Marcia Corcoran, Dean of Language Artsmcorcoran@chabotcollege.edu

Katie Hern, Instructor, Englishkhern@chabotcollege.edu

Ming Ho, Instructor, Mathmho@chabotcollege.edu

Matthew Kritscher, Dean, Counselingmkritscher@chabotcollege.edu

Jumpstart:Getting Late Deciders Off to a

Strong Start

Chabot’s Basic Skills InitiativeDesigning Jumpstart and program

componentsLiterature consultedData used to inform program design

Window into a Jumpstart classroomEmerging findings

Faculty Inquiry Group of English instructorsMath Workshop

Next stepsChallenges and lessons learned

Presentation Overview

Senate-approved process and charge to committee

Multi-disciplinary group of faculty from senate, FA, and “other suggested faculty based on roles” (e.g. CTE faculty, DSPS, EOPs, ESL Coordinator, Learning Connection Coordinator, and 2 administrators)

Met twice a month with a retreat each semester

Similar membership to Title III grant, “Improving Basic Skills Across the Curriculum to Increase Student Success, Persistence, and Institutional Effectiveness,” running simultaneously, bringing together Learning Support Services and faculty development

Chabot Basic Skills Initiative Committee starting Spring 2008

Develop and adopt an institution-wide, integrated basic skills philosophy and unifying framework

Increase professional development opportunities in relation to basic skills education

Expand and strengthen supplemental academic and counseling support in basic skills

Carefully review data on student performance and literature on effective practices in developmental education

Develop and implement curricular changes to improve student outcomes

Chabot's BSI Goals 2008-09 and 09-10

Target group: First-time college students applying after July

17Population identified as at-risk:

Low Fall to Spring persistenceTypically does not receive matriculation services Typically does not have access to developmental

English and Math in first semester (all sections closed)

Typically are late to apply for financial aid

Intervention: Provided assessment, orientation, group

counseling, and financial aid workshop Reserved sections of developmental English Provided math workshop, allowed students to

re-assess

The Jumpstart Program

The Jumpstart Model

August 1-17PSCN 25:

OrientationAfter assessment, Counselors direct students to course package. Incentive: all other English & Math sections full

College Success Workshop (1 unit)

English 102: Reading, Reasoning, and Writing (Accelerated)Open-access 1-semester course leading to transfer-level English

Math Workshop: ALEKS Learning/Assessment System (1 unit)

Costs of Program Serving 125 Students

Cost of sections: 2.33 FTEF X $25,000 = $58,2505 sections of College Success @ .066 FTEF

each = .33 FTEF (1 hour lecture per week)5 sections of ENGL 102 @ .35 FTEF each =

1.75 FTEF(3 hours lecture and 2 hours lab per week)

5 sections of Math workshop @ .05 each = .25 FTEF(1 hour lab per week)

Cost of Math software: $63.00 X 160 = $7,875

Faculty Inquiry Group costs: ($750.00 X 5) + ($300. X 4) = $4950

TOTAL: $71,075.00

Students receive early assessment and advisement (A4)

Students encouraged to take foundational English and Math early in their college careers (A4)

Faculty who are both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about developmental education are recruited and hired to teach in the program (A6)

Counseling support provided is substantial, accessible, and integrated with academic courses/programs (B3)

*Basic Skills as a Foundation for Student Success in California Community Colleges (2007, July) (2nd ed.). The Center for Student Success, the Research and Planning Group of the California Community Colleges, under contract from the California Community Colleges System Office, sponsored by USA Funds.

What the Literature Suggests:Representative Practices Guiding Us*

Reading/writing curricula integration (D2)Development of the whole person - Social and

emotional as well as cognitive growth (D3)A high degree of structure is provided in

developmental education courses (D5)Instructors share strategies (D8)Faculty and advisors closely monitor student

performance (D9)

Higher persistence rates among students receiving matriculation services

(Persistence rates measure the percentage of students enrolled as of Census Day in the first term who are subsequently enrolled as of Census Day in the following term.)

Data Guiding Us

Chabot College Persistence Rates of New Students by Student Services Fall 2001 to Spring 2006

Fall 01/ Sp 02 Fall 02/ Sp 03 Fall 03/ Sp 04 Fall 04/ Sp 05 Fall 05/ Sp 060%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Did Not Receive Matricu-lation

Orientation

Assessment

Counseling

E.O.P.S.

