Classes in this area had several methods of delivery: computer lab, Picture-Tel, and traditional classroom. In addition, several classes were ITOP classes that dealt with students on a borderline ENG 121 status. Student assessment of these various approaches differed, often depending on individual learning styles. Also, the enthusiasm of the teacher is a factor. Overall, students did well and showed improvement. The degree of improvement usually correlates (not scientifically) with the student's attendance.With the Picture-Tel classes, most success was gained with visits to Alamosa.
Most English teachers use a workshop approach to the teaching of English with a minimum of lecture. We intend to stress this approach in all writing classes. We will also encourage teachers to use the computer labs when possible, scheduling as many classes in them where the teachers request. Not every teacher is comfortable using the computers, however.
When we first introduced the use of Picture-Tel to reach students in the San Luis Valley, we also had students here in Trinidad. This presented a number of difficulties especially since our cap of 20 students per class was often ignored. After a semester with this organization, the English teachers requested to have only those students at the remote site. Occasionally, still too many students are registered for a class in Alamosa. In this case, we haveinstituted an additional class. Also, where possible, more teachers of Picture -Tel are visiting Alamosa during the semester. This will be continued.
Section 2: This was a small class of only seven students completing the course. Final grades were A-3; B-3; C-1. Three students dropped the course within the first two weeks.One student who started out well, disappeared about half-way through the course and I was unable to contact her. the class average numerically was 90. Most students attended regularly, which contributes to this average. The final exam tested ability in using research and in revision and documentation. This average was 85.4%, quite satisfactory.
Section 2: On the whole student performance was above satisfactory.Most of the students attended regularly and completed work on time. One student attended sporadically and his work was uneven, often handed in late. I am still not completely satisfied with the students' research skills, and need to devote more time to these in the beginning of the course. Since many students have clued in to the over 150 sites on the Internet offering essays and term papers free or for a fee, I plan to develop a list of challenging topics off the beaten path. If I teach in a so-called "smart" classroom, I hope to learn to use the computer in conjunction with my classes.
While the division did not receive class assessments from all ENG 122 classes, from what I've observed and received, I can draw several conclusions. The students seemed to work well with computers and deemed this mode of delivery as better than in a traditional class since access was available at any time. More teachers are using the computers in conjunction with their classes.
Mastery and retention correlate (not scientifically) with attendance. Perhaps developing a stronger attendance policy should be developed.
Since this class develops skills in using and documenting research, it is recommended that teachers use both the APA and MLA formats with the essays assigned. Also, that more time be expended in developing skills in paraphrasing and summarizing. Also, any sources should be printed or photocopied and handed in with the final copies of the papers.
Once suggestion that has merit is writing along with the students as they develop their writing.
Section 2: When students were doing peer evaluations, I used to give questions to them orally as a means of evaluation. Students last year suggested that I distribute these questions in written form, which I have done. This does a much better job of focusing their peer evaluations.
Course Grades: Section 001 TTh
14 Students: 3 withdrew; 11 completed course with C or above (79%) 6=A, 1=B, 4=C
Class Average Grade: 88
Fiction Exam Average=80
Fiction Essay Average=84
Exam Average=89
Poetry Essay Average=91
Course grades indicate good retention (79%) although I would like to see a higher rate. Of the 3 students who withdrew, one never attended, and a second, who did not turn in any work, withdrew in early October. The course grades also indicate mastery of the material with an average course grade of 88.
It's difficult to evaluate this class. Some were outstanding students, engaged, eager to learn, exciting and challenging to teach. Others, unfortunately, sat like stones, unprepared, unengaged, uninterested. The first exam seemed to serve as a wake-up call for some of them (they scored in the D and F range), and after that, most seemed to put out more effort. I tried harder to involve them in class discussions and was pleased to see much higher average grades on the second exam (9 points) and second essay (7 points).
We met in Davis 105, a computer lab designed for English classes. Although we seldom used the computers during class, I assigned homework-comments and questions on the readings-in the Blackboard Discussion Board feature. Those students who participated (some did not) gained experience in expressing and defending their ideas in writing, and I believe this practice also helped them to master the material more effectively. In future, I will assign a specific point value for participation in the Discussion Board assignments. (I had merely told them that this was one component of the attendance/participation grade.)
I used the projector and large screen in the classroom to show videos of each drama. It's the best way to screen these dramas, I think, and I liked having this technology readily at hand.
I had been disappointed with the quality of my students' essays the previous semester, so I spent more class time explaining the features of interpretative essays and demonstrating literary resources in the library and on the Internet. I was pleased with the results. Most of the essays this semester were honest, thoughtful interpretations, and most used resources effectively. I will continue this practice.
We established a computer lab designed primarily for English classes this fall. My literature class met in this lab, and I was very pleased with the set-up. I used the Blackboard program for discussion groups and communication. Also, using Blackboard, I was able to link to research sites. I could demonstrate these, and the students could practice in the classroom. I particularly like the video and large screen technology for showing films; it recreates the theater atmosphere more effectively.
