up the mountain we go ~ launching an alp pilot at a small community and technical college in west...

Up the Mountain We

Go ~

Launching an ALP Pilot

at a Small Community

and Technical College in West Virginia

~Stephanie Alexander, MEd

Assistant Professor of ReadingMountwest Community &

Technical CollegeHuntington, WV

SOON-TO-BE MOUNTWEST COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE

FA L L 2 0 1 2

http://www.mctc.edu/new-campus

OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

• Mountwest CTC (institutional overview/success profile/developmental education picture)• Reading Program (history/evolution)• Reading ALP (compressed /contextualization)

MOUNTWEST INSTITUTIONAL OVERVIEW

• Small, public 2-year institution• ~ 250-300 employees (~110 full time)• 4,000 students (full/part time)• Located in WV ~one of 10 state CTCs ~ranked about

5th by SIZE

• Previously imbedded within 4-yr state university • Became separate entity by state law• Continued to be housed on university campus through

fall 2012• Has grown considerably since separation ~2004• Will be housed in own facility Fall 2012 (“The Move”)

MOUNTWEST “SUCCESS” PROFILE

From IPEDS: Data are for full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates

Overall 1-yr Retention Rate: 38.2% (WV state avg 49.3 ~ National avg 51.4)

Mountwest CTC Graduation rates within 150% of normal time to program completion:Overall graduate rate: 10%

Men 8% Women 13%

MOUNTWESTTHE DEVELOPMENTAL PICTURE

from: WV Higher Education Policy Commission and Community & Technical College System’s Report Card 2011

% Developmental Passing Rates 2010 Mountwest STATE (WV) AverageENG/WRTG 54.4 51.9MATH 35.7 48.8READING 36.1 55.8

% Developmental Students Passing NEXT subsequent college level courseWithin TWO yearsENG 38.4 (.544) (.357) [11%] 41.9MATH 26.6 (.361) (.266) [9.6%] 18.9

Nationally - from Complete College America – (26 states) 20.5%

MOUNTWEST READING PROGRAM EVOLUTION

Prior to 2009 (aka “before my time”)Elective ~ (little to no enrollment – approx 40-70 students

per year)“1 teacher show”Placement by accuplacer/ACT (below 80/18rdg)Classroom based w/“Reading recovery room” style

tutoring when numbers were small Nelson Denny Reading Comprehension test used a pre/post

test, and for exit (high stakes testing at end of course) 2008-2009 –totally a literary based approach

emphasizing basic skills through the use of a literary text with G.E. of middle school (i.e. - The Giver)

3 credit hour class/open enrollment


2009 – 2010 **the beginning of “my time”Fall 2009 -ELECTIVE (less than 25 students)Spring 2010 ~ placed as Pre-Req on many 100 level

course for all new admits who placement tested Spring - 1 full time / 1 part-time instructor (evening)Classroom based ~ additional tutoring available in

academic success centerUsed traditional text based on a metacognitive

approach- plus current events/short stories as supplements (**read to learn with text/read to practice with supplements)

Less than 50 students for the YEAR


MAJOR 2009 – 2010 ISSUES • Low enrollment / Placement test ratio due to: Students not being placed in course by student services ~ confusion in student services over pre-req/ rdg requirement for some 100 level coursesSolution : Student Services “enlightenment” by deansResult: Enrollment surge for reading Fall 2010 ~ New Issue: over 75% NOT in-coming/first time freshmen (at risk for higher attrition rates –test scores stale!)• “Misplaced” students – Disgruntled Students – increased in #

which meant increase in # of misplaced students Solution : Retest all on entry first week of class/ offer Challenge Test• “open enrollment” range of need too greatSolution: Create 4 hour “leap frog” class ~ accuplacer 51 & below/or by self-selction


2010 – 2011 ***year 2 of “my time” REA - functions as Pre-Req on many 100 level courses for all

new admits who placement test into reading Classroom based ~ additional tutoring available in academic

success center Used traditional text based on a metacognitive approach-

plus current events/short stories as supplements Used Nelson Denny Comprehension section as the

“challenge test” to reassess/test out (Form G 62/Form H 64) – administered first week of class

ADDED “MyReadingLab” for basic skills enhancement ~(administration requested –aka “greasy of Pearson’s palm”)

ADDED 4 hour class ( accuplacer 51 & below or self selection) 1 full time / 3 part time instructors


