for the Future.

• National studies by the Dev. Educ. Initiative show that 33% of students are placed or referred to developmental reading (23% of those are placed in the highest level) and only 44% of students are successful. The numbers for math are worse. Dev. Ed. is not working as it does not appreciably increase student outcomes!

• National studies show that students who place just below the cut score do not benefit from dev. classes, but are successful if they are placed in transfer-level courses with supplemental instruction. So, Betty, this supports what you are investigating (placing students into EN 101S).

• We discussed the American Association of Higher Ed's 9 principles of assessment-I won't list them all here, but we can talk about them at some other time. We should look at intermediate metrics not only summative data to see how we are doing at certain times within a course.

By the way, I'll be doing a congruency comparison for my practicum. I'll attach my practicum prospectus to a future post.

And then Week 3 Ended

OK, so I have been slacking a bit in the blog department. Week 3 was a whirlwind. We covered learning support services and diversity issues.

I'll keep the info brief; I'll share more details when I return.

I read quite a bit about peer-assisted learning/tutoring. I know at my previous institution a colleague created a student group made up of students who excelled in Dev. Ed. coursework and wanted to share their experiences while helping other students in Dev. Ed. classes. The group had a social aspect (in fact, it was a student club!). Select peer mentors went through training and were used systematically in assisting students in and out of class.

I've been busting my rump trying to put together my practicum prospectus (examining the alignment between EN 50A and EN 101 and the efficacy of our final exit essay exam/process). At the core of it all I hope to answer the following: Is our final exit exam an assessment of the students' performance or a means of assessing their skills for placement into EN 101? Is it both? Can it be both?

Basically, I created a small firestorm on the FCC campus when I suggested we pilot the use of Accuplacer Sentence Skills with our EN 50A students at the end of the semester, in conjunction with adminstering the current final essay exam. We'll see what happens once the smoke clears.

Some things I hope to address in my practicum: 1) figure out what the entry competencies for EN 101 are by doing a survey of instructors, 2) investigate best practices for assessing writing, and 3) analyze data to see how well we are preparing students and if our standards are valid...

On a personal note: I got to see my wife and kids this weekend, so that was nice!!!

One more week of Kellogg then it's time to ramp up for the semester.

Week 3 Begins

Hi all! I guess I'm a bit presumptuous saying "all"... I'm not sure anyone is actually following this blog. Ha!

Today, we discussed Student Learning Support. Jane Nueberger, President-Elect of NADE, lead the seminar. [Some of you may remember Jane since she also spoke at the DEAM Conference in May.]

Interesting tid-bit: Supplemental Instruction (peer tutoring) has been proven to increase learning, retention, academic success. "Historically difficult" classes can benefit from this.

Historically difficult= "gatekeeper" class where 30% or more receive a D, W, or F (in FCC's case a Z, W, or U grade).

Our EN50A falls into this category (60% pass rate 5/yr. average). Maybe creating a cadre of successful EN50A students as peer tutors that work with our 50A students (in and out of class) may just help. That could be a nice "pilot" program somewhere down the line.

More to come soon.

Amy Sedaris

This is more of a tweet than a blog post, but it's the end of a long week. I'm going to see comedian Amy Sedaris tonight on campus here in Boone. She should be funny...well, hopefully as funny as her brother, David (saw him in at Weinberg Theater in Frederick last year).

I'll write more in the days to come.

Zen Master

Good day today. Worked out early this morning. Attended class sessions where we discussed the results of our Canfield Learning Styles Inventory...I'm an Independent/Conceptual learner (I like to work on my own-at least initially-and I like structure to my learning environment).

Spent some time with my Special Interest Group; we're investigating how to bridge the gap between the highest level developmental writing courses and entry-level transfer courses (i.e. EN 101). Some interesting questions arose: "What are the basic competencies that EN 101 teachers expect EN 50A students to have when starting EN 101? Are these the same expectations they have of students who enter their classes via a passing Accuplacer score?" Hmmm.

I visited with my practicum advisor, Dr. Rob Sanders. I'm trying to shape my practicum prospectus. Looks like mine will be more research-based than practice-based for the time being; I'll be researching effective exit exam processes and hopefully be able to make some recommendations to our department in a year's time. I'll get into that more in the future.

Oh, and I went to yoga tonight for the first time in many, many years. It was great!

I miss my wife and kids, but I'll be smarter and in the best shape of my life when I return.

Namaste.

Digital Storytelling

I just went to a really cool seminar on "Digital Storytelling." Digital storytelling uses Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements to convey short (3 1/2 minute) visual narratives. Students write a 375 narrative (or condense a longer version) and record a reading of it, collect images, edit photos, and assemble sound/music and graphics. Still photos, film clips, and other media can be used.

This concept can be used for students in developmental and transfer-level writing courses (I envision it as value-added component for EN 101!), and does not have to be a narrative. Digital creations can focus on practically anything. This seminar focused on personal, historical, natural, social, and culture topics, but that doesn't mean other modes cannot be explored through digital technology.

Brian and Kelly, I know you have more technical expertise than I do, and I won't bore all of you with the details, but feel free to drop me a line if you have questions (copyright, technical, methods...). The facilitator of the seminar handed out comprehensive information and helpful step-by-step procedures.

Check out this website to see more: www.cvcc.edu/digital_storytelling

Some Substantial Stuff From Week 1

Here is some interesting information from the first week (assessment/placement):

1. The results of student assessment/placement tests (ex. Accuplacer) are designed to be implemented using a RANGE of scores rather than one cut score. Currently, FCC uses 90 as the cut score apparently because there is a "formal agreement" by community colleges statewide. After a little investigation I found out: a) MD communitiy colleges are wise to publish one cut score to students to avoid confusion, b) the 90 cut score in MD was determined as a "bench mark" not a hard-and-fast rule, c) therefore, many MD community colleges do not use one cut score to determine placement, and d) since we don't have common courses or course design in developmental classes and EN 101/102, it makes sense that we tailor our assessment needs.

2. The Accuplacer should not be considered a perfect assessment method. It is valid and reliable, but the standard error of measurement is highest for students who score in the "gray area" (just below or above the score that would place them EN 101)--and those are the students we are most trying to serve! Using a range is one helpful way to address this, but other means are necessary. Here are the important factors in making placement decisions (priority order):
1. Placement test scores--if a student scored in the gray area for the Accuplacer sentence skills area, consider looking at how a student scored in the Accuplacer reading portion to help determine placement. Aim for a consistency of scores.
2. Other available test information--our in-house essay exam* &/or SAT/ACT tests can help (although the latter are aptitude tests not assessment tests; they are not as valid and reliable as assessment tests). We can use SAT /ACT data to help with placement, not just to determine who is exempt from taking the placement tests.
3. High school background data--high school rank (%/tier in class) being the most effective, courses completed and GPA are less reliable data
4. Age/maturity--older students may be more committed, younger students tend to over-estimate their abilities.
5. Student opinion--not necessarily self-placement, use only if other data is unavailable
6. Additional testing

*Grading of in-house essay exams was discussed, and I can share some of that information at a later date. Just a peek: most research supports using a 6-point scale rubric that is cross-graded. Oh, joy.