“Writing” Our Wrongs: CSUB and MyWritingLabPlus

1. “Writing” Our Wrongs: CSUB and MyWritingLabPlus Pearson Course Redesign, February 2012 Randi Brummett (rbrummett@csub.edu) Brooke Hughes (bhughes@csub.edu) CSU, Bakersfield

2. About California State University, Bakersfield • Quarter-based campus (10 weeks) • Non-traditional students • Most do not live on campus • Average age = 23 • Enrollment: almost 8,000 Students • 38% Hispanic (3,040 students) • 73% of those students are ESL or Generation 1.5 • 62.5% First-Time Freshman Regular Admits requiring English Remediation • Commuter Campus • Budget Cuts/Furloughs Because of the items above, we decided to rethink our course design.

3. Challenges that Lead to Using Technology We lacked • Money • Time • Space • Quality & Consistent Learning • A Better Way to Track SLOs • Small class sizes (from 23 to 35)

4. English 50 – Basic SkillsModel used: Replacement Summer only, grant funded Entrance program

5. English 80 – Reading and WritingModel used: Replacement Developmental course Focuses on paragraph to essay

6. English 99 – Writing and Critical ThinkingModel used: Replacement Developmental course Focuses on essay and modes

7. English 110 – Writing and ResearchModel used: Supplemental Freshman composition Focuses on research paper

8. Humanities 207 & 407 Model used: Fully Online One unit, Credit/No Credit course

9. Non-English Courses • We are working with multiple courses across disciplines as a grammar supplement. • Two Options • Linked Option: Students sign up for the one-unit course 207/407 where we manage it • Incorporated Option: We train the instructor & help him/her create a course in MWLP, where he/she manages it • Disciplines we’ve worked since 2006: • Social Work, Sociology, History, Chemistry, Geology, Communications, Business, Music • Beginning in 2011, we began offering trainings for non-English faculty throughout the year • Thus far, we have trained 27% of our faculty!

10. Our Training Process • English faculty are trained/re-trained every summer at orientation, regardless of previous experience (mandatory) • We offer frequent “brush up” trainings for English faculty throughout the year • Writing Resource Center tutors are trained at least once a year

11. Our Training Process, cont. • Non-English faculty are trained in a three tier process: • Tier One: Demo/Informative Session (30 minutes) • Tier Two: Hands-On Session (1 hour) • At the end of the session, faculty are given a consultation form • Tier Three: One-on-One Consultation (30 minutes-2 hours) • Faculty meet with us one-on-one to go over the consultation form and discuss the best way to incorporate MWLP into his/her class • Tier Four: In-Depth Training (30 minutes-2 hours) • Faculty come in for hands-on, in-depth training to learn about how manage their course, set up the study plan, etc. • Tier Five: MWLP Learning Communities (1 meeting/quarter) • Faculty gather in small groups to discuss pedagogy and curricular policy when using MWLP. • Faculty receive a “comp buddy,” who keeps in contact with them for the year and can help with the implementation of MWLP in the course.

12. LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS Course Redesign data CSU, Bakersfield

13. Redesigned Developmental Courses Compared to Traditional with Mini-Lectures/Tutoring Component Since our redesign, our fail rate in developmental courses is almost 8% lower.

14. Average Retention (in %) of Students in English Courses After the redesign, on average, our retention rate went up 14.9%.

15. Average Length of Time (in Quarters) Students Spend in English Courses After the redesign, our students are spending an average of 1 less quarterin remediation.

16. Percentage of Grades Comparing Preparedness for Freshman Composition In Freshman composition, the pass rate of students who used the program in a previous English course is 8% higher.

17. Pre- to Post-Diagnostic Comparison On average, there is a 20%improvement between pre and post diagnostics in all classes using MyWritingLabPlus.