MAJOR 2010 – 2011 ISSUES

• High attrition~ most students “gone” by 9th/10th weekSolution : course redesign – compression model --frontload course/use modules to feed/build affective domain(progress appears more concrete) --offer opportunity to exit early (borderline students “refreshed” and can move on)Result: Early Exit possible/finish as early as 8th week /could sign up for 2nd 8week 100 level content course New Issue: no lab space for computerized testing of modules/modules would need to be created the old fashioned way ~ by hand!ALSO : consider/develop ALP companion class pilot for Spring2012 for contextualized accelerated learning desired by the state of WV

• No designated lab Space for MyReadingLab ~ only 2 computers in ASC Solution : discontinue use until labs are available

• Students not appropriately placed in 3 and 4 hour coursesSolution: enlighten student services Result: not much change


2011 – 2012(this past year) Pre-Req on many 100 level course for all new admits who placement tested Fall : 1 full time / 8 part time Spring : 2 full time / 2 part time Classroom based ~ additional tutoring available in writing center Used traditional text based on a metacognitive approach- plus current

events/short stories as supplements – **but content modulized 3 and 4 hour classes offered (leapfrog style- same exit point for both

classes) ADDED FALL : Early Exit –compression model- 7 modules /delivered

in 8 weeks – 2nd 8weeks used for individualized tutoring/module retaking -Fall 47% out by midterm ~ 70 % for termSpring 58% out by midterm ~ 66.67% for term Total Overall Retention 68%

ADDED SPRING: Companion Course – REA/ PSY

MOUNTWEST READING PROGRAM – THE ALP EVOLUTION

NUTS & BOLTS

Pilot Development

Instructor Collaboration (REA & Content Instructors)

Course content adjustment

Scheduling/Teaching

Grading

Future Plans ~ Additional Pilots

MOUNTWEST READING PROGRAM – THE ALP

EVOLUTION

INSTRUCTOR COLLABORATION

Types of content instructors to collaborate with:

A. The “Risk takers” (game for anything)

B. The “Good Sport” (would do it for a friend)

C. Desperate? Try “persuasion”(gee…hope these pics

don’t find their way to the “meet the faculty”

web page…)


ALP Companion Class Pilots – Spring 2012

Had 2 classes prepared for Spring 2012 pilots:

REA/Psychology REA/History

X X O X X O X X O X O O O O O X O X X O O O O O O O X O X O X O X O X ( 3 hour content class) + (2 hour REA section) = 5 hrs


CHALLENGE # 1 - little / no enrollment Little /No “marketing” by Student Services did not understand ALP (“accelerated “??) misconceptions regarding “need” for history/psychology credits confusion over course designators (listed as sp topics/280) Student Reluctance confusion due to language used “accelerated” ? (not for me!!) course designator (280) – class appeared advanced not sure if “needed” - (did not understand that these could fill social science elective) entailed 5 hour rather than 3 hour commitment (traditional REA is 3)Solutions: Re-educate advising/scheduling staff re: ALP Change course designators from 20s to 050s

MOUNTWEST READING PROGRAM – THE ALP

EVOLUTION

Results: Run Psychology/REA Pilot as planned

Offered Spring 2012

“Postpone” History/REA Pilot


NUTS & BOLTS

STUDENT PLACEMENT for PSY/REA( basic ALP course design)

open content class of 25 has 8-10 REA students PSY215 REA282 X X O X X O X X O X O O O O O X O X X O + O O O O O = 5 hr O X O X O X O X O X ( 3 hour content class) (2 hour rdg section)

FOR PILOT SECTION OF PSY - Added a pre-req of “sp topics” REA co-req for those who did not ACT 18/ accuplacer 80rdg –

SAME REA282 SECTION required for all students needing REA co-req


NUTS & BOLTS

COURSE CONTENT

Psychology Class – no course content changes – same all the other PSY215 sections ~ same 3 credits

Reading Class – designed as companion class that “supports” psychology class content

** basic reading skills practiced within the context of the psychology class’s reading demands ~ meets entire 16 weeks ** course changes: 1. no early exit opportunity /runs entire 16 weeks 2. only 2 credit hours instead of 3 or 4 3. must be attached to the psy class 4. all materials – psy related


NUTS & BOLTS

West Virginia Developmental Education Task Force SUGGESTIONSMay 26, 2011

Common Learner-Outcomes for Developmental Reading courses *** FOCUS – WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

1. Demonstrate active reading strategies (Skills: pre-read, read, review, outline and take notes).

2. Increase vocabulary development and word analysis strategies (Skills: ability to use dictionary, thesaurus, understand and recognize word-parts, context clues, and create and use graphic organizers).

