Minutes for Feb. 25, 2011 Retreat: “Ideas into Action”
•survey results from our Fall English survey looking at how students place themselves into
English 102 or 101A. Hard copies of the final analysis of results will be presented and discussed
on Flex Day March 3rd . The survey results are aimed at the review of one area of our basic skills
program; see Group IV, below, for more to follow.
Reports from work groups focused on English Dep’t Priorities
Group I: Culture of the Department
This group has outlined two distinct priorities:
1. Interpersonal relationships—strengthening the communication channels and values
2. Philosophy – review of the throughline and the articulated assumptions to update if
needed.
1.
 Personal & professional both nurtured
 Warmth with high expectations
 Hallway conversations about teaching allows us to solve immediate dilemmas, a valuable
part of our professional development and sharing of craft.
 We teach students, not just a subject
 Informal conversations often lead to formal shifts
 Need more retreats further away, over the weekend to deepen connections & teaching
exchanges.
 Lunches together, organized around Teacher Tawk and in smaller groups
• Invitations to full and part time staff
 Agreement to provide honest feedback and to own up to our misperceptions/mistakes.
Compassion for self and others.
 Commitment to voice respectful disagreements about issues or offer alternate
perspectives
 Breathe. Recognize our work is challenging.
2.
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we have extraordinary expertise within department
Community college teaching requires its own expertise just as elementary or university
instruction does.
Our own momentum will propel us ahead of the curve, must constantly remain our own
champions to continue such momentum.
Innovation and risk are essential elements to our success with students
Be cognizant of outside attempts to commodify teaching
Reframe our work in face of administrative agendas that may bump up against our
pedagogy
Remain firm about our department’s expertise
Review and possibly revise (as homework before the next retreat) our time-honored
documents for department cohesion the Articulated Assumptions and Throughline.
Group II: Program Coherence
Notes from the group’s first two meetings: following is a summary and priorities:
 Must recognize who are our students and who are our instructors? How do we support
adjunct to clarify pedagogy and policy.
 There is benefit in speaking to Charlotte Loft before developing policies in order to
clarify what is in the adjunct contract and how to make supports available without
breaching the contract. This is one of the first steps the group will take in moving
forward.
 Clarity on the role of English 1A: we see it as course designed for thesis defense and yet
recognize that non-fiction thesis defense may be different than the way we read fiction
for English 4 to defend thesis. Memoir is closer to English 4 in relation to reading. If
more disciplines are attending to their own disciplinary ways of reading, our English 102
and English 1A courses may be able to refocus on English’s disciplinary ways of reading
more deeply. This conversation may need more time.
 Possibly conduct an informal survey of how people teach reading and research.
 Must remember to survey the on-line course as well as on-site courses. At some point,
may need to address how to cope with Kindle like devices and reading annotation.
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Group III – Exchanging Ideas
In addition to continuing teacher tawk monthly, this group has designed a web blog to
help us communicate and share ideas / assignments. This is particularly useful as a tool to
connect with adjunct faculty. We were provided with a demonstration of the website’s
functionality and explained how to gain access to the blog. Participants simply need to
respond to the email invitation to be sent by the end of next week.
Group IV—Broadening Data
 questions this group is grappled with are related to our current exploration of success in
Basic Skills courses. To gain a fuller picture of student achievement, more qualitative
data seems appropriate at this stage. How do we investigate from students’ perspectives
why so many students do no pass 101 A, 101 B, 102? What are perceptions that faculty
have? That students have? What is the best way to capture responses from non-passing
students, a group that may have the most to teach us but be the hardest to track down.
 From students, we may want to know: “How do you track your progress?” “How do you
know your grade?” “If you are not doing well, what contributes to your grade? How
well can you describe what is happening?”
 Some hypothesize that students may choose to disengage as a self-protective measure.
 Based upon elumen data, we recognize the possibility that some of us may be thinking
about reading differently than others. Seems that this is an important discussion to follow
up upon.
 Slight tweaks to the SLO rubric for 1A need to be made.
Group 5 – Placement
 Per conversations that led to the 102/101AB survey, we decided to investigate what kinds
of information students receive from the assessment center in order to select classes.
 Assessment center is capturing most new students to Chabot. Returning students still
have the option to enroll directly into 102.
 handouts of documents and process currently being used by counseling were provided.
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The assessment coordinator provides direction for students toward the ESL or English
placement test, but it is possible for ELL students to opt out of the ESL placement. This
group seems most likely to misplace themselves—per anecdotal observations.
Two faculty members took the placement test which includes intense reading selections
and correct this sentence type of questions. No writing sample is available at this time,
though we could get one; one possibility, the use of “Writeplacer” may be worth
exploring, though costly.
Placement tests are questionable, however, and it was pointed out that knowing a
students’ score in advance can have a negative impact on students whose scores are low.
Clearly, more information about the difference between English 102 and English 101A &
B would be helpful. Descriptors that help students consider how they will be successful
are likely to improve student’s expectations of the courses and allow them to self-select
into a course with more authority. The wording of differences between courses still
needs to be flushed out so that it motivates students while providing clear information.
Sharing typical assignments and reading selections is one suggestion.
Next Retreat Date
 May 6, a ½ day retreat with the goal of wrapping up and planning for work in the fall.