17
“Writing” Our Wrongs: CSUB and MyWritingLabPlus Pearson Course Redesign, February 2012 Randi Brummett ([email protected]) Brooke Hughes ([email protected])

“Writing” Our Wrongs: CSUB and MyWritingLabPlus Pearson Course Redesign, February 2012 Randi Brummett ([email protected]) Brooke Hughes ([email protected])

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

“Writing” Our Wrongs: CSUB and

MyWritingLabPlus

Pearson Course Redesign, February 2012

Randi Brummett ([email protected])

Brooke Hughes ([email protected])

CSU, Bakersfield

About California State University, Bakersfield

Quarter-based campus (10 weeks)

Non-traditional students

Most do not live on campus

Average age = 23

Enrollment: almost 8,000 Students

38% Hispanic (3,040 students)

73% of those students are ESL or Generation 1.5

62.5% First-Time Freshman Regular Admits requiring English Remediation

Commuter Campus

Budget Cuts/Furloughs

Because of the items above, we decided to rethink our course design.

Challenges that Lead to Using Technology

We lacked

Money

Time

Space

Quality & Consistent Learning

A Better Way to Track SLOs

Small class sizes (from 23 to 35)

English 50 – Basic Skills

Model used: Replacement

Before After

Description Required writing tutoring hours after class every day

10 required topics and pre/post diagnostics in MWLP outside of class

Work Environment Full class (17-25) with one tutor (often inexperienced)

Students work on their own

% of Grade 0% (required hours, but no category set aside in overall grade)

10%

Grade Determined By Attendance Score in program

Types of Topics Covered Various grammar and writing

Basic & sentence level grammar

Summer only, grant funded Entrance program

English 80 – Reading and Writing

Model used: Replacement

Before After

Description 10 required separately scheduled grammar workshops (1 a week for 1 ½ hours each) outside of class

10 required topics and pre/post diagnostics in MWLP outside of class

Work Environment Class split into 2 groups (anywhere from 12-15 students)

Students work on their own

% of Grade 10% 10%

Grade Determined By Attendance Score in program

Types of Topics Covered Basic & sentence level grammar

Basic & sentence level grammar

Developmental course Focuses on paragraph to essay

English 99 – Writing and Critical Thinking

Model used: Replacement

Before After

Description 10 required pick-and-choose grammar mini-lectures (1 a week for 1 hour each) outside of class

15 required topics and pre/post diagnostics in MWLP outside of class

Work Environment Groups can be anywhere from 2-200

Students work on their own

% of Grade 10% 10%

Grade Determined By Attendance via sign up sheet

Score in program

Types of Topics Covered Writing Writing

Developmental course Focuses on essay and modes

English 110 – Writing and Research

Model used: Supplemental

Before After

Description There was no clear before/after for this course, as we did not use the Replacement model.

Program is OPTIONAL5 – 10 topics, chosen by the instructor to best supplement their class

Work Environment Students work on their own

% of Grade No more than 10%

Grade Determined By Score in program

Types of Topics Covered Varies by instructor from grammar to writing to research

Freshman composition Focuses on research paper

Humanities 207 & 407 Model used: Fully

Online

Before After

Description Students work one-on-one with an instructor for 17 hours on grammar, writing, etc.

20 required topics and pre/post diagnostics in MWLP

Work Environment Walk-in and/or appointment only

Students work on their own

% of Grade 100% 100%

Grade Determined By Completing all 17 hours Completing 20 topics & diagnostics

Types of Topics Covered Writing, Grammar, Documentation, etc.

All topics in the program

One unit, Credit/No Credit course

Non-English Courses

We are working with multiple courses across disciplines as a grammar supplement.

Two Options

Linked Option: Students sign up for the one-unit course 207/407 where we manage it

Incorporated Option: We train the instructor & help him/her create a course in MWLP, where he/she manages it

Disciplines we’ve worked since 2006:

Social Work, Sociology, History, Chemistry, Geology, Communications, Business, Music

Beginning in 2011, we began offering trainings for non-English faculty throughout the year

Thus far, we have trained 27% of our faculty!

Our Training Process

English faculty are trained/re-trained every summer at orientation, regardless of previous experience (mandatory)

We offer frequent “brush up” trainings for English faculty throughout the year

Writing Resource Center tutors are trained at least once a year

Our Training Process, cont.

Non-English faculty are trained in a three tier process:

Tier One: Demo/Informative Session (30 minutes)

Tier Two: Hands-On Session (1 hour)

At the end of the session, faculty are given a consultation form

Tier Three: One-on-One Consultation (30 minutes-2 hours)

Faculty meet with us one-on-one to go over the consultation form and discuss the best way to incorporate MWLP into his/her class

Tier Four: In-Depth Training (30 minutes-2 hours)

Faculty come in for hands-on, in-depth training to learn about how manage their course, set up the study plan, etc.

Tier Five: MWLP Learning Communities (1 meeting/quarter)

Faculty gather in small groups to discuss pedagogy and curricular policy when using MWLP.

Faculty receive a “comp buddy,” who keeps in contact with them for the year and can help with the implementation of MWLP in the course.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

Course Redesign data

CSU, Bakersfield

Redesigned Developmental Courses Compared to Traditional with Mini-Lectures/Tutoring Component

Since our redesign, our fail rate in developmental courses is

almost 8% lower.

Average Retention (in %) of Students in English Courses

After the redesign, on average, our retention rate went up

14.9%.

Average Length of Time (in Quarters) Students Spend in English Courses

After the redesign, our students are spending an average of 1 less

quarter in remediation.

Percentage of Grades Comparing Preparedness for Freshman Composition

In Freshman composition, the pass rate of students who used

the program in a previous English course is 8% higher.

Pre- to Post-Diagnostic Comparison

On average, there is a 20% improvement between pre and post diagnostics in all classes

using MyWritingLabPlus.