the community college of baltimore county aclt 052: integrating reading, writing, and thinking for...
TRANSCRIPT
THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF BALTIMORE COUNTY
ACLT 052: Integrating Reading, Writing, and
Thinking for Student Success
Presenters
Professor Sharon Hayes, Reading Faculty and Coordinator
Professor Ryan Donnelly, English Faculty
Dr. Jeanine Williams, Reading Faculty and Coordinator of Reading Acceleration Initiatives
Workshop Overview
Introduction to ACLT 052
Skill-embedded Curriculum
Thinking-focused Pedagogy
Growth-centered Assessment
Group Activity and Gallery Walk
Discussion and Questions
Got Questions?
Well, we have answers!
As questions arise, please make note of them on your index card.
We will answer 2-3 pertinent questions after each segment.
We have allotted plenty of time for discussion and questions at the end of the workshop.
Introduction to ACLT 052
Developmental Reading and English at CCBC
Reading 051 –5 hours (36-60)
Reading 052—4 hours (61-78)
English 051—4 hours (up to 57)
English 052—3 hours (58-89)
Reading 052/English 101 Learning Community—8 hours
English 052/101 Accelerated Course—6 hours
Why Rethink Developmental Reading?
Successful accelerated courses in developmental English and math
Persistence issues—compounded by multi-level sequence
Problems with placement testingAffective issues and changing student
populationLack of skill transfer from developmental
reading to credit coursesThe Completion AgendaChanges in federal aid guidelines
What is ACLT 052?
5-credit integrated Reading and English course focused on critical thinking
Students with the following placements are eligible to enroll in ACLT 052:ENGL 051 and RDNG 051 ENGL 051 and RDNG
052ENGL 052 and RDNG 051 ENGL 052 and RDNG
052
Successful students move directly to credit courses with developmental reading and English pre-requisites
ACLT 052 Student Placements
Spring 201268 students
23 (34%) R051/E051
35 (51%) R051/E052
4 (6%) R052/E0515 (7%) R052/E0521 (2%) R051/E101
Fall 2012177 students
32 (19%) R051/E051
119 (70%) R051/E052
5 (3%) R052/E05111 (6%) R052/E0521 (.5%) R051/E1011 (.5%) R052/E1012 (1%) CEED/E051
Benefits of ACLT 052
Authentic college-level experience
Multiple low-risk opportunities for students to discuss, think, and write
Increases students' familiarity with academic culture by attending to the affective domain
Eliminates exit points and shortens pipeline for students
Lowers cost of developmental coursework for students
Capitalizes on the heterogeneous class environment and eliminates the mental classifications of 051 and 052
Skill-Embedded Curriculum
Guiding Principles: Curriculum
Not based on the outcomes for the existing courses
College-level tasks with an emphasis on English 101 and other 100-level credit courses
Students “practice college” instead of working on pre-college skills
Whole, complex reading instead of paragraphs
Address affective issues through course assignments and activities
Not a literature course
Embedded Course Reading, Writing and Thinking Skills
Academic literacy and academic discourseThe reading-writing processOrganizational patterns and rhetorical modesCritical reading, writing, and thinkingReader responseUsing source materialsWriting and evaluating argumentsGrammar, punctuation, spelling, and usageAudience awarenessEssay organization and development
Unit Plan
Theme Reading Writing Readings Essay
Education and Acquiring Knowledge
ProcessMain Idea and Supporting DetailsTHIEVESMetacognitionTalk-to-the- Text
ProcessThesisSupportPrewritingDraftingRevising CARDEditing
Superman and MeThe Banking Concept of Educationfrom The Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglasI Just Wanna Be AverageLearning to read
Educational Autobiography Acquiring Knowledge
Other Units
THEME READINGS ESSAYS
Cultural Differences
Myth of the Latin WomanNight WalkerVeiled IntentionsFish Cheeks
Assimilation: Reality or Fantasy(synthesis)
Social Issues The Ghetto Made Me Do ItSeeking the Roots of ViolenceIs Torture Ever Justified?Death and Justice
I-Search(research)
Media and Technology
The Future of the WebSociety is Dead: We Have Retreated Into the iWorldIs Google Making Us Stupid?The Information Revolution Will Not Be a Panacea
Society, Technology, and Our Future(argument)
Materials
Central Text: No Impact Man, Colin BeavanSupplemental readings:
Newspaper and magazine articles. Scholarly journal articles Peer writing
Videos: food production system, “Story of Stuff,” happiness, etc.
