Reaching College Readiness Integrative Assignment Template (Fall 2009) INTEGRATIVE ASSIGNMENT TEMPLATE Program or course(s): InSync 2: Basic Reading (Eng 96) and Improvement of Writing (Eng 99) Instructor(s): Dr. Nan Bulish (English 96) and Mita Sen (English 99) Academic period: Fall 2009 PART I: INTEGRATIVE ASSIGNMENT Overarching understanding goal(s) or throughline(s) 1. Students start using the various aspects of the reading and writing processes to discover what they know and record their knowledge of the material. 2. Students recognize their personal responsibilities in acquiring a college education and develop an open‐mindedness to understand and respect diversity in the learning process. 3. Students understand and solve problems related to the connections between school and the rest of their lives. Generative topic(s) • Relevant to students and society The central theme of this class was “Self‐Identity.” Our purpose was to encourage the students to look within themselves, delve into their personal backgrounds, discover their personal cultures, and also question societal expectations of them as members of any particular society. The theme of self‐identity is relevant because as students become aware of their cultural roots, they can take pride in their uniqueness and contribute meaningfully to society. • Central to one or more disciplines or areas of expertise Our students worked on a variety of in‐class and out‐of‐class assignments that emphasized the theme of “Self Identity.” The purpose was to create an interest and respect for their own abilities, which many of the developmental students lack or are unaware of. Several reading selections, from our custom reader—Connections—and the writing and journal assignments reinforced the theme continuously. Study Skills, which blended well with the theme, was also included regularly because most students in this class were first quarter students who needed an understanding of how to take notes, how to alleviate test anxiety, and how to manage time effectively, lessons that, we hope, would further enhance their confidence in handling academic pressures as well as attain success in college. Page 1 Reaching College Readiness Integrative Assignment Template (Fall 2009) • Accessible through multiple means An understanding of “Self Identity” was accessed through reading, writing and critical thinking activities; these activities were not just central to the readings in our curriculum but also connected to other topics that were taught. We also included a film (Smoke Signal by Sherman Alexie) and a guest lecture by a local and well‐known social worker. These additional resources provided the class with insight and valuable information regarding economic and other relevant cultural and/or social issues that directly or indirectly affect the life of each of our students on a day‐to‐day basis. These various instructional components, along with guided discussions, occasional brainstorming sessions, and focused freewriting, helped generate interesting perspectives and view points on the issues under question, which, in turn, helped the students to organize, develop, and draft their essays and paragraphs in a meaningful way. Another example of an integrative assignment was the Final Portfolio. Students compiled an extensive portfolio, applying all that they learned in this class: study skills, reading comprehension skills, and drafting skills, with an in‐class final essay and a revised essay based on instructor feedback. (The two‐part Final Portfolio Prompts are attached, along with samples of students’ works.) • Connected to other topics taught The readings made our students aware of unique but common human experiences in all walks of life: they were excited to find similarities between their own life experiences and those they read about in the stories, memoires, and testimonials by renowned authors. They could envision multiple connections, recognize biases, and raise concerns about social and cultural expectations that affect us all in different ways. They were also exposed to environmental issues that were approached with more interest once they understood how these issues affect their own lives and the lives of future generations. Key understanding‐based assignment • Aimed at targeted concepts, methods, and skills Throughout the quarter, almost every assignment was crafted using both disciplines: Basic Reading and Improvement of Writing. The reading and writing assignments were carefully integrated so that our students confront issues they may have previously shied away from, such as cultural differences, racial and social prejudices, common discriminations. The idea was to make them think, infer meaning, generate ideas, participate in difficult conversations, share personal thoughts, reach appropriate conclusions, and eventually express their own opinions in writing. (A few writing assignments are attached.) At least three times a week, students practiced “active” reading and then writing their reflections/responses to these readings (inclusive of all three areas: basic themes in literature/essays, theories on writing, and concepts of study skills) in the form of a twenty‐
