Reimagining Developmental/Basic English Curriculum

This course will become read-only in the near future. Tell us at community.p2pu.org if that is a problem.

Task Navigation 

Charrette Orientation

July 9:  Week 1, Day 1  

Opening - Orientation, Information  (watch the short videos below)

  • Overview of P2PU and peer learning  
  • Introductions of co-facilitators, participants
  • Refine course structure, topics, assignments
    • Call for additional resources and additions to syllabus

 

Getting Started Resources

Using P2PU:   Watch this video to learn how to use P2PU.

Certificate of Completion:  If you would like to receive a Certificate of Completion for participating in this course, download and fill out this form.

Task Discussion


  • Florence   July 10, 2012, 11:26 a.m.

    Hello!

     

    My name is Florence Williams, and I am the English Learning Specialist in a student learning center.  My role is to assist to provide supplemental academic support for the students in Developmental Education and writing support for students with writing assignments for credit classes.

    I am hoping that this activity will help me to remain relevant and current for our students in the state college system.

  • Amy Perry   July 10, 2012, 8 a.m.

    Charrette Summary Day 1

    Here's a brief summary of some of the key themes, issues, and questions from Day 1:

    • Introductions: Please feel free to add yours if you haven’t posted it yet.
    • NROC’s research reports on the Developmental English space: What are your thoughts?
    • Standards:  Defining college-level curriculum standards and identifying existing resources; evaluating NCTE standards in terms of college readiness
    • 21st century lit skills (including digital and social media): How to incorporate these into a new generation of learning resources? What about other emerging influences such as Common Core Assessment?
    • Comics and graphic novels: Uses in developmental English instruction 
  • Penny   July 9, 2012, 4:45 p.m.

    <sigh> Unfortunately, the videos posted on Vimeo are blocked by my district. I won't be able to view them until I get to an "unblocked" access point.

    Penny

  • Eileen Akin   July 9, 2012, 3:59 p.m.

     

    What are your thoughts about using comics, comic strips and graphic novels to teach reading, writing and literacy? I'm interested to know if any of you use comics with your Dev English students, and specifically how you use them.

     

    The use of comics strips to develop writing support the concept of "communicative competence" and the need for authenticity, purposefulness, shared context, and attention to individual needs."     ~[paraphrased].Reid, Joy M. (1993). Teaching ESL Writing. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.

     

    Resource - here's a link to a website showing how to use comics in the classroom:

     http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/

  • Rhonda Traylor   July 9, 2012, 4:27 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Eileen Akin   July 9, 2012, 3:59 p.m.

    Eileen,

    I use comics all the time in both my regulary high school classroom and my DEV classrooms.  I find comics that connect to the content and have students write responses to them.  I especially like using them to teach figurative language and grammar.  I think it helps with the fine nuances of understanding that can be hard for students to grasp. It is a lot of fun for the students to see if they can understand what is "wrong".  Discussion flows easily as the students eagerly engage in writing and conversation about comics and comic strips.

    Rhonda

  • Ruth Rominger   July 9, 2012, 1:17 a.m.

     

    The NROC team researched the Developmental English space and compiled three short reports on our findings. These reports address the questions: 

    1. What are the common set of standards which the curriculum addresses? 
    2. What does the research tell us about approaches and promising trends?
    3. What does the current marketplace offer for 21st century learners? 

    We hope these reports will provide a start in our brainstorming the needs of today’s teachers and learners.  Download/read them here and let us know what you think.

    Curriculum Review

    Research  Review

    Product Review

  • nabb   July 9, 2012, 12:01 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 9, 2012, 1:17 a.m.

    Thanks for the great resources!  I'll be sure to share this information with our Developmental Education Committee and Achieve the Dream Task Force.   I am looking forward to our collaborative conversations about Developmental English.

    Nichole 

  • Ruth Rominger   July 9, 2012, 12:13 p.m.
    In Reply To:   nabb   July 9, 2012, 12:01 p.m.

    What are the core challenges your Task Force is addressing?  Where are you in the process?  Are you discussing any digital or social media?  

  • nabb   July 9, 2012, 12:31 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 9, 2012, 12:13 p.m.

    Hi Ruth, 


    We're an ATD Leader College so we are pretty well-involved and invested in the process of addressing our developmental education needs.   We have two pilots, one for English and one for Math.  