Major Assignments
4 Essays (including a research project)Weekly discussion board posts1 Educational autobiography1 Presentation1 Final Portfolio
Unit Format
Themes and Texts
Reading/Writing Skills Mini-Lessons
Pre-reading/Pre-writing Activities
Independent Reading w/ Guide Questions
In-class, Post-reading Activities
Unit Exam (In-class Writing Assignment)
Essay
Typical Class
Quiz on homework
Small group comprehension-based activity
Quick-write on theme-related critical thinking question
Mini lesson on a timely reading/writing skill
Exam preparation— “Speed Dating”
Essay planning and drafting
Peer editing
Instructor-student conferencing
Everyday is different—“No Autopilot”
“We Don’t Need No Education”: The Politics of Schooling
Essential Questions—provide the larger context for critical thinking and discussion
Embedded Skills—introduce students to the “academic state of mind” and basics of academic reading and writing
Affective Issues—address lack of “student posture”, provide space to interrogate previous educational experiences, and provide an opportunity to create a new “narrative”
College-level Texts—examine various educational narratives as a springboard for self-examination
Exam and Essay—focus on “big ideas” and critical thinking
Embedding Skills
Brief, but explicit discussion of academic habits of mind to set the stage
Students move to immediate practice of college-level tasks via class work and homework assignments
Focusing on the big ideas of the reading selection students practice:
• Activating prior knowledge• Annotation and note-taking• Finding main ideas• Questioning the text and hypothesizing• Inferences and conclusions• Basic writing/ paragraph structure• Supporting Assertions
Thinking-Focused Pedagogy
Guiding Principles: Pedagogy
Turn our assumptions on their head or “before they can do this, they have to do this.” Start with the real academic tasks right away—not baby steps
Use a thematic approach
Use active learning techniques
Use triage to deal with student areas that need support rather than lowering the entire curriculum to sub-skills—“just in time remediation”
Have a “growth mindset” towards students and their progress
Help grow student sense of responsibility
Scavenger Hunt Scenarios
What happens if you and your friend “share” the answers to a homework assignment?
Your friend, Mario, asks to see your homework. He tells you that his mother was sick and he had to take her to the hospital and couldn’t do it. He promises that he’ll only ask to copy this one time if you would just help him out now. How do you respond to his request?
The Syllabus
Reading Integrated
Discussion of fast food and obesity Read “Weight of Blame” Identify the main idea and
supporting details Intervention:
Use of quotation marks? Who is the author?
Publication? Audience? Revise main idea and supporting
details
Entry 1: Free write: “fast food and obesity”
Discussion Entry 2: If you were the editor of
Restaurants and Institutions, what point would you make about eating out and obesity?
Discussion Read “Weight of Blame” Entry 3: What was the author’s point and
why do you think that? Discussion (agreement or discrepancy
between entries 2 and 3) Small group/pairs: analyze the major point
in ¶6. Entry 4: Analyze ¶7 or ¶8. Entry 5: What is your “take away” from
this reading experience?
The Integration
Reading Integrated
Main idea practice Supporting details practice Read carefully
No future transference or even memory of the intervention discussion (purpose, audience, etc.)
Main idea practice Supporting details practice Read carefully
+ Author’s purpose and audience+ Critical thinking+ Accountability for learning
+ Transference of concepts (purpose, audience, etc. ) to future discussions
Comparison of Results
Guide QuestionsCritical Thought
Questions
How did Douglas’ mistress change? What role did bread play in
Douglas’ reading instruction?
How did the understanding of the term abolition change Douglas?
Why did Douglas begin to envy his
fellow slaves? How did Douglas learn to write?
Why would slave owners want to ensure that their slaves were kept illiterate?
Why would the ability to read and write
become so important to Douglas? Why did Douglas “[come] to feel that
learning to read had become a curse rather than a blessing”?
Who might have been the audience for
Douglass’ work? What similarities exist between
Douglas’ experience and that of Malcolm X or Sherman Alexie?
The “So What?” Factor
Large group discussion
Given a “before” and “after” model
In groups, evaluate which is better and why
Share results with class
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU
Discussion of the video
In groups, identify areas in first drafts could be rewritten for more effectiveness.
The Art of Revision
The Challenge of Critical Thought
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSMCKNkKyFA
How can you relate this group to this class?
