Effective Scaffolding Strategies That Support Novice Writers’ Learning

1. Effective Scaffolding Strategies That Support Novice Writers’ Learning Presented by Karen Armitano, Ph.D. Virginia Norquest, M.A. Jinhao Wang, Ed.D. South Texas College NISOD Conference, Austin, Texas May 27-30, 2012

2. Located in the Rio Grande Valley • College facts • Fall 2011: 30,558 students • Spring 2012: 28,391 • Population: 94% Hispanic • Financial Aid: 86% • First-generation college going 63% • Entering Freshmen in either Dev. English or Dev. Reading 38% South Texas College

3. Fall 2011: Engl 71 – 593 Engl 81 – 725 Engl 91 – 450 Engl 100--192 Engl 200--246 Total: 2206 • Developmental English Enrollment: Spring 2012: Engl 71 – 306 Engl 81 – 481 Engl 91 – 369 Engl 100--220 Engl 200--343 Total: 1719 South Texas College

4. Baker, E., Hope, L., and Karandjeff, K. (2009).Contextualized Teaching & Learning: A Faculty Primer • Contextualized teaching and learning (CTL) is based on motivation theory, problem-centered learning, social learning theory, and brain research. • CTL means relating subject matter in a course to meaningful situations that have relevance to students’ lives. • CTL can be utilized to support learners’ basic English, math, or English as a Second Language skills. Literature Review

5. Association of American Colleges and Universities & Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (2004). A Statement on Integrative Learning. • Connecting skills and knowledge from multiple sources and experiences • Applying theory to practice in various settings • Understanding issues and positions contextually • Addressing real-world problems that require multiple areas of knowledge and multiple modes of inquiry Literature Review

6. JFF’s common instructional framework: Six strategies to build college readiness • Collaborative Group Work: Collaborative group work involves bringing students together in small groups for the common purpose of engaging in learning. • Writing to Learn: Writing to learn is a strategy through which students can develop their ideas. Writing to learn can also be used as formative assessment and as a way to scaffold mid- and high-stakes writing assignments and tests. • Questioning: Questioning challenges students and teachers to use good questions as a way to open conversations and further intellectual inquiry. Teachers use this strategy to create opportunities for students to investigate and analyze their thinking as well as the thinking of their peers and the authors that they read in each of their classes. Literature Review

7. Scaffolding: Scaffolding helps students to connect prior knowledge and experience with new information. • Classroom Talk: Classroom talk creates the space for students to articulate their thinking and strengthen their voice. Classroom talk takes place in pairs, in collaborative group work and as a whole class. • Literacy Groups: Literacy groups provide students with a collaborative structure for understanding a variety of texts and engaging in a higher level of discourse. The purpose of literacy groups is to raise student engagement with texts by creating a structure within which they may do so. • Retrieved from the Jobs for the Future website: www.jff.orgat • http://backontrackdesigns.org/sites/default/files/CIF_0.pdf Literature Review

8. Do it faster--in one to two semesters • Increase literacy level and encourage academic success (avoid discouragement) • Make content relevant • Incorporate college level academic skills • Create bridge to academic writing • Do all of the above in digestible chunks with-step-by-step instruction Demands

9. Carefully identify goals • Meet goals via step-by-step instruction • Incorporate adult level topics • Build in academic rigor • Contextualize writing Answers: Revolutionary!

10. Chose textbook chapter to complement themes of identity and community Identity Community Contextualize Writing Through History and Sociology Content

11. Contextualization is : Teaching writing by using content from academic classes Teaching writing relevance Teaching writing for academics Contextualization

12. Across developmental departments • reading and math assignments in writing • writing and math assignments in reading • reading and writing assignments in math Inter-Contextualization between Developmental English, Reading, and Math

13. Within Dev. English 71: History and Sociology • writing assignments—5 writing projects, 13 journals, 4 interviews, and 5 videos (approximately 30 pages of writing) • reading assignments—history and sociology textbook excerpts, academic research articles, web links, peer discussions, and short stories • math assignments—legends, maps, charts, graphs, and elementary statistical analyses Intra-Contextualization within Developmental English

14. HISTORY Personal Identity Who Am I? Where I Came From My Family Migration Trail Personal/family experience Addresses affective domain *Alternative Projects: What’s in a Name? My Blended Heritage My History SOCIOLOGY Academic Community The Value of a College Education Larger community experience Addresses affective and cognitive domains *Alternative Project: Academic Preparation Contextualized Topics: Micro to MacroProject #1 Project #2

15. Project #1 HISTORY Project #2 Sociology Read History 1301 text chapter  Interview family members  5 questions  Create family tree Draw migration map Research family name history Find family name crest Read Sociology 1301 text chapter Interview 3 strangers 20 questions Notecards Conduct surveys Compile & analyze statistics Create graphs Gathering & Organizing Information