3. Develop literal reading skills (understanding what is stated ~ comprehension skills: identify main idea and supporting details).

4. Develop interpretive reading skills (understanding what is implied rather than what is stated ~ comprehension skills: make inferences and draw conclusions and be able to read visual aids).

5. Develop critical reading skills (applying concepts and ideas ~ comprehension

skills: analyze and synthesize ideas, identify purpose and tone).


NUTS & BOLTS

REASONING BEHIND COURSE CONTENT DESIGN OF REA

Objective of a REA companion course students will understand, develop and use basic reading skills in order to produce the expected quality/level of work in the content class (approach: strongly metacognitive ) -- skills are not taught in isolation or with random materials

Example: In PSY class students are expected to outline book chapters and identify key

vocabulary for each chapter as read

In REA class, students are made aware that the reason they must outline text chapters is in order to identify the main ideas of that chapters and to identify key vocabulary ~ they are offered assistance in reading and creating an outline that shows those main ideas , and assisted in creating lists of key vocabulary for each chapter


NUTS & BOLTS

Traditional REA

7 modules:

1. Module 1 - Skillful Reading 2. Module 2 - Vocabulary Expansion 3. Module 3 - Topics & Main Ideas 4. Module 4 - Supporting Details 5. Module 5 - Outlines & Concept Maps 6. Module 6 - Thought Patterns 7. Module 7 - Inference/Implied Meaning /Purpose

Companion REA for PSY

Four Activities :

Activity A – 1,2,3 (state guideline) ( ** x15 ) -M1, M2, M3 (trad REA)

Activity B – 1,2,4, 5 (state guidelines) - M1, M2 , M3, M4, M5, M6,M7

Activity C – 1,4,5 (state guidelines) -M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7

Activity D – 1, 2, 4, 6 (state guidelines) -M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7


NUTS & BOLTS

SCHEDULING & TEACHING

PSY215 MW 5- 6:15pm (HH 447)REA282 M 6:30-8:30pm (HH 102)

1 (same) instructor for both sections ***however, could be collaboratively or team taught ***scheduling conducive to “just in time” skills


NUTS & BOLTS

GRADING

PSY 215 - letter graded class (A, B, C, D, F)REA282 – CR/NC

treated as two separate classes / two separate grades however co-req ~ this means:

if dropping one, must drop other

exception: Instructor permission could waive REA co-reqWhy? Because student has demonstrated level of proficiency in reading necessary to maintain passing grade in content class


NUTS & BOLTS

RESULTS OF 2011-2012 Spring Pilot in PSY/REA

5 originally registered for REA / 3 “showed” & participated 14 total /registered for PSY (~ 1/3rd of class REA)

All 3 received CR in REA and “B” or higher in PSY

Thus for the pilot group:** 100% completion for REA282 AND** 100% completion for 100 level class


NUTS & BOLTS

Expansion Of REA - ALP

Fall 2012Due to “THE MOVE” – (none offered due to scheduling insanity related to moving to the new facility)

Spring 2013 pilots 1)REA/HIST (return of!)

plus 2) REA/COMM (new recruit!)


NUTS & BOLTS

CURRENT CHALLENGES

“THE MOVE” Fall 2012 scheduling issues

Student Recruitment (persist!) *create (yet another) informational “REA Options” flyer for students * inform student services of ALP opportunities (AGAIN)

Find willing content collaborators from content classes


NUTS & BOLTS

FUTURE EVOLUTION OF REA - ALP

Next step: Integrate REA and DEV WRTG into 4 or 5 credit course

block schedule with math (4 hours) col 101 (1 hour) and IT 101 (3 hour) or similar 3 hr class

NEXT AFTER THAT : Create ALP companion classes using the new Integrated ENG class plus Content Class

targeted classes for pairing: “introduction to… “

CONTACT EMAIIL

Stephanie Alexander, MEdAssistant Professor of Reading

Mountwest Community & Technical CollegeHuntington, WV

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

up the mountain we go ~ launching an alp pilot at a small community and technical college in west...

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