question journal. After reading a particular article, essay, concept or strategy, students would Page 2 Reaching College Readiness Integrative Assignment Template (Fall 2009) write their entry and then on the same page, practice revising and editing their work. (Our Journal Assignment document is attached, along with samples of students’ works.) The Journal demonstrated our students’ understanding of the various reading, writing, and study skills concepts. These journals (a total of twenty, two‐page, handwritten entries) were graded at the end of the quarter for content and skill building efforts. Beside the journaling, students were also required to express their personal points of view through several one‐paged paragraphs and longer essays. In these writing assignments, they were expected to demonstrate the skills they learned—critical thinking, formal paragraph and essay structures, adequately developed reasoning/details, and correct expressions or sentence sense. These assignments were regularly peer‐edited and graded by both instructors. • Requires thinking with and about novel content Critical Thinking was a major component in this class. Not just the regular reading and writing assignments but also the final essay in the portfolio project required critically analyzing environmental problems and offering solutions to alleviate at least some of the problems through simple means. Student assignments were evaluated with feedback on a regular basis. As students understood the purpose of these assignments and the need for integration of reading and writing, they also demonstrated evidence of ways to “reflect” and self‐assessed their own progress. • Builds and integrates understanding Our team‐taught efforts were focused on our list of objectives or outcomes that we wanted our students to attain. We didn’t want them simply to improve their reading and writing skills but to become critical thinkers; question social norms and practices; develop awareness of good study habits; build better communication skills with peers and others; and demonstrate open‐
mindedness and willingness to learn. Every generative activity and assignment was built around two important Core Concepts for InSync Learning Communities:  Focus on skills that are important for the students to become successful/effective in college  Experience and understand that learning is a collaborative process (study groups, group discussions, peer‐editing, as well as sharing and learning from each other) College Readiness: Goals • Develop cognitive strategies The common goals of the course, along with components from our study skills pamphlet, helped students stay focused on developing the most essential understandings of what constitutes a successful college student. • Advance academic knowledge and skill As our report shows, the overarching goal in this learning community was to help build our students’ “academic knowledge and skills.” Our activities and individual discipline goals—listed below—stand as evidence to our course objectives. Page 3 Reaching College Readiness Integrative Assignment Template (Fall 2009) • Foster academic behavior Throughout the quarter, we pursued Spokane Community College’s Four Learning Outcomes criteria:  Responsibility: manage time effectively, fulfill educational commitments, set priorities, work individually and in groups, and turn in acceptable, college‐level work  Communication: write clearly and correctly for effective communication  Problem Solving: synthesize necessary information (facts, evidences, and expert opinions) in writing, learn to ask the right questions for clarification, and recognize the connections between what is learned and real‐life skills  Global Awareness: develop awareness of and respect for human diversity and tolerate differences of opinion in class Constant reference to and regular practice of these four abilities helped foster our students’ academic behavior. Their performances to hone these learning outcomes were also assessed through occasional self‐analysis, group evaluation, and instructor‐generated evaluation methods. • Advance understanding of college culture: During the quarter, we took students on field trips to the Counseling Center, the Career Opportunities Center, and a Library Orientation session. These field trips allowed students the opportunity to learn about the college resources and familiarize themselves with the college culture. They also helped students realize that they are surrounded by people who would make every effort to help them pursue a successful college career. For many students, this was a surprising discovery, and others felt a sense of comfort knowing that the resources are so readily available to them for their continued success at SCC. Discipline #1 – Reading Understanding Goals The reading assignments included students engaging in various types of reading materials and learning how to develop comprehensive skills necessary to succeed in higher‐level course work at college. Focus on a few key understandings 
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Cognitive strategies—learning how to understand, comprehend and then write about our theme of self‐identity Understanding the reading processes of pre‐reading, active reading, and post‐reading Critical thinking—analyzing and interpreting texts Academic knowledge—learning how to summarize short and longer readings Appreciating—becoming aware of each other’s viewpoints and differences Clear, explicit and shared As students developed their own critical thinking skills, their comprehension of the reading became clearer and more involved. In addition, as students acknowledged others’ points of view, they Page 4 Reaching College Readiness Integrative Assignment Template (Fall 2009) became more open to new concepts and ideas, which most students began to readily express during the second half of the quarter. Students learned how to interpret the author’s purpose by practicing in groups the following:  What is the author’s point?  What examples did the author use to support his/her point?  Can you relate to the reading in terms of your own experience? Why or why not? Capture dimensions of disciplinary understanding As the theme of self‐identity emerged through readings, students could focus their learning and understanding through an integrated approach, which then helped students to clearly see the connections between reading and writing. By learning concepts through an integrated approach, students can more readily grasp the connections between what they are learning and their own lives, both in and out of college. Address learning challenges Because this was a developmental course, the integrated approach worked well, instead of the basic linear format where subjects are taught exclusive of other courses. By connecting basic courses of reading, writing and study skills, which are the fundamental courses given to most incoming students below 100‐level, students could be part of a learning community. However, there were some learning challenges, such as students not understanding how to work as a team member in a group or how to collaborate with other students’ viewpoints. Therefore, we had to demonstrate and model group effectiveness and also discuss ways of disagreeing without judgment. Discipline #2: Writing: Understanding goals Students used reading strategies that enhanced both literal and critical understanding of the text; then they discussed these ideas collaboratively. Typically, their understanding of the materials was assessed by their written responses. Focus on a few key understandings All writing assignments were approached with the basic goals and objectives of a writing course:  Students studied the fundamentals of standard‐English sentences, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence combining, to develop better sentence sense.  