From Developmental Education to Gateway Courses and Beyond Implementing Developmental Education...

From Developmental Education to Gateway Courses and Beyond

Implementing Developmental Education Reform at Florida State College at Jacksonville

October 2014

Rich Turner, Joanne Mechmech, Marilyn Metzcher-Smith, and Kathleen Ciez-Volz

Reform Strategies• Developmental Education

– Compressed Courses– Modular Courses– Early Start/Bridge Program– Direct Entry into Gateway Courses

• Gateway Courses– Communications

• ENC 1101 or ENC 1101C

– Math• Two Pathways

– STEM: MAT 1033– Non-STEM: MGF 1106 and/or MGF 1107

Choosing Among the Options

• Resources and Tools

– Developmental education Web page: http://fscj.edu/academics/developmental-education

– Developmental education handout

– SB 1720 Progression Chart

“Understand your options . . . make informed choices.”

Planning for Reform

• Research-based approach to reform

• Collaborations, partnerships, and pilots key

– The Early Start/Bridge Program

– Diagnostic and prescriptive instruction in compressed and modular math courses

– Holistic approach to embedded support within college English

The Early Start/Bridge Program

Summer 2013 Pilot

• Summer 2013: Second of two pilots involving P.E.R.T. placement and diagnostic testing, remediation, and retesting

– Launched in Summer 2013

– Selected Pearson’s MyFoundationsLab

– Included tutorial support in mathematics via Smarthinking

Program Requirements

– Based on prior P.E.R.T. study, the following requirements for program participation were implemented:

• Upper level placement only, potentially in all three areas– Reading (96-103) Overall (84-103)– Writing (90-98) Overall (90-98)– Mathematics (104-112) Overall (96-112)

Results of Pilot

• 114 students signed up to participate in the pilot; 110 retests administered

• Retest results:– Math: 33 of 64 students retested college ready (51.6%)

– Reading: 16 of 23 students retested college ready (69.5%)

– Writing: 15 of 23 students retested college ready (65.2%)

– Overall: 58.2% of the retake students retested college ready

Results in Mathematics• Of students who placed into MAT 0028 but retested and placed into

MAT 1033:

– 16 of 18 students (88.8%) who took MAT 1033 earned a “C” or higher

– College-wide student success rate for MAT 1033 in Fall 2013 term: 65.31%

• Of students who placed into MAT 0028, then retested, and placed back into MAT 0028:

– 20 of 24 students (83.3%) who took MAT 0028 earned a “C” or higher

– College-wide success rate for MAT 0028 in Fall 2013 term: 66.56%

Results in English

• Of students who placed into ENC 0025, retested, and then placed into ENC 1101:

– 11 of 15 students (73.3%) who took ENC 1101 earned a “C” or higher

– College-wide student success rate: 76.87%

Observations

• Program coordinated by the College’s Assessment Centers

• A zero or near zero resource option

• Program targets only students who place into specified upper-level ranges on the P.E.R.T.

• Nearly 60% of students retested as college ready!

Actions and Next Steps• Pilot became core part of developmental education reform plan

• Tutorial support added for all three discipline areas

• Opened point range to any upper level placement

• Aligned diagnostic component (path builder) with Florida Common Core

– Shortened diagnostic components

– Lessened chances of overload in assignments

• Have begun working on proposal to target students who place into lower-level developmental math course (MAT 0018)

The Integration of Diagnostic and Prescriptive Software in Compressed

and Modular Math Courses

Getting Started

• Formed college-wide teams to develop curricular and instructional design model in MAT 0018 and MAT 0028

• Collaborated closely with the college-wide Math Council on course learning outcomes, instructional topics, hours allocated, and assessments

• Reached consensus about software: Pearson MyMathLab

Creation of Modular Courses

• Created modular courses (MAT 0055 and 0056) from MAT 0028 curriculum

– Diagnostic test results used to determine individual student learning plan

– Competency-based learning with “backward” instructional design

– Strategic Schedule Design:

• MAT 0055/0056 (A-4/4 weeks)• MAT 1033 (B-12/12 weeks)

Overview of MAT 0028 Course in MML

Next Steps

• Design of one seamless, integrative learning experience for developmental math students

– Use of a single access code for developmental mathematics

– Use of modular courses for students who fail MAT 0028

– Pilot of adaptive learning via Knewton technology

– Enhanced faculty professional development and training

A Holistic Approach to English Instruction

ENC 1101/SLS 1931 ENC 1101C• The Problems:

– Teaching grammar discretely did not lead to better student writing (writing=holistic endeavor)

– Biggest obstacles to student success came from non-cognitive issues (student school/life=holistic balance)

• The Pearson “New Start” Solutions:– Move discrete grammar skill/drill out of the classroom and into

the online environment

– Provide additional layers of support and relationship building

The “New Start” Solutions

• Move discrete grammar skill/drill out of the classroom and into the online environment

– MyFoundationsLab: access to Smarthinking; professors, tutors, and mentors monitor progress

– What did we do with the extra class time?• Collaborative activities• Reflective written pieces on the learning process, writing process, etc.• Active learning activities to support ENC 1101 assignments• Readings/summaries• Additional sentence skills instruction

The “New Start” Solutions• Provide additional layers of support and relationship building

– Tutors: require some use (build into assignment)

– Mentors: make use optional, but encouraged

– Smaller class size

– Collaborative activities/active learning

– Reflection activities built in throughout

– Focus on learning how to learn

Observations and Conclusions

• Anecdotal observations indicate success:

– In both SLS sections: rapport building, intellectual curiosity, student engagement

– Observed benefits: co-requisite, contextualized, individualized, relationship building

– Caveat: student self-selection?

• Conclusions

– Relationships and student life skills critical to academic learning (=holistic balance)

– Communications and collaboration essential

Next Steps for Developmental Education Reform

• Data analysis of student success in developmental education and gateway courses

• Exploration of modular courses for students who fail compressed courses

• Exploration of supplemental instruction and tutorial-based models

• Exploration of seamless curriculum and single software access code model for developmental math

Questions and Answers