One packet is handed in every three weeks for evaluation by the instructor. There are a total of five packets, each including the final draft of the essay along with all rough drafts, critical responses, notes, and in-class exercises.
Each packet demonstrates the student's involvement in the writing process, which includes invention and research, planning and drafting, as well as critical reading and revison. Each packet also contains the student's final draft.
These packets demonstate whether the student has been participating fully in the writing process to arrive at a final draft that comunicates effectively through writing.
As a result of this process I can deternmine whether a student is participating fully in the writing process in order to communicate effectively through essay writing. Students who particpate fully in the process are able to communicate effectively in their final draft. The challenge has been to see that all students particpate fully in the writing process rather than taking shortcuts. To be sure that they effectively particpate, we have added a supplemental instruction component along with peer mentoring. Also, because students whose tests scores are slightly below the admittance level for 121 are admitted to this ITOP section, I personally identify individualized consultation needs and require the students to seek help through personal or technological tutoring.
Students who are below college level writing at the beginning of this class are able to produce essays that communicate effectively by participating fully in the above mentioned process. Students who do not follow the recommendations of the instructor or who do not particpate fully in the writing process do not communicate as effectively in writing as those who follow the process and the recommendations. During the five years of teaching this course, I have tailored it to meet the needs of the borderline student. Students willing to put in the time and energy learn to communicate effectively in writing. Students with low motivation tend to do poorly, although supplemental instruction and peer mentoring have improved the motivation levels of students.
Eight lesson evaluations and a final exam which evaluate the student's ablility in reading, writing, listening, and speaking the Spanish language. In additon, the student presents a cultural project to the class.
Each lesson evaluation demonstrates that the student has mastered sufficient material to proceed to the next lesson and build more knowledge on that which was previously learned. The final evaluation shows that the student has maintained comprehension of eight lessons.
These evaluations demonstrate that students are building a comprehension of the Spanish language through a logical sequencing, so that they achieve the ability to read and write the language as well as speak and comprehend the language orally.
Students learn to communicate more readily in the reading and writing of the language than in the listening and speaking of the language. The tapes, which students can check out from the library, are not used as effectively as I had hoped. There are complaints of poor quality sound recording. Therefore I will adopt Blackboard next semester which has an audio-oral program and will be used in conjunction with the computer-based program.
I will know next fall when I evaluate the next group.
I thought it only fair to include all these sections in one report since they all met at the same time, 8:00 A.M., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I measured the change in improvement between the first and third speeches in this class. The smallest increment of improvement was 3% the largest was 23%. On average the class showed an improvement of almost 11.2%.
Those who showed the smallest percentage of improvement were typically non-traditional students. I believe this indicates a higher level of self-confidence due to life experience and also perhaps the higher academic requirements of earlier education. A few of the low achievers were students who clearly did not take the post-test seriously.
SPE-115, sections 001, 002, 004 and 050.
I put these sections together because they are all made up of students from the TSJC campus, attended traditional type classes and all were able to take both the pre-test and post-test. For the reasons stated above, The concerns expressed above still apply.
The lowest level of improvement was -9% by a traditional student who did not take the post-test seriously and had only appeared in class by accident. Another similar student showed 0% improvement. Several nontraditional students showed improvement in the 2% to 4% range. The highest demonstrated percentage of improvement was 18%. The average improvement for all students included in the assessment was a little more than 7.2%.
The raw figures for numbers of students and % of improvement are available if needed.
This particular assessment may be flawed for several reasons.
First, when the semester began, my old system of taping first and last speeches was hopelessly ruined when all the contents of my office were moved during the construction in the library at the beginning of the semester. Some items were either lost or misplaced. I took my problem to the Communication Division meeting early in the semester but after it had begun. At this meeting the current method was suggested. The new method requires that students give identical speeches at the beginning an end of the semester. I decided to apply this method of demonstrating improvement several weeks after the semester began. However, certain problems were already ingrained into this semester's figures. We had already critiqued each speech immediately, which allowed most students to learn from the mistakes of those who spoke before them. As they gave their first speeches, they had already begun to apply lessons learned.
Second, the 8:00 A.M. class was about 20% larger than even the largest classes usually offered at TSJC. This put stress on times. As this was also a Pictel class, occasional technical problems soaked up already scarce time.
Third, again because of time constraints, I did not have time to do a post-test for some sections. In these sections I was forced to compare dissimilar speeches, the second of which was given approximately in the middle of the course, not at the end.
Fourth, though not applicable to the 8:00 A.M. class, since students in other sections did not receive grades for the post-test they had no incentive to do well. Although they did give the post-test some effort, it was apparent from the start that many gave the post test much effort at all, perhaps thereby, skewing the results.
Fifth, the 8:00 A.M. class was a mix of college students from both campuses and three area High Schools, each with a different tradition of academic excellence, policy of attendance, age of student and even class week, (some being only four days long). It became quite clear early on that certain sections excelled while others did poorly.
Sixth, several students who, for various reasons started the class later, were not able to do the first speech and so are not included in this assessment. Also many students did not complete the semester and are not included in this assessment.
