Cross Those Boundaries

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Cross Those Boundaries!
Transcending Departmental and Curricular
Isolation, Helping Pre-College and College
Students Build Confidence, and Increasing Program
Completion

• THE COLLABORATIVE CROSS-COURSE STUDENT
  INVOLVEMENT PROJECT
• at
• CLOVER PARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE

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Cross Those Boundaries!
PHIL--OVERVIEW

• College speech class 1 faculty member / 67
  students
• ESL 1 faculty member / 18 students / 1
  administrator
• ABE/GED 2 faculty members / 14 students
• Developmental English 1 faculty member / 8
  students
• Six weeks prep for 10-14 minute speeches

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Cross Those Boundaries!
ROGER--ABE/GED FACULTY
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HOPES/EXPECTATIONS

• Students would
• Be exposed to college level classes
• See college level role models
• See themselves in current college students and
  realize they could do the same things

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Cross Those Boundaries!
GLEN--ABE/GED FACULTY
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CONCERNS

• Students might
• Disappear from class
• Hesitate to be involved
• Be confronted with potentially awkward questions

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WHAT TO CHANGE
1. Have our students observe only presentations
about themselves. 2. Have more hands-on
involvement in the selection process for our
students. 3.  Be sure our students are reminded
to show respect for college classroom protocol.
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Cross Those Boundaries!
CASSANDRA--GED STUDENT
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CONCERNS
1. That I was going to have to re-word the
speech. 2. That interviewers wouldnt get what I
was trying to tell them. 3. That the names of my
family members were not going to be pronounced
right.
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HOPES/EXPECTATIONS
1. That the audience would be pleased and not
bored. 2. That I would get my point across
right. 3. That at least one person could benefit
from what I shared.
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Cross Those Boundaries!
VERONICA--COLLEGE STUDENT
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Cross Those Boundaries!
HEATHER--ESL FACULTY
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HOPES/EXPECTATIONS

• Students would
• Feel encouraged to continue their education
• Gain a better understanding of different cultures
• Form positive relationships with American
  students

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CONCERNS

• Students might
• Feel uncomfortable with questions about
  immigration if they werent documented.
• Be afraid of not being understood or of not
  understanding others.
• Stop attending class, leaving the other
  student(s) without a partner.

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WHAT TO CHANGE

• Prepare more up front, discussing fears and
  obstacles.
• Have students practice giving appropriate
  responses to questions they dont want to answer.
• Practice setting interview times (place, time,
  convenience, method of communication)

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ESL STUDENTS
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HOPES/EXPECTATIONS

• Being able to share their culture.
• Meeting and talking with an American student.
• Visiting a college classroom.
•                        

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CONCERNS

• Class might be interrupted too much.
• Interviewer(s) might not follow through.
• ESL students themselves might not be represented
  accurately by their interviewer(s).

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Cross Those Boundaries!
PHIL--COLLEGE FACULTY
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HOPES/EXPECTATIONS

• College students would
• Build good relationships with people new to them.
• Develop wider perspective and deeper appreciation
  for ABE/GED/ESL students lives.
• Encourage ABE/GED/ESL students to continue into
  college-level courses.

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CONCERNS
Some students might 1. Lack skills to interview
a subject well enough to speak about her/him
for 10-14 minutes. 2. Not follow through with the
interview process. 3. Drop out of the course
along the way and leave an ABE/GED/ESL student
unreported.
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COLLEGE STUDENTS
DIFFICULTIES CHALLENGES

• Several ESL GED students were hard to get hold
  of. Some meetings and presentations had to be
  postponed or canceled.
• May I meet my subject? --gt Will you walk with
  me?--Im a little shy.
• Some college students didnt gather enough
  information for 10-14 minute presentations.

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Cross Those Boundaries!
CARMEN--ADMINISTRATOR
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HOPES/EXPECTATIONS

• The project might become a model for ongoing
  transition activities.
• The basic skills students might enjoy the
  activity and feel validated.
• The basic skills students might feel encouraged
  to continue their education beyond the GED or ESL
  program.

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CONCERNS

• Basic skills faculty and students might lose
  enthusiasm for the project and not see it
  through.
• Basic skills students might feel exploited or
  "under the microscope.
• Scheduling of the interviews and speeches might
  burden people by taking up too much basic skills
  class time.

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Cross Those Boundaries!
QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION?