Pedagogical Foundations for Accelerated Learning Projects

Driving Forces and ChallengesRecap of Promising PracticesDiscussion of Models and MCC Initiatives

Driving Forces“Community colleges are increasingly

aware of the need to substantially increase the completion of certificates and degrees. But there now is unprecedented urgency for this work because having more successful community college graduates is essential to sustaining our local and national economies as well as maintaining strong communities with engaged citizens.”

◦ (Center for Community College Student Engagement)

The Global Challenge“America is facing the reality that

a highly educated but aging workforce is preparing to retire. As those workers retire, it is expected that the educational level of the younger generation of Americans will not approach their parents’ level of education.”

◦(The College Board)

Economic ChallengeChanges for Pell Grant recipients create

new challenges for program completion.These changes take effect beginning the

2012-13 school year which include a limited lifetime eligibility limitation reduced from 18 semesters to 12 semesters.

Outside pressure continues to push the completion agenda and limit the amount of time that students can spend getting the college credentials. (Jobs For the Future)

“America’s largest untapped resource is its poor” ~ Dr. Hunter Boylan, Director of the National Center for Developmental Education

Institutional ChallengeStudents who do not enter a

program of study within a year of enrollment are far less likely to ever enter a program and therefore less likely to complete and earn a credential. (Jenkins, 2012)

Developmental Education ChallengeMany students are sidetracked

from entering a concentration by remedial courses. The longer it takes a student to move through developmental education into a credit program, the more likely he or she is to drop out. (Bailey, 2009).

For new entering community college students, 15% of students placed into remedial education complete their remedial education sequence in one academic year, 40% partially complete their sequence and 46% did not begin their sequence at all. (Lumina Foundation for Education’s Achieving the Dream Initiative)

Rethinking Developmental EducationDespite these challenges,

developmental education is part of the national strategy to significantly increase college completion rate by “rethinking developmental education” in order to move students more quickly into areas of concentration.

Recap of Promising PracticesThere is emerging evidence from

research through multiple institutions showing promising practices in developmental education assisting students to move more quickly into their area of concentration. A recap of some promising practices include……….

Compressed CoursesCompressed courses combine multiple

developmental courses and allow students to complete sequential courses in one semester instead of two or more.

“Compressed format reduces redundant content and the amount of time dedicated to review, leaving more time to engage in challenging material with greater depth.” (Bragg & Barnett, 2008).

“Research demonstrates that intensive courses are not inferior to traditional courses and that, in certain cases, they might be superior.” (Martin and Culver, 2007)

Paired CoursesPaired courses generally link developmental

and college-level courses with complementary subject matter to provide students the opportunity to develop content and basic skills simultaneously.

This interaction may be bolstered through co-teaching by two instructors and a syllabus that fully integrates the content of both courses.

The paired structure makes basic skills instruction more relevant to students through immediate linkages with the college curriculum.

Learning CommunitiesThese include two or more linked classes

together as a cohort, ideally with the instructors of those classes coordinating course outlines and assignments as well as jointly reviewing student progress.

Learning communities build a sense of academic and social community and increase engagement among students and faculty. “Research shows that community college students in learning communities had higher rates of retention and earned the same or better grades than students taking similar stand-alone courses.”(Minkler,2002)

Curricular RedesignRedesign strategies reduce or eliminate the

multi-course sequence by focusing on content that closely aligns to the college curriculum or program of study.

Some redesign strategies merge related content to create a single developmental bridge course. For example, data from integrating reading and writing as a developmental bridge course showed “that students in the integrated course were more likely to succeed and persisted at a higher rate than those enrolled in the traditional sequence.” (Asera, 2009)

Mainstreaming with Supplemental SupportMainstreaming with supplemental support involves

placing students with developmental education referrals directly into introductory college-level courses and providing additional instruction through mandatory companion classes, lab sessions, or other learning supports. The Accelerated Learning Plan, an example of this practice, is showing successful results (Jenkins, 2010)

Mainstreaming with contextualized support helps students progress more quickly through their developmental skills while engaging them directly with their academic or vocational field of choice. “Evidence is promising for approaches to teaching basic skills in the context of instruction in content area subject matter.” (Perin, 2011).

The Models and MCC InitiativesALP Model: ENGL 101 & ENGL

099Chabot Model: Academic

LiteracyLearning Communities Model:

Gateway to CollegeOther Models and Initiatives

References Jenkins, D. (2012),Get With the Program: Accelerating Community

College Students’ Entry into and Completion of Programs of Study, (CCRC Working Paper No. 32) New York, N.Y., Columbia University Teacher’s college, Community College Research Center.

Edgecombe N., (2011) “Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students Referred to Developmental Education.” CCRC Working Paper No. 30, New York, NY, Senior Research Associate, Community College Research Center.

Asera, R(2009) Innovation at Scale, Boston, MA, Achieve the Dream, Developmental Education Imitative, Jobs for the Future.

Rutshow, E., (2011) Unlocking the Gate: What We Know About Improving Developmental Education. New York, NY. Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation

A Matter of Degrees, (2012) Austin, TX., Center for Community College Student Engagement.

Moore, C., & Shulock, N. (2009). Student progress toward degree completion: Lessons from the research literature. Sacrament, CA., California State University.