English 255 Acceleration

Flex Workshop

Friday, Feb. 1, 201312:30-3:00pm

Introduction/Overview

• State Legislature, Basic Skills Initiative• Repeatability, 3 Strikes• Financial Aid Considerations – BS Credit Limit, Pell Grant, Fee Increases, etc.

• Academy for College Excellence• Equity

What is Acceleration?

The two meanings of acceleration:1. The process we have at Cabrillo whereby an English 255

student may skip English 100 and enroll in English 1A.2. The instructional materials, methods, assignments, and

readings the instructor employs to insure that the “accelerated” student will be prepared for transfer-level composition and that the class as a whole is introduced to higher level tasks and expectations while providing an appropriate level of instruction for the basic skills student.

Benefits of Acceleration

Whether students are misplaced or simply rise to the occasion, acceleration provides the following benefits:

1. It saves money for the student and the system 2. It frees up seats for those who most need English 1003. It means the student has a shorter sequence and fewer

opportunities to drop out. This translates to greater student success rates both in terms of getting through the comp sequence and in completing certificate and degree programs.

How Do I Identify Students for Acceleration?

• Writing Skills

• “Soft” Skills, Self-efficacy

What Is the Procedure?

• How Do I Present to Students?• 255 Statement• Students Who Self-select (vs. Instructor

Nomination)• Timeline• Provisional Pass• 100-level Writing/Portfolio Requirements

Meeting the Portfolio Challenge

• The 100 & 255 Rubrics– 255 acceleration portfolios are scored using the

100 rubric.– Textual analysis mandatory.

• Norming/Reading– 255 acceleration portfolios are scored during the

100 norming session; nominating instructors need to attend both 255 & 100 portfolio sessions.

Meeting the Portfolio Challenge

• Students Who Accelerate/Don’t Accelerate– Use the 255 statement and place in your syllabus.– Failure is not associate with not accelerating—students have done an

outstanding job just being nominated and/or by compiling the portfolio.

– One-to-one conference strongly recommended.

• Documentation & Record Keeping– Joseph Carter will maintain a roster of students that accelerate.

Sharing Best Practices

• Winnie Baer• Adela Najarro• Joseph Carter

Sharing Best Practices:Adela Najarro

• The Personal Response– My suggestion for incorporating textual analysis

builds on the second SLO for 255: “Comment on ideas and writing strategies in reading assignments.”

– How they comment indicates 255 or 100 level strategies in regards to textual analysis.

Sharing Best Practices:Adela Najarro

• The Personal Response– The idea is very simple: have students write a personal

response to any assigned reading and integrate this response into an essay.

– A 255 student may simply summarize or go off and relate a personal example, while those who are candidates for acceleration can do the same while incorporating MLA citation for sources and using quotes.

Sharing Best Practices:Adela Najarro

• The Personal Response– Same assignment completed at different levels of

complexity—that is the key for meeting 255 course objectives while creating the possibility for acceleration.

– Let’s review my handout.

Sharing Best Practices: Joseph Carter

Acceleration challenge: Preparing the basic skills student to analyze longer texts

• What level of engagement with reading material do we see in our basic skills students?

• What counts as a “long” text in English 255? What is typical in 1A?

• How does the length of a reading challenge the under-prepared student?

Example assignment: “Prison Without Walls” Essay Assignment

Group Discussion/Questions