    The Math Project is going into its third year.   We received a FIPSE grant to fund an online, self-paced acceleration through the develomental math sequence.   You can find out more about that project at http://www.northampton.edu/Smart-Path.htm.   We have recently met the number of students required by our grant proposal and the project coordinator is working throuhgh the data.

    In English, we piloted our first Accelerated Learning Program based upon the Baltimore Community College.   Our first cohort of students performed well, but we are waiting to see how they do in the second English course before we begin to draw conclusions.  The n was small as well as we only offered two sections of ALB in the spring. 

    We are also using part of a grant for ATD colleges from WalMart to develop a Retention Toolkit for faculty.   This is a brand new initiative; the Retention Toolkit folks have not even met yet.   Since we are a community college and many of our adjuncts are either online or evening/weekend only, we are going to use a lot of technology to help build those resources.   We are considering Jings and will definitely include the material in the Adjunct 101 Blackboard Course Site.   We offer our adjuncts a certificate of recognition for completing orientation and training in their first semester so the Retention Toolkit will be folded into the professional development odfferings.   

    We definitely ar making progress, but a perpetual challenge is the small n yielded each semester and fluctuating DFW rates for courses.  We have an awesome Institutional Research person who helps us gather and analyze the data, but we are still struggling with what to do with all of the data we have.   

    Nichole 

  • Anonym   July 9, 2012, 7:08 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 9, 2012, 1:17 a.m.

    Hi Ruth,

     

    On the Research Review:  The Council on Basic Writing changed its name (to the Council on Basic Writing) in 2010.  It was founded in 1980.  Our current web space is:  http://cbwblog.wordpress.com/

     

    Also, the Journal of Basic Writing SIG may be new (I didn't know they were running one) at CCCC, but the journal itself is not.  

     

    Liz

  • Anonym   July 9, 2012, 7:12 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Ruth Rominger   July 9, 2012, 1:17 a.m.

    This is the new CBW Mission Statement, approved last year:

     

     

    CBW Mission Statement

    The Council on Basic Writing (CBW) is an organization that advocates for students in Basic Writing and supports the professional endeavors of teachers, scholars, administrators, and students involved with Basic Writing.

    CBW promotes appropriate support for Basic Writing that fosters college access and success for students who might otherwise be denied admittance. It pursues these ends through

    • Supporting dissemination and application of, and advancing, best practices for the teaching and learning of writing, language, and literacy across two- and four-year post-secondary institutions;

      · Promoting student success within a range of disciplinary, professional, and social contexts;

      · Fostering a network of teacher-scholars, especially through BWe: Basic Writing e-Journal, our listserv, and an annual workshop at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, which encourages the development of research and collaborative strategies to enhance teaching excellence;

      · Advocating for student diversity in all its many and complex forms, especially in terms of language, race, ethnicity, class, background, and ability;

      · Promoting collaborations with secondary education faculty to facilitate smooth transitions from high school to college for students served by Basic Writing; adult and community education programs to facilitate successful transitions to college for non-traditional students served by Basic Writing; and
      post-secondary ESL and academic support services.

      · Working to raise the visibility of Basic Writing within the academy and the larger public;

      and

      · Influencing policies, including public policy, private foundations, and corporate sponsors in ways benefiting Basic
      Writing and the students it supports.

  • Ahrash Bissell   July 9, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Anonym   July 9, 2012, 7:08 p.m.

    Hi Liz,

    Thanks for these corrections. The various websites and overlapping titling for the various basic writing outlets seems very confusing, but this sort of "lay-of-the-land" information is definitely one desired outcome of this charrette!

    I have edited the original doc. You can get the corrected pdf here.

    -Ahrash

  • Ruth Rominger   July 8, 2012, 3:42 p.m.

    Welcome to P2PU School of Ed

     

    http://youtu.be/vVJcSr-9J20

  • Claudia L'Amoreaux   July 7, 2012, 7:17 p.m.

    http://www.screencast.com/t/QSkbOIR4iR0

    Links mentioned:

    Connected PD blog

    Connected PD Twitter

    Connected PD Linked In group

    Snagit

     

    And more about me if you're curious:

    http://about.me/ClaudiaLAmoreaux