They practiced the various aspects of the writing process—including brainstorming, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading strategies—to recognize the fact that writing is a process, not a product.  They understood the basic composition criteria, to produce coherently organized, adequately developed, and clearly written ideas. Clear, explicit, and shared 
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Before each writing assignment, students shared key concepts, personal interpretations of the concepts, and paragraph/essay development strategies in groups. The drafts of the works were regularly peer‐edited and assessed by the instructors. Page 5 Reaching College Readiness Integrative Assignment Template (Fall 2009) 
At least once during the quarter, all students were required to attend a one‐on‐one conference with both teachers to discuss their writing progress and problems. • Capture dimensions of disciplinary understanding Since writing in response to reading is so integral to instruction in a majority of college classes, students were systematically taught to become familiar with this discipline. In other words, they were taught the significance of the Aristotelian concepts of invention, development, and style. • Address learning challenges In any given composition class, there are always those five to ten percent of students who will excel with proper guidance by the teachers. And then there are the others who would be better served with more practices and feedbacks. Unfortunately, time is a factor. A quarter, roughly eleven weeks, is never long enough to successfully reach and train all students in the art of good writing. Some students need extra time to even begin to understand the basic concepts. Our concern is that despite all our efforts, we cannot always reach the majority of our developing students, but we do hope that future writing courses will not pose insurmountable barriers to these students. After all, our goal is to introduce these “fragile” to the world of academia and help retain them in college. Assessment strategy • Targets understanding goals As students understood the integrated connection between reading, writing and study skills, they clearly understood how the course goals affirmed what students were being taught. For example, one of the goals of the course was to help students bridge the gap between their own experience and knowledge and the rigors of college life. As students became more confident learners, they could go on to other 100‐level course and be successful. • Based on explicit criteria Throughout the quarter, students were given explicit criteria for assessment in the form of a check‐off sheet in which students could assess their own papers and assignments before they turned in their work. All of the criteria was introduced, studied, and discussed so students were aware of the grading scale. • By self, peer, and teacher Assessment was accomplished by “self” when students checked off portfolio requirements; throughout the quarter, and in almost all papers, students had “peer” editors; and “teacher” criteria was given before every paper, assignment or field trip. • Offers informative feedback As we graded papers and assignments, we not only had a check‐off sheet for assessing criteria, but we also gave lots of feedback, writing positive comments and suggestions for improvement on each student’s paper. Page 6 Reaching College Readiness Integrative Assignment Template (Fall 2009) Performances of Understanding— Ongoing Assessment Frequently throughout the quarter, we, acting as coaches, gave positive feedback on various projects and assignments, along with classmates and other guest speakers. Throughout the quarter, students had opportunities for reflection and evaluation through group work, journaling, collaborative assignments, and the portfolio. Our Institutional Researcher will track these students for their future academic success and failures. PART II: TEACHERS’ REFLECTIONS Mita: With respect to this topic and related assignments, I used to think… That understanding of the goals and the relationship with the topic would happen automatically through class discussions and follow‐up prewriting activities. But now I think... We have to be more coherent in our day‐to‐day class activities (not just lectures and student‐led discussions) to attain our goals and objectives for the class. With respect to students’ work on this topic and related assignments, I used to think… Learning of skills comes through guided practices and instructor feedback. But now I think... Each student should be dealt with individually. Nan With respect to this topic and related assignments, I used to think that I was responsible for students’ successes or failures in the course. But now I think that most students do take responsibility for their own learning, gaining more confidence and self‐assurance as they go on to other courses. With respect to students’ work on this topic and related assignments, I used to think that more assignments and tests were necessary to assess learning. But now I think more hands‐on activities, with specific instructions, might have given students more practice in critical thinking and collaboration. Page 7