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