Initial Approach to Acceleration— English 360: Focused English Fundamentals

The California Acceleration Project CAP supports colleges to increase student completion of transfer- level English and math through evidence-based practices that reduce or eliminate students’ time in remediation. High-Leverage Practices: Transforming placement policies to broaden access to transfer-level courses and enable all students to begin higher in the sequence Contextualizing math remediation to students’ program of study -- algebra for math-intensive pathways, statistics & quantitative reasoning for others Redesigning curricula to accelerate students through remediation, including co-requisite models at the transfer-level and single-semester remedial courses aligned with the transfer-level courses in students’ program of study http://cap.3csn.org

Our original developmental sequence: English 305: Introductory Reading and Writing Skills (3) English 355/355L: Writing and Reading Skills with lab co-requisite (3+1.5) English 370/370L: English Fundamentals with lab co-requisite (3+.5) English 380: Advanced English Fundamentals (3) *At any point, students could “skip” a step (or steps) based on CME score (department-read common final) and instructor recommendation at the end of a course.

Our new developmental sequence: English 310A: Introductory Reading and Writing Skills (1.5) English 370/370L: English Fundamentals with lab co-requisite (3+.5) -OR- English 360: Focused English Fundamentals (5) *CME has been turned into a simple common final, to be weighted as instructor sees fit.

English 360: Focused English Fundamentals Five units Open enrollment Just-in-time remediation College-level reading and writing tasks from the beginning of the semester Scaffolding Numerous opportunities for revision Portfolio assessment (which includes common final)

Student Learning Outcomes Write essays which demonstrate the following: the ability to present a thesis and to develop it through coherent paragraphs with controlling ideas; the ability to critically read and analyze college level essays while identifying the controlling idea and main points; the ability to synthesize ideas from reading with personal experience; an awareness of the need to credit sources; the abilities to use a variety of sentence patterns and the standard conventions of written English correctly.

Sample Texts Sheff, N. Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009 Linde, P. Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psychiatrist. University of California Press, 2011 Grandin, T. Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism. Vintage, 2010 Hornbacher, M. Madness: A Bipolar Life. Mariner Books, 2009 Slater, L. Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century, classic ed. Norton, 2005 Pink, D.. Drive: The Surprising Truth about what Motivates Us, classic ed. Riverhead Trade, 2011

Sample Assignment (first essay) Educational Autobiography Tell me the story of your educational history, including analysis of that history in light of the ideas presented in Daniel Pink’s book Drive. Tell me about the journey you’ve been on, the good, the bad, how you have felt about yourself as a learner in your past schooling, how you dealt with failures and successes, whether you felt much “intrinsic motivation”… Paint me a detailed picture, so that I can start to get to know you by learning about your experiences. Some things I’d like you to include: What have been the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in your education so far? Offer specific examples of times you’ve experienced each kind, and explain how each kind of motivation has impacted your outcomes. Has your previous education included much autonomy, mastery, and/or purpose? (Please refer to at least two of the above.) If you HAVE had these experiences, please describe at least one example and how it felt. If you have NOT experienced these ideas in the past, please think of at least one specific example when this was true and describe how that felt. Identify and describe your current motivation as a college student. Do you feel the drives of autonomy, mastery, and purpose (any or all)? Why or why not? Are your motivations primarily extrinsic or intrinsic? How might you apply Pink’s ideas to maximize your success as a college student?

Sample Assignment (final essay) From chapter 2 of Slater’s Opening Skinner’s Box: Lee Ross, coauthor of The Person and the Situation: Perspectives of Social Psychology, says, “I wouldn’t say there are no stable character attributes in a person that contribute to moral or immoral behavior, but they are far outweighed by where the person is, and at what time, and with whom.” In other words, Ross and his colleagues claim that our behaviors do not result so much from a stable set of internalized preferences or beliefs, but rather from external influences that change like wind and weather (Slater 45). From chapter 4 of Slater’s Opening Skinner’s Box: Darley and Latane . . . like Milgram . . . believed less in the power of personality than in the power of situation (Slater 98). Do you accept this explanation of human behavior/psychology? Yes? No? Somewhat? Why do you see it like you do? (Your answer should be summarized in your thesis statement in your introduction.) In your essay, be sure to include support for your argument with relevant ideas, information, and quotes from the Milgram handout, Opening Skinner’s Box, and/or any other source(s) you find. You will want to discuss Darley and Latane’s experiment as well as Milgram’s, and your essay will be stronger if you include a discussion of the opposing viewpoint, evidence that contradicts your argument. Be sure to explain what you think of the evidence you present and discuss why this evidence supports your view or, if it doesn’t, why it does not cause you to abandon your own position.