Pilot Implementation Planning and Information
Dear Educators and Community Leaders:
Anne Arundel Community College is currently offering a free educational opportunity that provides open
educational resources for your students or others pursuing additional education or vocational training.
We seek individuals who may be willing to pilot the material and use it with their clients, students or
others working to educate youth or returning adults. Currently we offer a free, online Learning to Learn
course and in January, will offer free online Succeed with Math content to assist students build their
mathematics confidence and skills. Please look over the descriptions below and feel free to browse the
website to look at the Learning to Learn content along with video testimonials. I believe this is a great
resource that instructors or students can use to build academic skills and confidence in whatever field a
student wishes to pursue. We seek individuals to facilitate a small or large group of students and pilot the
content.
This program is part of a Next Generation Challenge Grant awarded to create what we call Bridge to
Success. The grant was awarded to Anne Arundel Community College, the Open University (UK),
University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) to
develop course content to improve college readiness and completion and to encourage students and
adults returning to school, to build their confidence in whatever career path they choose. More information
about the project is available at http://b2s.aacc.edu.
These open educational resources are free to use and/or adapt for use at schools or by individual
instructors. The content can be used:
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as a resource… for high school students, returning adult learners, first-time students, or
prospective college students. Information about these resources can be distributed to prospective
students in GED/ABE courses, orientation sessions, advisors, testing/tutoring centers, and
through a college’s website or schedule of classes, or by other means to promote the use of
these materials.
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as a course… for students who have registered for a credit, continuing education, GED/ABE, or in
workforce development training programs. The content can be customized and delivered within
an institution’s learning management system or can be accessed directly at
http://labspace.open.ac.uk/b2s.
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in total or pick and choose specific modules… to support a first-year experience program, a
jumpstart program, or other program designed to promote student success and retention.
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to supplement instructional materials and activities provided in a pre-existing student success
course.
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in open computer labs… Make it available to students enrolled in specific courses during a class
on campus, in a computer lab, online or assigned as homework.
Learning to Learn is a short course for individuals thinking about starting or returning to college. The
course is designed to build confidence and to provide the tools and skills necessary to be successful in an
academic setting and in the workplace. The course encourages a consideration of possible choices and
the value of making plans for the future. You can view the Learning to Learn course at
http://labspace.open.ac.uk/b2s.
Succeed with Math (which will be available January 2012) provides a review of key concepts and allows
learners to apply the concepts to real world situations. Math and You builds confidence in the use of
mathematics, develops problem-solving strategies and skills, and explores the many ways math impacts
an adult's daily life. Getting Down to the Basics provides content and activities to address decimals,
rounding, estimating, units and measurements, signed numbers, basic operations with signed numbers,
reading and writing mathematics, and using knowledge in real world scenarios. Relationships among
Numbers provides content and activities to address how numbers are used in daily life, fractions,
percentages, ratios and connections between fractions, percentages, and ratios.
Attached find pilot implementation planning information that will assist you in developing and
implementing a Bridge to Success program on your campus. If you are interested in offering any of the
content now or in the future, and would like to pilot the content, please email bridge2success@aacc.edu
for more information.
Sincerely,
Jean M. Runyon
Dean, Virtual Campus
Anne Arundel Community College
Bridge to Success Pilot Implementation
Anne Arundel Community College
Learning to Learn
Succeed with Math
BRIDGE TO SUCCESS – QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION – DEFINING SCOPE AND IMPLEMENTATION
The questions below may assist you in developing your pilot plan and how to utilize the content to meet
the needs at your institution.
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Do you want to include accessibility to both the Learning to Learn content and the Succeed with
Math content?
Do you want to incorporate the Bridge to Success course content into already existing courses,
or do you plan on creating unique learning opportunities as standalone courses? Or is there a
combination of both you wish to employ?
Will you be offering the content through a face to face classroom environment or in an online
communication model, or a combination?
Do you want to utilize for students identified in developmental courses?
Will you be offering to add value to learning labs or tutoring opportunities?
Do you want to utilize as the bridge between recruitment and enrollment before a new
student’s first class?
Are there other programs you want to provide the content to that include high school students,
or returning adult students getting ready to transition to the college level?
Will you offer the content to other related programs and activities offered at your school
(orientation, Freshman Year Experience courses, Student Success courses, tutoring programs,
academic support workshops – to name a few)?
Approximately, how many participants do you want to participate in the pilot program(s)?
Will there be other staff and/or faculty members who will serve as facilitators/instructors or
coordinator(s) for this pilot opportunity?
When would you like to get started? If you are going to offer more than one opportunity –
would those start dates be different and staggered?
What additional resources or assistance do you need from the Bridge to Success Project?
BRIDGE TO SUCCESS – PILOT IMPLEMENTATION DATA POINTS
Below is the list of all data points the Bridge to Success project will evaluate. The list will vary by
institution based upon your intended use of the content, your college policies, and the overall scope of
the pilot(s) you may decide to pursue. As you begin to define the scope and implementation processes
of these pilot opportunities, we will work together to determine what data collection is applicable to
your institution.
