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meet the unique needs ofMath in the End Zone students. The type of experience Rob will gain in

working with underrepresented students (in collaboration with Bret and the otherWEZ

instructors) will have, we hope, many of the same benefits WEZhas had for the Englishdepartment and CSM Footballchiefly, rethinking how to best serve underrepresented, low

achieving students, engaging in department and interdisciplinary conversations about our

common challenges in addressing low achieving students' needs, and applying what is learned toserving these students in general courses. The proposed project will also be instrumental in

opening up channels of communication between Math and the CSM football program as Math

instructors seek support in working with student-athletes in their courses.

To complete the two related projects, we request nine units of reassigned time, three units for

each of the three faculty membersdirectly involvedAnne Stafford, Rob Komas, Bret Pollack.

While we request nine units, we would respect the committee's decision to award the two relatedprojects fewer units, as the committee deems appropriate.

Thank you for your consideration.

Please contact Bret Pollack (pollack@smccd.edu, X6467) or James Carranza

(carranza@smccd.edu, X6568) if we can provide the committee any additional information aboutthe proposed projects, or if we can answer any questions you might have regarding them.

*A brief overview ofWriting in the End Zone:

Writing in the End Zone began in 2003. And it has grown in scope over the past four years. Itis a

three semester learning community, which pairs sequential English developmental to transferlevel composition courses with PE/football courses. Faculty and coaches work in unison to

provide students the highest quality instruction, services, and support in order to facilitatesuccess in both the classroom and on the field. WEZstudents are predominantly low-income,African-American and Pacific Islander males. And, with regard to academics, they represent the

two lowest achieving groups of students on campus.

In the five years WEZhas been in existence, the success and retention rates ofWEZstudentshave equaled the average success and retention rates of general population students and have

substantially exceeded those of their non-WEZpeers. WEZfaculty members have shared their

work in department meetings and retreats, college-wide forums, and at two state conferences andtwo national conferences. Writing in the End Zone has developed a reputation locally, and even

in the state, as a model student success project. Chabot College and De Anza College have tried

to develop similar projects. Diablo Valley College, Solano College, West Hills College, Lemoore(Southern California), and College of the Redwoods have requested information as they are in

the process of developing similarWEZprojects. Soccer coaches and English faculty at City

College of San Francisco are currently planning a project using CSM's model as a guide.

Please visit iTunes U! http://www.smccd.edu/itunesu/. Writing in the End Zone students share

their experiences in a Podcast. (Click CSM Courses and then click English-Kitamura.)

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mailto:pollack@smccd.edumailto:pollack@smccd.edumailto:carranza@smccd.eduhttp://www.smccd.edu/itunesu/mailto:pollack@smccd.edumailto:carranza@smccd.eduhttp://www.smccd.edu/itunesu/

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The nine requested units of reassigned time, three for each faculty member, will enable us to

accomplish the following goals and objectives:

Two Central Goals:

1. Include a fourth English instructor to the Writing in the End Zone learning community.

Currently, three ENGL instructors are responsible for teaching the threeEnd Zone

composition courses. A fourth instructor added to the rotation will ease the load on the

current faculty and help to reinvigorate the project.

2. Develop andinstitutionalize aMath in the End Zone learning community.

We know that Math poses a particular challenge to CSM's lowest achieving group of

studentsAfrican-American and Pacific Islander males, ages eighteen to twenty-two.Using Writing in the End Zone as a model, we hope to generate the same success in a

MathEnd Zone as we have in our EnglishEnd Zone.

Objectives:

research and develop a sustainable learning communityMath in the End Zone

coordinate both learning communities in fall and organize for spring and beyond

build upon and improve student math skills appropriate to Math 111 and eventually 112

build student self-esteem and confidence in English and Math (and in academics in

general)

meet or exceed student success, persistence, and retention rates for similar cohorts of

students and compare these to the rates of the general population of students in English

100/101 and MATH 111 and 112 courses

collaborate with each other and current WEZinstructorsTeeka James, Jon Kitamura,

and James Carranzato create innovative and appropriate curriculum and teaching

methods for both LCOMs. These will reflect department Student Learning Outcomes and

Institutional Student learning Outcomes

evaluate the effectiveness of our curricula in both LCOMs

revise and modify curricula and teaching methodology as necessary for both LCOMs

outline our approach to teaching these unique LCOMs, so that other interested Englishand Math faculty might participate in these LCOMs in future or employ specific

strategies in their own courses when working with student-athletes or students from

diverse backgrounds.

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Direct benefit to students:

Students in project English and Math courses will

persist and succeed at a comparable or higher rate than similar cohorts in general courses

increase self-esteem and confidence in English and Math

develop critical reading, writing, and thinking abilities

develop critical thinking and reasoning skills necessary to MATH 111 and MATH 112:

o solving one to two variable equations

o solving systems of equations

o checking solutions.

The proposed, related professional development projects meet the following Professional

Development, Long Term approved activities:

Retraining:

Developing original curriculum for these unique learning community courses will provide thefaculty directly involved the opportunity to learn more about CSM's diverse student population

in the two academic areas which we know pose them the greatest challengesEnglish and Math.

Anne Stafford, Rob Komas, and Bret Pollack will improve their own professional skills as they

share and learn new strategies for meeting the needs of traditionally underserved students. The

experience they gain in this collaborative project will enhance their abilities to address the needsof students in the other courses they teach in the English, Math, and P.E. departments. And the

experience they gain will be a useful professional development resource in their departments

Research:

This project requires that Anne, Rob, and Bret research effective curriculum and teaching

methods for the courses in these learning communities. In the process, they must take intoconsideration the unique cultural and educational backgrounds of the students they will be

serving. We feel the integration of English and PE and Math and PE, as well as the open

communication and collaboration between English, Math, PE/Counseling trained faculty willprovide unique insights into how to address the educational needs of our traditionally

underserved students. We would like to learn how to serve these students in a more holistic andcomprehensive manner. This collaborative project, we feel, is a step in the right direction.

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