Speech 115 will no longer be taught as a Pictel class with the possible exception of college age students from the Alamosa campus. As long as the overall cap does not exceed 25, the problems experienced in the 8:00 A.M. class should be eliminated or significantly reduced.
The teaching method of the class needs to be modified slightly so that the pre-test more accurately reflects the abilities of the students as they enter the course. To do this, I propose each student give his/her first speech without critiques of any kind.
However, so that a valuable learning tool is not lost, I further propose that these speeches be recorded on videotape. After every student has given his/her speech, all speeches will be viewed and critiqued by the class. This might even prove to be interesting and valuable to the students as they will be able to watch themselves doing their speeches.
Students who enter the class late will be video taped immediately, to more accurately reflect their abilities upon entering the class. Those who do not finish the course and do not take the post-test will not be included in the assessment.
The post-test needs to be given a point value that will figure into the student's final grade. This will encourage students to take it more seriously. I propose shifting the point total, originally reserved for the first speech to the last speech, making it worth 5% of the student's final grade.
On the first day of the semester, the students took a one hundred question test with a value of one points per question. The highest score achieved was 22, the lowest was 13; excepting one score of 0 because one student did not take the test. The average score of all tests was 16.08. The test was not returned to the students and even the results were kept hidden for the rest of the semester.
The same test was given on the last day of the semester. The highest score was 95, the lowest was 38, interestingly enough, by the same person who got the high-test score on the first day. There were three seriously low scores of 38,44, and 51. All other scores were between 71 and 95. Even with the lower scores averaged in, the class average was 72.09.
The difference between the two class averages was 56.01 points. The lowest level of improvement was the aforementioned student who improved only 16 points and did not pass the course. The highest level of improvement was 80 points. The average of each student's improvement was 56.08. However, when the three seriously low scores are factored out, each student's average level of improvement was 72.6.
The data seems to say that on the whole, students demonstrated a significant increase in their knowledge of the subject matter. Lowest
Most students did well in this class. No significant changes are needed for them. But there exceptions. Of those exceptions, two of the three may be a direct result of failure to attend class. The third is the most disturbing. She is a non-traditional student who has done well in other classes, attended this class well, read assignments, and participated in discussions, but not do well on test. When she was given term paper assignments as a substitute for tests, she still failed to excel.
I need to do a better job of identifying as risk students and getting them the help they need. Perhaps making this and S.I.. Class could help.
There is no prior data with which to compare results. However much of the testing is based on name, plot and theme recognition. After personal surveys of several students, I have modified my teaching techniques to emphasize and repeat these qualities.
In previous years, the division had some difficulty with the sample selected. In one year, the sample included freshmen, many of whom had fewer than two samples and were eliminated. Last year's sample included a number of students earning certificates who had not taken any composition courses. Thus, those portfolios remaining were few and did not represent a valid assessment.
This year's sample, selected from the graduating class from students who had at least two papers, includes 30 students.
Over the past several years, the division has assembled portfolios for students taking English classes. Included in these portfolios were for English 121 their first paper and the paper requiring research, the paper explaining a concept. For English 122, the portfolio included the first paper and the formal research paper. Members of the division evaluated the essays with two teachers evaluating each portfolio.
The papers were evaluated on the following criteria: ideas and content, organization, word choice, sentence fluency, voice and conventions, with each criterion rated on a 1-5 scale, 5 being the highest score. Thus, the highest score for an individual paper would be 30 points from one instructor. The points for each essay were totaled with 60 points being the highest score. The difference in points for the two essays and represented by a +/- number of points. The results are tabulated on the accompanying table.
Also, discussions with instructors supplemented the above procedure.
The general observation of those evaluating the papers was as to the good quality of the papers. This is borne out by the data. Of the thirty ( 30) student portfolios, only four (4) fell into the negative area. Six (6) students demonstrated a gain of over ten (10) points. Those remaining students showed a gain of from one (1) to nine (9) points. It must be noted also that of those students on the lower end of this scale, several showed high scores to begin with, thus the change was minimal. The area that was weakest generally in both essays was conventions, that is spelling, grammar, punctuation, paragraphing and documentation.
While attention is given to conventions in instruction, some more formal work in these areas is encouraged. Also, currently we do not receive papers from other campuses and centers, as well as from extended studies classes, which we should do and will make an effort to do in the next semester.
Our English classes are of several different modes of instruction: traditional, computer lab, and Pic-Tel. Many students have expressed satisfaction with the computer-centered mod, and we encourage instructors to use the computer lab. However, the computers do not fit every student's learning style, and we will indicate on future schedules those classes that are computer-centered. The Pic-Tel classes seem most successful where the instructors meet face-to-face with the Alamosa students periodically during the semester.
Discussions with writing teachers emphasized the need for better attendance on the part of students. While most teachers give a portion of the grade for attendance, student attendance still is not what it should be. We will continue to emphasize this in our classes.
Since one of the principal aims of the composition classes is the provide skill in written expression and critical thinking, we hope to be able to get feedback from other departments on their needs and suggestions.
We will also have teachers submitting papers submit brief comments on the papers that should help us with our assessment.