16. History Sociology Creating Tree & Graph from Data

17. History 5 InterviewQuestions: Who was your grandfather, why did he immigrate, what family stories do you know? Sociology 20 Interview Questions: Do you feel income is related to education? What obstacles did you face in obtaining an education? Were you ever denied an education? With regards to education, who are you? 5 Survey Questions: “On a value scale of one to seven, where do you rank how you value a college education. Please circle answer. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Index Cards: Family attitudes towards college Primary Research

18. History Sociology Paragraph topic sentence supporting details vivid language & imagery Simple Essaythesis/introduction conclusion Brainstorming Full Essay thesis quotes graphs with linking sentence unity & support critical analysis Brainstorming Writing & Reading Applications

19. History Sociology Journal Writing: summarize & respond to narratives: “Only Daughter” Sandra Cisneros “Notes of a Translator’s Son” Joseph Bruchac Mi Familia—YouTube “Change of Attitude” Grant Berry Out of Many-college level history text book Journal Writing: summarize & respond to narratives and scholarly articles: “Most Hateful Words” Amy Tan “Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap” Pew Hispanic Center “The Earnings Effect of Education at Community Colleges” Dave Marcotte “Distorted Statistics on Graduation” Susan Ohanian Essentials of Sociology-college level history textbook Journal Writing & Reading Applications

20. History Sociology Blackboard-On-Line: Grammar PowerPoints Grammar lessons, practices & quizzes Announcements & Messages Essays Posted (+ response) Tutoring (Smarthinking/human) Blackboard-On-Line PPTs, Grammar lessons & practice, and quizzes Continued student/instructor contact Essays Posted (+ critical response) Continued Tutoring Graphs created (Word) Technology ApplicationsComputer Lab: 1 hour/week

21. HISTORY Websites: Sullivan Ballou’s Civil War Letter “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Jerry Seinfeld Teaches History SOCIOLOGY Websites: “Students Playing Catch Up” (Dallas Morning News) “How Colleges Can Ensure Quality, Not Inequality” (The Chronicle of Higher Education) APA Format Library Databases Technology: Continued

22. History Sociology Grammar homonyms, subjects, verbs, fragments, run-ons, sentence patterns  SVO Formatting Microsoft Word skills Academic style: heading, font, spacing, spell-check Grammar parallelism, pronouns, subordination/coordination, misplaced modifiers sentence variety  sophistication Formatting APA citations plagiarism Writing & Formatting

23. History & Sociology Samples & Models Outlines & Re-Writing Tutoring Bonus Points Checklists Self & Peer-evaluations Portfolios Rubrics Internalizing Effectively Scaffolded Strategies

24. Students-- engage with concrete and high interest topics learn essay structure via their personal histories and academic experiences (learn to write!) transition step-by-step yet quickly to college level writing use flexible thinking in novel situations develop critical thinking skills via challenging curriculum become familiar with technology So What for Students?

25. Faculty-- collaborate via exploration of topics within department collaborate with academic departments via dialog and reflection/“collective responsibility for student learning” (T. Wagenaar, The Chronicle, Feb. 23, 2011) create curriculum of substance through innovation improve teaching because of revolution feel proud of developmental curriculum participate in on-going evaluation of curriculum So What for Faculty?

26. Evaluating the Data

27. Student Reflection Paper Prompt • List of Strategies for Ranking Student Reflections about Their Learning Experience with the Contextualized Curriculum

28. Student Reflections

29. Interpretation of Data • Students value strategies that support the completion of specific writing tasks (how to interview for family information, how to complete maps and family tree, etc.); • Students like the strategies that help them organize their thoughts and their paper (how to write the outline and how to structure the essay); • Students also like low-stake writing that helps them warm up to the writing (journal writing); • Students like the resources handy for them to use (“Monster Booklet”); • Students need help with time management and task management.

30. Recommendations • Provide specific support for the specific writing tasks; • Provide assistance to students on how to structure ideas; • Provide low-stake writing practicevia free writing or journal writing; • Compile resource book for students; • Teach time management and task management; • Collaborate with faculty in curriculum development.

31. Final Recommendations • Collaborate with faculty in curriculum development. • Revolutionize old curriculum for student’s benefit. • Evaluate in Classrooms • Keep the promise to build the bridges.

32. Questions? Our Contact: Karen Armitano, Ph.D. ksarmitano@southtexascollege.edu 956-872-6711 Virginia Norquest, M.A. vfnorq@southtexascollege.edu 956-330-1142 Jinhao Wang, Ed.D. jwang@southtexascollege.edu 956-872-3508