South Texas CollegeMcAllen, Texas

Virginia Norquest, M.A.Karen Armitano, Ph.D.

Jinhao Wang, Ed.D.

League for Innovation Conference

February 27 - March 2, 2011

San Diego, California

Literature ReviewGillespie, M. K. (2002). “EFF Research Principle: A

Contextualized Approach to Curriculum and Instruction”

--Defines contextualized curriculum and instruction as relating real-life contexts to teaching and learning in light of cognitive research and transfer of learning

--Aims at skills and knowledge learners need to perform tasks meaningful to learners in real life

--Focuses on application rather than possession of knowledge and skills

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Literature Review

Baker, E., Hope, L., and Karandjeff, K. (2009). Contextualized Teaching & Learning: A Faculty Primer

-- Contextualized teaching and learning (CTL) is based on motivation theory, problem-centered learning, social learning theory, and brain research.

-- CTL means relating subject matter in a course to meaningful situations that have relevance to students’ lives.

-- CTL can be utilized to support learners’ basic English, math, or English as a Second Language skills.

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Literature Review Association of American Colleges and Universities & Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (2004). A Statement on Integrative Learning.

--Connecting skills and knowledge from multiple sources and experiences

--Applying theory to practice in various settings

--Understanding issues and positions contextually

--Addressing real-world problems that require multiple areas of knowledge and multiple modes of inquiry

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--Interdisciplinary understanding means “the ability to integrate knowledge and modes of thinking from two or more disciplines to generate a new insight” (p. 2)

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Literature ReviewProject Zero, Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. (2006). Teaching for Interdisciplinary Understanding: A Framework for Design

--The design for teaching for interdisciplinary understanding includes five dimensions:

•Multifaceted topics (topics applied to multiple disciplines)

•Disciplinary understandings (concepts or theories linked to multiple disciplines)

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Literature Review

Project Zero, Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. (2006). Teaching for Interdisciplinary Understanding: A Framework for Design (continued)

Literature ReviewProject Zero (continued)

• Integrative understandings (insights generated from multi-disciplines)

• Performances of understanding (flexible thinking used in novel situations)

• Targeted assessment (key assignment elements assessed to provide student feedback)

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Literature Review

--Price, D. V. and Roberts, B. (2009). Improving student success by strengthening Developmental Education in community colleges: The role of state policy

-- Recommends various ways to strengthen Developmental Education. Among them include the following:

• “New ways of contextualizing curriculum by integrating academic skills with occupational programs” (p. 3).

• “Alternative delivery of programs (e.g., Career Pathways, bridges) to accelerate the transition from developmental education to college-level courses” (p. 3).

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South Texas CollegeLocated in the Rio Grande Valley

College facts• Fall 2010: 29,563 students• Spring 2011: 27,362• Population: 94% Hispanic• Financial Aid: 86%• First-generation

college going 63%

Entering Freshmen in either Dev. English or

Dev. Reading 38%

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South Texas College

Three Developmental English levels

• Fall 2010------ 71 (582), 81(806), 91(498) = 1,886 • Spring 2011--- 71 (621), 81(811), 91(546) = 1,978

• Classes scheduled twice weekly for a total of 3 hours lecture and 1 hour lab

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Developmental English: Placement Scores (p.3)

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Developmental English: Placement Scores (continued)

• Grade Equivalency

91 9.75 - 10.6 grade81 8.6 - 9.7 grade71 3.3 - 8.5 grade

To Exit Developmental: Students can take/pass Accuplaceror THEA at any time.

