A Classroom for All: Accelerated English as a Path to Equity and Inclusion Brandon Feres brandon.feres@ccaurora.edu Candace McClelland-Fieler candace.mcclelland-fieler@ccaurora.edu Community College of Aurora, Dept. of English ccaurora.edu June 2017

overview Community College of Aurora’s student make-up, history with developmental education, and equity and inclusion initiative Data from before and after our ALP-centered redesign Our College Composition and Reading (CCR 094) structure Principles of inclusive teaching How our CCR 094 structure fosters inclusivity and equity

who we are at CCA We are a “minority majority” community college of about 10,000 62% are students of color 22% black 24% Hispanic/Latino(a) 75% of our students are part-time students Almost 78% of our Developmental English students are students of color

previous model and data Our Developmental English program was problematic at many levels: Time – often 2 semesters and sometimes 4 courses, all before college-level work Money – see above Success rates Only 28% of successful ENG 060 students went on to pass ENG 121 (our measure of success) Only 44% of successful ENG 090 students went on to pass ENG 121 (36% for black students)

Dev. Ed. Redesign (2014) + CCA’s Inclusive Excellence Initiative (2014) CCR 092 5 credits, combined with 3-credit Academic Achievement course CCR 094 + ENG 121 6 credits taken concurrently, only 12 students in CCR 094, same instructor for both courses “Recognizing our diversity is only the first step toward Inclusive Excellence. We must also be intentional in valuing cultural differences and experiences while incorporating them into practices, curricula, and policies” (CCA).

defining “inclusive excellence” 1. A focus on student intellectual and social development. 2. A purposeful development and utilization of organizational resources to enhance student learning. 3. Attention to the cultural differences learners bring to the educational experience and that enhance the enterprise. 4. A welcoming community that engages all of its diversity in the service of student and organizational learning. (From American Academy of Colleges and Universities)

principles of inclusive teaching Incorporate diversity into the overall curriculum Be intentional about creating a safe learning environment Be proactive in connecting with and learning about your students Create an environment where students’ voices can be activated Provide flexibility in how students can demonstrate their knowledge Be clear about how students will be evaluated Continually assess classroom climate Create community

structure and goals of CCR 094 Small class size (12) to create a learning community ethos Same instructor for ENG 121 + CCR 094 Back-to-back scheduling Students have access to instructor’s time, expertise, advice, and attention Focus on responding directly to individual student needs All CCR 094 work directly supports ENG 121 assignments Minimal scheduling to address individual needs as they arise

how CCR 094 is conducive to I/E work Small class size + workshop model = time and space to build meaningful connections Time and space to activate their own voices Twice the access to us and to their classmates Designed as a student-directed community of support, where the content is dictated by immediate student needs Creates a classroom climate where students develop self-efficacy and strategies for navigating college; students learn how and why to talk with us and to seek peer help Space allows for vulnerability (both yours and your students) and the ability to make mistakes and “fail well” Minimal scheduling/advance planning lets us address student needs as they come up

CCR 094 activities to support inclusivity Community building activities “Status of the class” Draft conferencing (and eavesdropping) Pre-conference questionnaires Whole-group peer workshop Essay process reflection One-on-one research guidance Active, assisted work time Self-guided grammar interventions (we use Inquisitive) Questions and answers about navigating the college experience Advisors coming to class to register students

new data (2014-2017) Black 36% 68% Hispanic/Latino(a) 44% 73% students who went on to pass ENG 121 Old ENG 090 model: New CCR 094 model: Black 36% 68% Hispanic/Latino(a) 44% 73% Asian 50% 77% Native American 40% 43% White 45% 75% Total 42% 72%

guiding questions for teaching inclusively How might your own cultural-bound assumptions influence how you communicate with students, both verbally and in writing? How might the backgrounds and experiences of your students influence their motivation, engagement, and learning in your classroom? How can you modify course materials, activities, assignments, and/or exams to be more accessible to all students in your class?

helpful inclusive excellence links CCA’s Inclusive Excellence initiative: https://www.ccaurora.edu/about-cca/inclusive-excellence University of Denver’s Center for Multicultural Excellence: http://www.du.edu/cme/resources/inclusive-excellence.html