FIN Commons

Presentation at ECCTYC, October 21, by  Lara Kartalian and Sarah McLemore (Glendale College)

Glendale Community College’s Faculty Inquiry Network Project

English 120: English 120 is a class in pre-collegiate composition which provides practice in writing, analysis and organization. Upon successful completion of English 120, students are expected to 1) write cogent, well-developed arguments that clearly articulate a thesis supported by textual evidence, 2) read critically by summarizing, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating college-level texts, 3) select, evaluate, interpret, and synthesize sources in the service of an argument, and 4) document sources in MLA style. English 120 is a crucial course in the English Division’s sequence as it bridges the developmental and transfer-level English courses taught at Glendale Community College.

FIN Project’s Origin: Over the last several years, there have been a significant number of instructors who have begun to take on the “incremental and technology” based theory which grew out of the Carnegie Grant project.

The “Incremental and Technology-Based” pedagogy is an outgrowth of the Full E-mersion project, an advanced electronic pedagogy for developmental composition that has been the subject of the Carnegie basic skills project for the last several years. The original premise of the innovation was to infuse as much technology as possible in a developmental composition course and explore the outcomes. The new pedagogy represents the fullest realization of reading and writing integration in a GCC basic skills composition course. From day one, students learn to read “microscopically,” dissecting texts and using textual evidence to formulate argumentative writing. The incremental component of the pedagogy nurtures good study skills by giving students a large number of manageable tasks, thus creating an academic atmosphere in which they become motivated through success and establish the momentum necessary to maintain their energy and drive.

The new pedagogy shifts the emphasis of developmental composition instruction away from personal experience-based writing to analysis of sources (photographic, textual, etc.). In particular, the modified English 120 curriculum teaches the four cornerstones of academic writing—analysis, abstraction, citation, and interpretation—from day one of instruction. When offered in incremental and highly structured format, these learning opportunities peak students’ intellectual curiosity and engage them in rigorous critical thinking.

The Faculty Inquiry Network Project at Glendale Community College: Our project is designed to examine how teaching techniques and an incrementalized approach to the teaching of expository writing and literary analysis in English 120 may be applied to other disciplinary contexts.  Will what works in English 120 work in other courses to enhance student success and engage students?

Project Timeline:

- Spring 2009: Faculty members from Political Science, Credit ESL, and Astronomy sat in on either Lara Kartalian or Sarah McLemore’s English 120 classes to investigate the pedagogy used in Lara and Sarah’s classrooms.  Each faculty member sat in for three weeks for each class meeting.  They also interviewed students to gauge their responses to the course materials and pedagogical methods.

Based on their research, each faculty member developed a proposal to apply one facet of the English 120 course principles to their own teaching.

- Fall 2009: Faculty members make their proposals a reality.

Fall 2009 Faculty Projects Based on Observations of English 120 in Spring 2009

Cameron Hastings, Political Science: Cameron is tactically applying the techniques English 120 instructors use to get students to select the best evidence to use in their written work.  In doing so, Cameron hopes to enhance her students’ capabilities in gathering and synthesizing evidence and data.

Jennifer Krestow, Astronomy: Jennifer has revised the process by which she’s asked students to gather data and summarize information connected to a variety of course principles.  She has already noted heightened student engagement and better comprehension of course principles in student quizzes, discussions, and written work.

Paul Vera, Credit ESL: Paul has begun a survey of student responses regarding a comment faculty members often write on student papers: “be more specific.”  By researching his students and conducting “think-alouds” with students, he hopes to generate ideas of how to make his comments on student work more effective and, well, more specific.

Looking Ahead:  Anticipated Goals for Spring 2010 and Beyond

-Recruit additional faculty to observe English 120 courses for Spring 2010.  These faculty will then design a project (Spring 2010) and apply it (Fall 2010)

-Faculty in Political Science, Astronomy, and Credit ESL complete their projects and apply them to future courses