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Developmental English: Curriculum Evolution1994-2004: Curriculum focused on basic skills training

Engl71—Sentences/Grammar Skills Engl81—Paragraphs/Grammar Skills Engl91—Essays/Grammar Skills

2004-2007: Curriculum focused on longer discourse sequenced by rhetorical modes (heavy emphasis on test preparation)

Engl71—Paragraphs/Essays: Narration, Process Analysis, PersuasionEngl81—Essays: Description, Cause and Effect, PersuasionEngl91—Essays: Definition, Illustration, Persuasion

2007-2009: Curriculum of all levels based on real life issues and focused on theme-based writing projects that integrate reading and research

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Developmental English: Curriculum Evolution (continued)

2009-Present: Curriculum contextualizes core courses (Funded by Gates Foundation)

• integrates academic writing skills

•integrates academic research

• integrates communities

• integrates developmental departments

• integrates an academic discipline

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DEI Grant Flow Chart

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Inter-Contextualization between Developmental English, Reading, and Math

Across developmental departments

• reading and math assignments in writing

• writing and math assignments in reading

• reading and writing assignments in math

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Intra-Contextualization within Developmental EnglishWithin Dev. English 71: History and Sociology (syllabus--pp. 4-10)

• writing assignments—5 writing projects, 13 journals, 5 interviews, and 5 videos (approximately 30 pages of writing)

• reading assignments—history and sociology textbook excerpts, academic research articles, web links, peer discussions, and short stories

• math assignments—legends, maps, charts, graphs, and elementary statistical analyses

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Weaving It Together: The Challenge

Design two major writing projects with a historical or sociological perspective

Teach novice writers how expert writers work

Teach developmental students at the academic level

Accelerate acquisition of writing skills

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Overarching Themes

• Identity• Community

• Overview of DEI Grant: History Writing Project• narration/description—Weeks 1-8 (pp. 4-7)

• Who Am I? (paragraph #1—pp. 11-19) • Where I Came From (paragraph #2—pp. 21-32)• My History (essay #1—see pp. 33-55)

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Contextualizing History—Why?Part of core curriculum (pp. 56-57)

• no pre-requisites for History 1301

Identifies groups of people in society• movement of peoples

Places individuals in community groups• ancestral community, family community, college

community

Addresses diverse perspectives, alternative visions, and historical change and unity• first generation college students

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Using History Textbook

History 1301 textbook (Out of Many) displayed to class communities in prefacemaps, pictures, and graphs about the migration/diversity

of people in chapterdigitized images from textbook on classroom computer

Students buy printed excerpts from History 1301 textbook• special arrangements with publisher• inexpensive excerpts

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Contextualizing Reading via History Instructor chooses stories, articles and/or websites

using history faculty as consultants

Readings relate to family and history: Sullivan Ballou letter, “Notes of a Translator’s Son,” “Change of Attitude,” Cisneros’s “Only Daughter,” “Why Study History?” Abraham Lincoln’s

migration trail, family tree, migration maps, family name crest, You Tube’s “Mi Familia,” “Who Do You Think You Are?” “Life is Beautiful,” and “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

Students write journal entry based on history textbook supplement reading

Both Developmental English and Developmental Reading integrate history textbook supplement into curriculum

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Writing Journals

For 71 classes, students write a total of 13 summary & response journals

instructions for journal (pp. 58-59)sample journal entry (p. 60)

For history project specifically, students summarize and respond to:

history textbook supplementshort storiesvideos on-line

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Researching Actively!

Family history interviews (p. 41)

Students find 1-2 interviewees

• relative

• family friend

• students ask interview questions

• students takes notes

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Let’s Do It!

Ask a “shoulder partner” interview questions (p. 24)

Take brief notes

Be a good interviewer

Switch

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Creating a Family Tree Students fill in Family Tree (p. 44)http://develop.southtexascollege.edu/devenglish/courses/descriptions.html

Names including maiden names

Birth cities

Birth dates

Mother’s and father’s sides color coded

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Let’s Do It!

Examine the family tree (p. 30)

Tell “shoulder partner” how far back you can trace your family

Following two slides depict family trees created by students in Developmental English 71 (Instructor: Ms. Melba Perkins at Starr County Campus)

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28

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Understanding Cartographic Information

Examine migration maps in Out of Many

Determine personal family migration routes

Color code family migration map

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Let’s Do It!

Examine map (p. 31 )

Tell “shoulder partner” about your family’s migration trail

Why did relatives leave?

