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Reading-Writing-Serving Connection

College Reading and Learning Association

(CRLA) Conference, November 6-9, 2013

Ann Palmer, M.A., M. Ed.Professor, Developmental Reading

Richard Griffiths, PhD.Coordinator, Institutional Studies

Austin Community College, Austin, TX

ContentsI. Reading-writing connectionII. Reading-writing-serving

connectionIII. Service-learningIV. Service-learning and

retentionV. Works citedVI. ResourcesVII. Conclusions 2

I. Reading-writing connection

• Required by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)– Integrated Reading and Writing (IRW) – Comprehensive professional

development program—Jan.-Dec. 2013 -2014

– All upper/highest level offerings—spring 2015 (Dr. Morales-Vale, Director, Developmental Ed/Adult Basic Ed, Texas)

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I. Reading-writing connection

• Research suggesting that integrated reading/writing courses are more efficient, for example:- Writing practices enhance students’

reading. (Graham S. & Herbert M. 2010)- Rates of retention, persistence and

success are higher for students who took the IRW courses than for those who took the unpaired courses.

(Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, 2002)

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I. Reading-writing connection

• Research suggesting the need for a specific process for implementing IRW- Geon-Salter suggests following a 6 -

step progress (activation schema, annotation, rhetorical reading, self-reflection, rhetorical writing, mining the text) to make IRW successful.

(Geon-Salter S., 2012)5

I. Reading-writing connection

• Research suggests the need for specific guidelines to implement IRW.- Shanahan gives four guidelines: 1. Clearly specified outcomes2. Instruction in both reading and

writing3. Connections between different

disciplines4. Extensive practice in both reading

and writing (Shanahan, 1997)6

II. Reading-writing- serving connection

• Service learning can keep students engaged in school and on track to graduation. (Zaff and Lerner, 2010)

• Benefits of service learning programs appear to outweigh the liabilities.

(Perkins-Gough, 2009)

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II. Reading-writing- serving connection

• Community-based participatory educational experiences can contribute to students’ academic performance and persistence.

• Positive correlations between service-learning and students’ intention to reenroll.

(Campus Compact, 2008)

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II. Reading-writing- serving connection

• Service-learning…promotes deep. integrative learning and personal development among both first-year students and seniors.

(Gonyea et al., 2008)• Student engagement during the

first year yields powerful benefits for historically underserved students.

(Kuh et al, 2007 )9

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III. Service - learning“Learning to serve, serving to

learn.”“Service-learning incorporates community work into the curriculum, giving students real-world learning experiences that enhance their academic learning while providing a tangible benefit for the community.”

(Campus Compact, 2013)

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III. Service - learning (con’t)

Three basic components: 1. preparing

-setting objectives for skills to be learned or issues to consider-planning projects so they contribute to learning as volunteering takes place

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III. Service - learning (con’t)

2. performing service and/or doing research on organizations that need volunteers

III. Service-learning (con’t)3) analyzing the experience using a

final project such as an essay or presentation

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III. Service-Learning (con’t)

Sample S-L Project• This service learning project is worth 15% of

the student’s grade and involves the 5 parts. – Part 1 Learn about service learning at the

ACC service - learning website.

– Part 2 Learn about service learning opportunities on campus on the Student Life website and off-campus on the KUT and Volunteer Match websites.

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III. Service Learning (con’t)

Sample S-L Project Part 3 Decide on your project. There are four different opportunities for service.1. Volunteer for 10 hours on campus.

2. Volunteer for 10 hours off campus with a non - profit organization. 3. Research 10 different non-profit community organizations. 4. Prepare a presentation on serving the

community.

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III. Service Learning(con’t)Sample S-L Project

– Part 4 • Read two articles about service learning

found using the ACC Library online resources and write 5 questions and answers about the articles.

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III. Service Learning(con’t)– Part 5

• Students volunteering on or off campus write a 1 -2 page essay describing their experiences.

• Students doing research write a 5-6 page essay on the non-profit organizations.

• Students who have developed a public service announcement will give an oral presentation to the class.

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IV. Service - Learning and Retention

• Research conducted on service -learning in community colleges and universities shows advantages of this activity.

• Therefore, this retention study was undertaken.

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IV. Service - learning and retention (con’t)

–study question“Does participating in service - learning encourage students to persist from the intermediate level developmental reading course to the college-credit course English 1301 at Austin Community College in one or two academic years?”

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IV. Service - learning and retention (con’t)

Students included in study• those who completed a

developmental reading course (DEVR 0310)

• from fall 2009 through spring 2012

• earned a C or above in DEVR 0310• participated or didn’t participate

in service learning20

IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

• ACC has 9 campuses with students that have different demographic characteristics.

• Service learning in a DEVR 0310 course was offered only at one campus.

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

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Outcome Variables• Course Success and Withdrawal

Rates– Disaggregated by Gender and

Ethnicity• Retention (excluded summer

terms)– Disaggregated by Gender and

Ethnicity • Next-term • Second term

IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

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Outcome Variables• Completion of a college – level

course (English 1301 or 1302) with a C or above– Time period for completion

depended on the cohort’s completion of developmental reading course

– Included all English 1301 or English 1302 courses up to and including spring 2013

– Only the highest grade in either English 1301 or English 1302 included

IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

Results• Course Withdrawal Rates in

Developmental Reading Course• Rate of withdrawals reduced to zero

across all six major ethnic/gender combinations for SL participants.

