THE CALIFORNIA ACCELERATION PROJECT

SUMMER SERPAS, IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE SSERPAS@IVC.EDU

WHAT PROBLEM DOES ACCELERATION ADDRESS?

RETENTION IN THE TRADITIONAL SEQUENCE AT IVC

Percent of students making it through English sequence by starting level (Fall 2009 - Spring 2012) 70% 60%
49% 60%

50%
40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Two levels below

One level below

WHAT PROBLEM DOES ACCELERATION ADDRESS?

According to the California Acceleration Project (CAP) website, Large research studies inside and outside California have established that the more levels of developmental courses a student must take, the less likely the student is to ever complete college courses in English and math. In other words, the problem lies in the structure, not in the student.

WHAT IS ACCELERATION?
Accelerated classes reduce the number of exit points at which students can slip out of the system and fail to complete college-level courses. Not only do more students make it to college-level English in the accelerated model, but they are also more successful in that class.

College-Level English Pass Rate for Accelerated Students

College-Level Pass Rate for NonAccelerated Students

Fall 2000 Cohort

Fall 2003 Cohort Fall 2006 Cohort Fall 2008 Cohort

80%
87% 85% 82%

76%
84% 78% 80%

Director of the California Acceleration Project Katie Herns study at Chabot College found that students who take accelerated courses pass college-level English at higher rates than students who took the non-accelerated path.

ACCELERATION AT IVC
Traditional Sequence
Reading 370: 3 units plus a .5 unit lab Writing 301: 3 units plus a .5 unit lab Writing 201: 3 units plus a .5 unit lab Writing 1: College-Level Writing Writing 1: College Level Writing EXP 389: A 5 unit, one-semester course plus a .5 unit lab

Accelerated Sequence
Reading 370:

3 unit class plus a .5 lab OR test into WR 301

WHAT IS THE CALIFORNIA ACCELERATION PROJECT?

The California Acceleration Project is an extended professional development program that supports faculty piloting new accelerated courses in math and English. As participants in the project, faculty from 29 colleges attend 3 in-person intensive workshops and receive ongoing coaching from Katie Hern in English and Myra Snell in math.

WHAT IS THE CALIFORNIA ACCELERATION PROJECT?

At these workshops, we work as a whole group to discuss ways to help students in an accelerated classroom in general and in discipline groups to discuss discipline-specific strategies. There are currently 29 colleges participating in the project, including 6 who are offering accelerated pilots in both English and math. Website: cap.3csn.org

THREE PRINCIPLES OF ACCELERATION

Backwards Design Students should be doing college-level work with support from their instructors at all levels, including pre-college levels. Just-in-Time Remediation Instructors should provide help for students when the need arises as they work through college-level reading and writing assignments. Support Students Affective Needs Instructors should help students through emotional or psychological barriers that block learning and have nothing to do with their cognitive ability.

BACKWARDS DESIGN

Writing 301Serpas Spring 2012 WA 3: Friends, Good Friends, and Very Good Friends Final Draft Due Date: Thursday, April 5th

Context In her essay Friends, Good Friends, and Very Good Friends, Judith Viorst categorizes the various types of friends she has. She writes, [T]he friendships I have and the friendships I see are conducted at many levels of intensity, serve many different functions, meet different needs and range from those as all-the-way friendship of the soul sisters [] to the most nonchalant and casual playmates (150). Assignment For this assignment you will write three paragraphs. The first paragraph will be a summary of Viorsts essay. This paragraph will serve as an introduction and should end with a thesis statement in which you mention the two types of friends you plan to discuss in your two subsequent paragraphs. The next two paragraphs should each describe one type of friend and provide an example from your experience. You must choose one of Viorsts categories and create one of your own. Developing your paragraph In your first (introductory) paragraph, you will be summarizing Viorsts essay. This means you should begin with a TAG statement that introduces Viorsts thesis and move to a discussion of her main points and a few key supporting examples. You should mostly use your own words, but you can use brief quotations if you would like. Be sure to cite quotations properly with a page number citation. Your introductory paragraph should end with a thesis statement in which you introduce the two types of friends you plan to discuss in the following two paragraphs. You should connect your thesis statement to your summary with a transition. In your two subsequent paragraphs, you should begin with a topic sentence that names the type of friend you will discuss in that paragraph. You should develop your paragraph by beginning with an explanation of the friendship type you plan to discuss in that paragraph. In your paragraph in which you use one of Viorstss friendship types, you should summarize her explanation of that type of friend. In your paragraph in which you introduce a type of friend that you made up, you should explain that type of friendship in your own words. You should then move into a fully-developed example or examples from your own life of one or more friends who fit into that category. Be sure to explain why the friend fits in the category as you explained it. For the closing of these paragraphs, you should evaluate why that type of friend is important in your life. Be sure to incorporate the word because into this portion of your analysis. For example, My specialinterest friend is important because

EXP 389 Fall 2012 Essay 5 For this assignment, you will argue whether Angie Bachmann, whose story is described in Chapter 9 The Neurology of Free Will: Are We Responsible for Our Habits? in The Power of Habit, should be held accountable for her gambling debts based on what you know about addictions from Rat Park: The Radical Addiction Experiment by Lauren Slater and habits from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. You should write your essay for people who are NOT in this class and are not familiar with Duhiggs book or Slaters text. This means youll need to spend some time summarizing key ideas, defining any terms that might be unfamiliar, and choosing short quotations from the original reading to help your reader get a sense of what the author is talking about. This includes The traditional views on addiction (as represented by the opinion of former assistant drug czar Herb Kleber and the studies done by Olds and Milner) as described in Slaters text Bruce Alexanders two main findings in his Rat Park studies, including his study called The Seduction and his study on the role of withdrawal on already-addicted rats, as described in Slaters text Angie Bachmanns story as described in Chapter 9 of The Power of Habit Any information you know about habit formation and habit change based on your readings from The Power of Habit (feel free to go back to earlier chapters if you think that will help you make your argument)

A few things to remember: Id like you to include details, examples, and quotations from the reading to help you develop your argument. Talk about complexitiesfor example, you might think the casinos encouraged Bachmanns habits, but in the end, you might believe she is ultimately responsible. Use your critical voice to explain WHY you think Bachmann is or is not responsible for her debts.

JUST-IN-TIME REMEDIATION

SUPPORT AFFECTIVE NEEDS

SUPPORT AFFECTIVE NEEDS

Create a comfortable classroom where its okay to struggle, ask for help, and even fail. Assign readings that address affective needs. Work one-on-one with students. Create an opportunity for group work. Allow for a fess up. Rethink grading strategies. Reach out to students who miss class, dont complete assignments, or who seem to be struggling. Express worry to students on your worry list.