Bridge Program Information Night Welcome Students, Family & Friends!

Agenda 1. What is Bridge? 2. What is EN 097? 3. So, what is Bridge?, cont. 4. Possible Courses of Action 5. Those used in Bridge 6. Tell me more 7. Previous students’ thoughts 8. Question Time What’re we talking about, again? Who am I? And, why should you care?

What is the Bridge Program? Easy answer: Prep for your EN 097 class this Fall.

But first, what is EN 097? Officially titled “Academic Foundations in English” A basic writing skills class Review and development of language skills necessary for proficient writing Prep for college-level writing intensive courses

So, what is the Bridge Program? Basic English skillsStudent/Study Skills Grammar/Sentence- level rules The writing process Basic essay organization Reading comprehension and interpretation Note-taking Time management Stress management Campus resources College/classroom expectations Technology A 2-week intensive prep program to build skills for students entering EN 097, meaning it will teach:

So how should we go about teaching these skills? Don’t worry, there is method to the madness…

Possible Courses of Action: 1. Accommodation Requires educators to be culturally sensitive and aware of the literacy practices of their students home cultures. 2. Incorporation Requires cultural sensitivity, but adds that educators incorporate the home practices of their students in their teaching. 3. Adaptation Also requires cultural sensitivity, may or may not incorporate home practice, but in the end, asks students to adapt to school-learning Different schools and teachers prefer different paths to help improve the literacy skills of their students, and there is a lack of consensus in the research as to what is best. As discussed in Edwards, P. A. (2003). The impact of family on literacy development: Convergence controversy, and instructional implications. In C. M. Fairbanks, et al. (Eds.). 52 nd yearbook of the national reading conference (pp ). Oakcrest, Wisconsin: National Reading Conference, Inc.

But which of these does the Bridge Program use?

Bridge Approach 1. Accommodation All Bridge teachers are culturally sensitive, aware of the literacy practices of a variety of home cultures, and open to learning more. 2. Incorporation All Bridge teachers try to incorporate topics of interest to their students as much as possible, or use natural language in their discussion of academic topics. We want you to feel comfortable learning. 3. Adaptation In the end, you sign up for EN 097 and this Bridge to help you adapt to school-learning, so we will ask you to put “standard” school literacy practices to use. A little bit of everything. Here’s how.

Tell me more about Bridge… It takes place in the summer and starts 3 weeks before the semester 2-weeks long, Monday-Thursday, and are 3 hours/day Morning, afternoon and evening sessions are offered

Tell me more about Bridge… A Bridge class, like an EN 097 class, is 22 students or less No textbooks are needed, but you do need to bring paper, writing utensil and a way to organize the materials we provide. By successfully completing Bridge, you become eligible for a book loan for EN 097, worth as much as $74.50

What do Bridge students say about it? “I didn’t feel ready for college, but now I do. Look I even wrote that in a compound sentence, I didn’t know what that was before.” - Tabitha “I liked how easy the bridge teachers made everything. I didn’t have to feel stupid for not getting it. - Clarence “Bridge is the reason I passed english 97. I feel like I can write an essay and I know how to study.” - Ivette “I really liked the study skills the best now I know how to get help for my classes.” - Waqar Bridge students say they feel more prepared for their classes other students, and they feel ready to be leaders in their classrooms.

Questions? About anything… Our approach, what is taught, how a Bridge session is run… Anything.

Thanks for coming! Corinne Cozzaglio Bridge Facilitator Grand Rapids Community College