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IV. Service - learning and retention (con’t)

Results• Course Withdrawal Rates in

Developmental Reading Course• WM SL vs. Non-SL (0.0% vs 22.3%)• BM SL vs Non-SL (0.0% vs 35.3%)• HM SL vs Non-SL (0.0% vs 22.3%)• WF SL vs Non-SL (0.0% vs 15.5%)• BF SL vs Non-SL (0.0% vs 23.1%)• HF SL vs Non-SL (0.0% vs 16.0%)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

Results• Retention Next Term• Overall SL vs Non SL (79.38 vs 60.79)

• Disaggregated Gender/Ethnicity• WM SL vs Non-SL (100% vs 57.6%)• BM SL vs Non-SL (81.8% vs 46.8%)• HM SL vs Non-SL (83.3% vs 59.7%)• WF SL vs Non-SL (83.3% vs 76.4%)• BF SL vs Non-SL (69.7% vs 59.5%)• HF SL vs Non-SL (89.3% vs 63.0%)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

Results• Retention Second Term• Overall SL vs Non SL (46.4 vs 35.8)• Disaggregated Gender/Ethnicity• WM SL vs Non-SL (100.0% vs 30.9%)• BM SL vs Non-SL (54.5% vs 29.5%)• HM SL vs Non-SL (33.3% vs 32.4%)• WF SL vs Non-SL (50.0% vs 44.6%)• BF SL vs Non-SL (45.5% vs 34.0%)• HF SL vs Non-SL (46.4% vs 41.3%)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

• Retention Second Term• Overall SL vs Non SL (46.4 vs 35.8)

• English Credit Course • Overall SL vs Non SL (72.0% vs

62.0%)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

Limitations & Discussion• Small sample size• Pre-selection bias

– Possibility that differences in motivation and other factors between SL and Non-SL

– More sophisticated methods should be used • propensity scoring – to match students

who participated in SL with those who did not and then compare the impact of SL

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

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IV. Service - learning and retention(con’t)

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V. Works cited• Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.

(2002). Sacramento. “A Survey Of Effective Practices In Basic Skills” ERIC. Web. 12 June 2013.

• Campus Compact (2008).”Building Engaged Campuses.” Research Brief #1 in Building Engaged Series. http://www.compact.org/wp-content/uploads/resources/downloads/Retention_Research_Brief.pdf

• Campus Compact.(2013) http://www.compact.org/about/history-mission-vision/

• Goen-Salter, S. (Producer). (2012). TxCRLA brown bag webinar: “Integrated reading and writing” (video). Retrieved from http://thetexasnetwork.org/index.php/resource-spec/1395/

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V. Works cited (con’t)• Gonyea, R.M., et al (2008). High impact activities.

http://cpr.iub.edu/uploads/AACU_2008_high_impact_practices%20Kuh,%20Gonyea,%20Nelson%20Laird,%20Kinzie%20final.pdf.

• Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2010). Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading. A Carnegie Corporation time to act report. New York, NY: Alliance for Excellent Education, Carnegie Foundation. Retrieved from http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/WritingToRead_01.pdf

• Kuh, G.D., e tal. (2007). Connecting the dots. http://nsse.iub.edu/pdf/Connecting_the_Dots_Report.pdf

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V. Works cited (con’t)

• Morales-Vale, Suzanne. TSI and Developmental Education Updates. CRLA/CASP Convention. THECB Town Hall. November 8, 2012 PowerPoint.,18

• Perkins-Gogh, Deborah. (2009). “Can Service Learning Keep Students in School?” Educational Leadership, 66(8),91-93.

• Shanahan, T. (1997). “Reading-writing relationships, thematic units, inquiry learning.... In pursuit of effective integrated literacy instruction.” Reading Teacher, 51(1), 12-19.

• Zaff, Jonathan and Richard Lerner. (2010)“Promote Positive Youth Development in High School.” Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5), 21-23.

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VI. ResourcesCampus Compact

• helps colleges and universities coordinate community engagement efforts

• trains faculty members to integrate community work into their teaching and research,

• encourages scholarships and other student incentives.

Campus Compact/ 201344

VI. Resources (con’t)National Service Learning

Clearinghouse

• supports the service-learning community in higher education, kindergarten through grade twelve, community-based organizations, tribal programs, and others interested in strengthening schools and communities using service-learning.

http://servicelearning.org 45

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VI. Resources (con’t)

College & Research Libraries News

• provides information on the definitions of civic engagement, projects and resource centers, campus and research centers, e-journals and blogs, statistics and assessment

http://crln.acrl.org/content/67/1/23.full.pdf+html?sid=d3926001-cf73-42d0-b0fc-4082e672df21

VI. Resources (con’t)• Community College National

Center for Community Engagementprovides resources to support and advance civic engagement initiatives in community colleges, sample syllabi; announcements of upcoming events and conferences; and links to related programs, projects, and organizations.

http://mc.maricopa.edu/other/engagement/47

VI. Resources (con’t)

• Service Learning Research Primerdesigned to address the need for information on how to conduct high-quality and rigorous research on service-learning. It reviews the literature base, appropriate research methodologies and measurement procedures, and available online resources.

http://www.servicelearning.org/service-learning-research-primer/service-learning-research-primer

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VII. Conclusions • Most students learn best by doing!

• Students with learning disabilities need the multisensory reinforcement.

VII. Conclusions (con’t)

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• According to this research, students benefit academically from integrated reading, writing and service - learning.

VII. Conclusions (con’t)• Specifically most students who did

service learning with both reading and writing in the intermediate-level developmental reading class persisted and were successful in the first or second required college - level English course.

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Copies and thank you!• If you have questions or would like

a copy of this presentation, please email Ann Palmer – apalmer@austincc.edu.

• I would like to thank Richard Griffiths -rgriffit@austincc.edu for his generous assistance in preparing the statistical analysis of the data.

• It’s been a pleasure visiting with you!

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