Growth-Centered Assessment
Guiding Principles: Assessment
Holistic approach to assessing student work—look at content as well as grammar
Progressive approach to grading: tolerance for less than perfect work early in the semester
Provide a lot of “low-risk” opportunities to talk, think, and write before graded, higher-stakes assignments
Embrace 3 Goals: Independently read and understand complex academic texts Critically respond to the ideas and information in those texts Write essays integrating ideas and information from those
texts
Assessment Structure
Three stages1. Pre-reading2. Reading3. Post-reading
Pre-Reading
Goal: Tap into existing knowledge
Free-writeWatch videoClass discussionKey concepts and terms
Pre-Reading
Example: Prep for a reading on importance of biodiversity Free-write and discussion
What is a food web? Why is it important to understand?
During discussion: How do food webs work?What is extinction and why is it a problem?What would happen if a disease killed all the
spiders in the world?
Pre-Reading
Lecture: Reinforce concept of systems and how
they function. Reinforce “relationships” of organisms to
each other. Introduce “biodiversity” as a term.
Reading
Goal: Guide students to facilitate comprehension.AnnotationsGuiding questionsDual-entry journalsWritten responses
Reading
Article: “Will we soon be extinct?” by Josh Clark. Annotations Guiding Questions:
Why is nitrogen important to humans? How do worms keep up us alive? What will happen if species continue to die? How much biodiversity is in your neighborhood?
Count as many different kinds of life as you can (think about large animals like humans, about small ones like insects, and about bacteria, mold, and fungus as well.)
Post-Reading
Goal: Assess comprehension and engage with concepts. Quizzes Response papers Discussion Group activity Further research
Post-Reading
Short Quiz: How do many advances in technology depend on
nature?
Discussion: Why is biodiversity important? What places might have high and low levels of
biodiversity?
Follow-up: How bio-diverse is our campus?
Post-Reading
Essay Problem: How can we increase biodiversity on the
community, national, and international level? Make a case for biodiversity Offer solutions for species extinction
Individual actionCollective action
Discussion/Essay Prompts
Integrated Directly address content Prompt sophisticated writing
Critical Thinking Students should cognitively engage with
content(e.g. craft an argument)
Discussion/Essay Prompts
Article: “Sex Selection Should be Regulated,” by Hattie Kaufman.
Dr. Steinburg and Dr. Caplan disagree on this issue. Explain each of their ideas, and then write an argument in which you take a side on the issue of if we should have government regulation of this issue.
Discussion/Essay Prompts
Article: “Will we soon be extinct?” by Josh Clark. How can we increase biodiversity on the
community, national, and international level? Make a case for biodiversity, citing
Clark’s article. Offer solutions for species extinction.
Remember to think about individual action as well as collective action.
Focus on heavily… Focus some on…
Emergent skills Engaging with
contentGauging
comprehension
Sentence complexity
Academic toneMajor grammar
issues e.g. sentence
boundaries, subject-verb.
Responding to Writing
Responding to Writing
• Incorporating quotes.• Engaging with those
statements. • Drawing inferences.
• “Thousands of dollars”?
• How do you think Walton feels about the “low-benefit model”?
• Should you introduce the paragraph material first?
• Tone.
• Walmart founder Sam Walton once said, "I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We're going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of employment." So what does that tell you? Well I can tell you, what I think of that statement. I think that, If Wal-Mart wants to continue making thousands of dollars per year, than Walmart should not only worry about how much money Walmart can make, but how successful Walmart employees could be, what they can learn, and employees can make more money by working full time schedules, if that’s what the employee prefers.
Responding to Writing
The Grammar QuestionTriage / Just-in-time
Most urgent needs first Assess group needs One-on-one or brief lectures
Always practice grammar in context
Group Activity and Gallery Walk
Workshop
Directions:1. Develop a lesson plan.2. Remember integration, embedding, &
critical thinking. 3. Use the following organizational model:
Pre-reading Reading Post-reading
4. Create group poster
Discussion and Questions
ACLT 052 Final Grades
Spring 2012
27 (40%) S33 (48%) U 1 (2%) I5 (7%) FX 2 (3%) W
Fall 2012
101 (57%) S45 (25%) U 1 (1%) I23 (14%) FX 7 (3%) W
Pass Rates by Placements
Spring 201249%
R051/E05235%
R051/E051 40%
R052/E052
Fall 201260%
R051/E052 50%
R051/E051 82%
R052/E05260%
R052/E051
Fall 2012 to Spring 2013 Retention Rates
Total Cohort 72%
Passing Students 83%
African Americans 72%
Contact Information
Dr. Jeanine L. WilliamsCoordinator of Reading Acceleration [email protected]
Prof. Sharon [email protected]
Prof. Ryan [email protected]