Motivate and Retain: Implementing an Effective Developmental Writing Curriculum

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Motivate and Retain Implementing an Effective
Developmental Writing Curriculum

• Janet Horninger, M.Ed.
• Kara VanDam, M.A.

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A Need for Developmental Courses

• 75 of community college students never graduate1
• 53 of new college students lack basic reading,
  writing, or math skills and require remediation2
• This is up from 29 of students just ten years
  ago3

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Traditional Developmental Courses

• Are often low-credit or no-credit courses
• Set students behind in their degree plan
• Isolate students by removing them from their
  cohorts
• Stigmatize students by placing them in a
  special class
• Label students as developmental or remedial
  which to students dumb

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An approach to solve these issues

• Our course is full-credit
• Our course meets same outcomes as traditional
  Composition I course standards are not lowered
• Students stay in degree sequence with their
  cohorts
• Our course and its students are not identified as
  developmental, remedial or other

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Best of all

• Students know they are in a real class!
• In the words of one student, Im just so excited
  to be in a writing class that starts with a 100

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How is all this accomplished?

• On the instructors side
• Instructors have strong experience in
  developmental pedagogy
• Instructors meet to share best practices
• Instructors perform a great deal of student
  outreach
• Instructors interact with students at a high
  level
• Instructors take the time to know their students

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Why? Online Education Requires Different Teaching
Methods

• A higher level of interaction Students consider
  maintaining a high-level of interaction to be the
  most important role of the instructor in on-line
  classes (Kearsley, 2000)
• An understanding of the sacrifices our students
  are making to attend college

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How is all this accomplished?

• On the students side
• Sections are limited to 16 students
• Students are provided with a wide range of
  supplemental services which includes tutoring and
  reference material in our large Writing Center

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How is all this accomplished?

• In the curriculum
• Sentence-level issues receive a great deal of
  attention
• Students work step-by-step through the entire
  writing process with every assignment
• Students see many sample assignments

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Did it help? Yes! In first two terms

• Average failure rate decreased 20
• Failure rate in regular Composition I course
  exceeded the failure rate in the developmental
  course
• The average grade point was .22 higher for these
  developmental students than their regular
  cohorts

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Students liked the course and the instructors
better

• First two terms teaching and course measures
  were significantly higher for the developmental
  version

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Did this Translate to Future Success?

• 74 of passing students continued to the next
  term
• The average next-term GPA of those students was a
  2.7, a B-
• 30 of students of these carried an A average in
  the next term
• Only 4 carried an F average the next term
• For those taking Comp II in the next term, the
  average course grade was a B

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Are We Helping All Who Need Help?

• Recall from the introduction that nationally 53
  of students require some remediation
• Yet, less than 10 of our students were placing
  into this course
• Option 1 Make cut-off on placement exam higher
  so more students are placed in
• Option 2 Understand that perhaps the norm
  needs to change for whats regular

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What Have We Done to Address This?

• While we are currently changing the placement
  test, more significantly
• We have incorporated much of what worked well in
  the developmental into the regular curriculum
• Students have to show more of their work during
  the writing process
• Students have more access to sample assignments

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What Has Been the Impact?

• More data is needed, but signs are hopeful there
  has been some improvement

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What have we learned?

• Many students needing additional support can be
  reached and retained.
• Faculty can work closely with students and their
  fellow instructors to build a strong, supportive
  community in which all involved thrive.

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References

1. Boylan, H., Bonham, B., Bliss, L. (1992).
   National study of developmental education
   Students, programs and institutions of higher
   education--Summary report. Boone, NC National
   Center for Developmental Education.
2. Tritelli, D. (2003, Winter). From the editor.
   Peer Review (Association of American Colleges and
   Universities). Retrieved August 23, 2005 from
   http//www.aacu-edu.org/peerreview/pr-wi03/pr-wi03
   editor.pdf
3. Gose, B. (1997). Tutoring companies take over
   remedial teaching at some colleges. The
   Chronicle. Retrieved August 23, 2005 from
   http//chronicle.com/colloquy/97/remedial/backgrou
   nd.htm
4. Kearsley, G. (2000). Online education Learning
   and teaching in cyberspace. Belmont, CA
   Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.