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Deciphering Family Names

Website—House of Names (p. 32) www.houseofnames.com

insert last name

read history of name meaning

print out family name meaning and family name crest (p. 46)

other Google websites32

Writing the History Paragraphs

• Paragraph #1: Who Am I? -- (p. 12)

• sample (p. 15)• outline (pp. 16-17)• draft, write, revise (Paragraph Check Sheet pp. 18-19)

• Paragraph #2: Where I Came From -- (pp. 22-23)

• sample (pp. 26-27)• outline (pp. 28-29)• draft, write, revise

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Teaching the Paragraph

Organization (Who Am I? & Where I Came From)topics (p. 14 Who Am I?)topic sentences (p. 16 Who Am I? , p. 25 Where I Came From)supportconclusion and full circlegrammar formatting

Vivid language: simile, metaphor, or personification (p. 13)

Transitions

Student sample paragraphs (p. 15 Who Am I?, pp. 26-27 Where I Came From)

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Writing the History EssayEssay #1: My History -- (p. 34)

• two body paragraphs (already done)

• sample essay with attachments (pp. 38-48)

• outline (pp. 49-51)

• draft

• attachments list (p. 54)35

Teaching the Essay

Essay Structure (p. 35)

Introduction (p. 37)lead-in: history quotes, interviewee quotes, story, shocking

statement, statistics, question, or factbackgroundthesis statement (p. 36)

Conclusionso what? full circle

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Assessing, Revising, and Publishing• Final Steps

self-assess (Self-Check Sheet pp. 42-43)

go for tutoring

revise and correct (Peer Editing Check Sheet pp. 52-53)

rewrite

publish online (Blackboard) (pp. 55, 63)

respond online37

So What? (for students)Students--

• engage with concrete and high interest topics

• learn essay structure via their personal histories (learn to write!)

• transition step-by-step yet quickly to college level writing

• use flexible thinking in novel situations

• develop critical thinking skills via challenging curriculum

• become familiar with technology38

So What? (for faculty)• Faculty--

• collaborate via exploration of topics within department

• collaborate with academic departments via dialog and reflection/“collective responsibility for student learning” (T. Wagenaar, The Chronicle, Feb. 23, 2011)

• create curriculum of substance through innovation

• improve teaching because of curriculum innovation

• feel proud of developmental curriculum

• participate in on-going evaluation of curriculum 39

What’s Next? Developmental Courses--

Fall 2009: Contextualize sociology

Fall 2010: Contextualize history

Fall 2011: strengthen and create new history and sociology topicsstrengthen relationships with academic facultycontinue to gather, analyze, evaluate data, and make

changes for improvement as needed

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Assessing Project Learning OutcomesProject SLOs (p. 61)

Means Comparison

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Assessing Project Learning OutcomesFrequency Comparison (% Scoring 4--Exceeding expectation)

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Assessing Project Learning Outcomes• Frequency Comparison (% Scoring 3--Meeting expectation)

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Assessing Project Learning OutcomesFrequency Comparison (% Scoring 2--Somewhat meeting

expectation)

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Assessing Project Learning OutcomesFrequency Comparison (% Scoring 1--Not meeting expectation)

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Assessing Project Learning Outcomes

• Frequency Comparison (% Scoring 0--Not Present)

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Student Reflections about Their Learning Experience with the Contextualized

Curriculum

Student Reflection Paper Prompt (p. 62)

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Student Reflections (continued)Knowledge about the family history before working on this project

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Themes Examples Number of Hits

% of Hits

No /Little Knowledge

Didn’t know that much. /Never asked. /Knew little about it.

13/46 28%

Partial Knowledge

I knew about my last name being that of a city in a country called Nigeria, but that was all I knew of before./ My grandparents would work out in the field since they were young.

16/46 35%

General Knowledge

I knew that we were truly 100% Mexicans and we are proud. What I didn't know was that my grandparents were labor in crops that they owned themselves./My family came from different parts of the world and the states.

16/46 35%

Everything I knew almost everything. 1/46 2%

Student Reflections (continued) Knowledge about the family history after working on this project

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Themes Examples Number of Hits

% of Hits

Detailed Knowledge

Migration trail/life style/stories/ Grandpa traded livestock for clothing and shoes and enjoyed playing guitar

34/46 74%

Family Values Sacrifice/Worked hard to give us better life/Family togetherness

10/46 22%

Importance of Heritage

I learned how to value my family history/Confirmed the importance of my ancestors.

3/46 7%

Nothing New I learned nothing new. 1/46 2%

Student Reflections (continued)Benefits gained while completing this entire writing project

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Themes Examples Number of Hits

% of Hits

Detailed Knowledge of Family Roots and Stories

Learned about my family’s migration trail/family tree/family stories

26/46 57%

Appreciation for the Family Heritage

Appreciated grandparents’ sacrifice/Gained knowledge, values, culture, and tradition/Proud of my ancestors

11/46 24%

Knowledge and Skill about Organizing an Essay

Learned to organize an essay/to take the project step by step/to juggle multiple sources

9/46 20%

Facilitation of Connection Building

Made me talk to my parents/wanted to meet my relatives/wanted to pass the stories to my children

5/46 11%

Knowledge of Self

Learning my family history helped me not only know my family better but myself/Found more about myself

2/46 4%

Student Reflections (continued)

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Themes Examples Number of Hits

% of Hits

Challenge in Gathering Information

No time to interview/can't find interviewees/Family members’ stories conflicted/family far away/difficulty in finding required information-family crest

28/46 61%

Challenge in Synthesizing Multiple Sources/Organizing Information

Hard to summarize large amount of Info/putting it all together/organizing the information and write the essay

9/46 20%

Grammar Comma/ Run-ons 3/46 7%Challenge in Managing Time/Stress

I waited until last minute, and there was so much to do/I had family issues and a lot of stress

3/46 7%

No difficulty I didn’t have any challenges/It was never hard

3/46 7%

Irrelevant responses I never thought I could do this/Migrating a big family was hard/blank

3/46 7%

Challenges encountered while completing this entire project.

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Recommendations Based on Data

1. Encourage students to talk to their relatives earlier on

2. Design instructional strategies to help students learn how to synthesize

3. Use blackboard for students to post their work for peer review

4. Provide more modeling for map making

Contextualizing: Keys to SuccessProvide stipends ($$)

Have proximity/regular meetings/faculty engagement

Choose the best subjects to contextualize

Do not expect perfection immediately

Reach out to consultants

Develop web-enhanced or hybrid classes (p. 63)

Evaluate project53

ReferencesAssociation of American Colleges and Universities & Carnegie Foundation for the

Advancement of Teaching. (2004). A Statement on Integrative Learning. Retrieved February 14, 2011 from http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/dynamic/downloads/file_1_185.pdf

Baker, E., Hope, L., & Karandjeff, K. (2009). Contextualized Teaching & Learning: A Faculty Primer. Retrieved April 3, 2010, from www.cccbsi.org/Websites/basicskills/Images/CTL.pdf

Gillespie, M. K. (2002). “EFF research principle: A contextualized approach to curriculum and instruction.” (EFF Research to Practice Note 3). Jessup, MD: ED Pubs. Retrieved April 3, 2010, from http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/collections/eff/masters/03research-practice.pdf

Price, D. V. & Roberts, B. (2009). Improving student success by strengthening Developmental Education in community colleges: The role of state policy. (Policy Brief). Retrieved April 3, 2010, from the Working Poor Families Project’s Website: http://www.workingpoorfamilies.org/pdfs/WPFP_policybrief_winter08-09.pdf

Project Zero, Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. (2006). Teaching for Interdisciplinary Understanding: A Framework for Design. Retrieved February 14, 2011 from

http://www.evergreen.edu/washcenter/resources/upload/teachinginterdisciplinary.pdf

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