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Goal for participation
o retention focused
o recruitment focused
o both
o other
Selection of Learning to Learn Content – (5 units available)
Selection of Succeed with Math – (8 units available)
Delivery Methodology
o Stand alone course
o Embedded in another course already offered
o Face-to-face
o Online
o Hybrid
o Other
Facilitation Methodology
o Instructor/Facilitator-led
o Self-paced
o Part of a learning lab/tutoring session
Estimated start and end dates (can be multiple and staggered)
Recruitment method of student participants
Estimated number of participants per pilot(s)
Aggregate participant characteristics
o Average age of participants
o Age range of participants
o Total number of high school diploma/GED as highest educational level
o Total number of associate’s degree as highest educational level
o Total number of bachelor’s degree as highest educational level
o Total number classified as non-white
o Total number who have been placed in developmental course work
o Total number classified as low-income students
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o Average credit load of participants in the term in which the pilot is hosted
o Total number of participants who continued enrollment at the same institution into the
next term/session/semester/period
Enrollment Calculation date for the semester/term pilot begins
Orientation start date(s) between October 2011 and May 2012
Withdrawal/Drop Add dates between October 2011 and May 2012
Students asked to register prior to starting the course content in the Open University LabSpace
course content area
Students asked to take both the pre- and post-questionnaires in the course content area
Level of support provided
o Tutor contact
o Used in class with instructor/facilitator assistance
o Used in class without instructor/facilitator assistance
o Student toolkit provided
o Additional FAQs or guides
o Other
Directions provided to students to access
o Provided URL directly to LabSpace
o Provided Institutional URL and that directs to LabSpace
o Other
Use of forums or other communication tools during pilot
How many students invited to participate
How many students participated on day one of the pilot
How many students utilized at least some part of the material during the pilot
How many students finished the complete the pilot program
How many students would the facilitator classify as having mastered the subject matter (if
known)
How many students would the facilitator classify as having mastered deeper learning through
the pilot experience (if known)
The level of contacts made from the instructor/facilitator to the student participants (describe –
copies if available)
The number of meetings (online or face-to-face) the instructor/facilitator hosted with the
students
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Question 1: What are the obligations if we decide to participate as a pilot institution?
Your obligations include providing the forum in which the content will be delivered. All of the content is
online, so the content can be included as part of an online course. The University of Maryland University
College currently offers the content as a standalone online learning opportunity for those students who
have registered and are awaiting the start of their first course. The content can be offered through current
courses to supplement the course material, through tutoring programs, or freshman year experiences or
orientation programs. At AACC our math department is also planning to incorporate the Succeed with
Math content into their Math Anxiety workshops.
In addition, we ask to be able to communicate with your instructor/facilitator, to provide any assistance
they may need and gather their feedback and impressions of the process and content. This will also
ensure that the instructor/facilitator is following the recommended steps of logging students into the
content and encouraging students to complete the pre- and post-assessments found within the content
presentation. It would be up to you and the program facilitators as to what level of interaction the
instructor/facilitator incorporates into the presentation of the Bridge to Success content. This could range
from the instructor providing the link with instructions and it be self-paced, to instructor/facilitator-led
activities in a computer lab.
Finally, we would like to contact the appropriate individual(s) within your school to assist with basic data
gathering. It would be helpful if we could determine some demographic information concerning the
student participants in the aggregate, and general knowledge of your institution.
Question 2: Are there quotas or restrictions on how you want us to use the materials?
There are no quotas or major restrictions with the implementation of the content. One of the goals of the
Bridge to Success project is to show how open educational resources such as Learning to Learn and
Succeed with Math can be used in a variety of educational settings and learning environments.
Question 3: What are the benefits and costs associated with the project?
The main advantage of this project is that it is free to all users and adopters. The benefits are boundless
by providing free online access to Learning to Learn and Succeed with Math. These learning
opportunities can help students succeed, build their confidence in their academic efforts, improve
retention, and enhance recruitment. Offering this content for free can serve as an excellent bridge
between the period there is the initial contact with a prospective student and when classes actually start.
Question 4: What reporting do we need to provide and to whom?
The required and optional reporting feedback is outlined in a document titled Bridge to Success Pilot
Implementation Data Points.
Question 5: Is there training for faculty and facilitators?
There is an Instructor Toolkit available. There are also individuals to provide assistance in planning the
pilots, help with implementation and follow-up after the completion of the pilot project.
Question 6: How are you actually implementing it?
We ask institutions to provide access to these open educational resources through pilot programs and
believe those institutions will decide to adopt the content as part of their current courses, create new
courses or add it as a free service available to their students. We believe these courses will be most
helpful to students who may place into developmental courses and help them be more successful in
advancing to college-level courses. It should also be helpful to retain students by reducing their fear and
frustration.
Question 7: Is there a draft memorandum of understanding?
A letter of agreement is available. This is the next step in the process after the institution decides how
they want to use the Bridge to Success content.
Question 8: Are students attracted to this type of content – is there any data about it?
We are in the beginning stages of our pilot project but there is extensive research supporting the use of
open educational resources. This content offers students a gentle introduction to the concept of learning,
mathematics, and online learning. The material helps develop subject-matter competencies, study skills
and confidence to prepare students for further study. Research has shown this type of content increases
learner capacity and confidence, encourages participation, which can result in registration for credit
courses, and contributes to higher levels of completion. The courses are modeled after content at the
Open University in the United Kingdom. Upon request, additional resources can be provided including
articles and webinars that highlight the success and impact of open educational resources.
Question 9: Who developed the materials?
The original material was developed at the Open University in the United Kingdom. We have employed
faculty who are content experts to convert and “Americanize” the content to align more closely with
practices and standards in the United States.