Why we chose Accelerated Developmental English: Significantly more students persist to and succeed in College English from the accelerated course than from two-semester sequence

When accelerated students get to transfer-level English, they pass at exactly the same rate as students from two-semester track (and about twice as many of them actually get there)

Non-Accelerated Eng 101A/B, 04-09 Accelerated Eng 102, 04-090%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

82% 82%

Why we can't use Accuplacer to identify a minimum placement score for accelerated track

20-35

ESL/Lea

rning

Skills

Referra

l

36-39

Bor

derli

ne 10

1A/10

240

-4849

-5758

-6667

-74

75-79

Bor

derli

ne Eng

1A

80-12

0 Eng

1A R

eady

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

47% 45%52% 49% 52%

56% 54%62%

52% 51%42%

54%60% 62%

66% 66%

Developmental English Success Rates by Accuplacer Reading Score

Fall 2007-Summer 2009Eng 101A: Non-Accelerated

Eng 102: Accelerated

Video footage from Katie Hern’s English 102, Fall 09

Students are working collaboratively to understand the assigned reading, an excerpt from Paolo Freire’sPedagogy of the Oppressed.

It is the fourth class session. The discussion builds on earlier readings about education by Malcolm X, Krishnamurti, and Mike Rose, along with a study by Anyon documenting serious differences between schools in different socio-economic communities.

Window into a Jumpstart Classroom

1) What does Freire mean by the term “banking model” education? Why does he say it is “oppressive” or “dehumanizing”?

2.) What does Freire mean by “problem posing” education? Why does he say this is “liberatory”?

Guided Discussion Questions That Students Are Engaging

5 English instructors teaching in the program met twice a month, examined range of data together

Challenge of homogeneous sections of “late arriver,” first-time college group: All instructors reported higher withdrawal rates and lower success rates than is typical for them

Reasons behind low success rates: For the majority of students who did not complete or pass course, the primary reason was not insufficient literacy skills for the accelerated track. Instead, it was either external life factors (sudden homelessness, death in family, need to travel to Mexico) and/or old “high school behaviors” (e.g. trying to get by without doing work)

Emerging Results: English Faculty Inquiry Group

1-Unit Course in computer lab setting. Students work with ALEKS software program, which assesses their existing knowledge and provides individualized curricula in their own zone of proximal development

Workshop providesReview of prerequisite skillsShift in expectation of math class at a CCUnderstanding of the college’s math offerings

Window into the JumpstartMath Workshops

Workshop setting instead of regular math class is less overwhelming

Low-stress environment & flexible pacing safely tests student discipline and commitment

Computer system ALEKS works for all studentsBuilds solid foundationIndividualizes curriculum sequenceFocuses on learning, not pointsDevelops independent learning skills and

strategiesAllows moving ahead; appropriately challenges

all students

Benefits of Math Workshop

Students…Take initial assessment in ALEKSAttend weekly lab hourLog three hours per weeks on ALEKS Get support in drop-in tutorial Take frequent assessment to monitor

progressRetake Chabot math assessment

Math Workshop Format

Instructors…Review progress with students in labAnswer questions in lab/office hourGive help to individuals or small groupsExplain Chabot’s math offerings

Math Workshop Format

132 students at census. Some are not in Jump Start.

114 students in analysisOnly 37 students had completed the 40

required hours on ALEKS

Data from Math Workshop

Hours on ALEKS

Perc

ent

120100806040200

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Histogram of Hours on ALEKS

Data from Math Workshop30 of those have Chabot Assessment data for

both before and after workshop 15 students placed the same9 students advanced

7 into one level above2 into two levels above

6 students regressedAssessment placed most students in

Prealgebra, Elem. Alg., Int. Alg. Only 3 students placed in transfer-level

Three ALEKS courses were set up: Prealgebra, Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra

Poor results in the previous course in ALEKS suggest a second look at the assessment instrument

Students were placed in ALEKS at one course below their assessment level to brush up on prerequisite skillsNo Int. Alg. Student assessed over 50% in ALEKS

Elem. Alg. courseOnly about 20% of Elem. Alg. Students assessed at

least 50% in ALEKS PrealgebraIn ALEKS Prealgebra assessment, the Q2 (37%) and

Q3 (46.5%) for Elem. Alg. students are only 15% higher than those for Prealgebra students

Data from Math Workshop

% of Curriculum

Perc

ent (

n =

12)

75604530150

25

20

15

10

5

0

Init Chabot Placement = Intermediate AlgebraHistogram of ALEKS Initial Assessment in Elementary Algebra

% of Curriculum

Perc

ent(

n =

46)

75604530150

25

20

15

10

5

0

Histogram of ALEKS Initial Assessment in PrealgebraInit Chabot Placement = Elementary Algebra

% of Curriculum

Perc

ent (

n =

25)

75604530150

25

20

15

10

5

0

Init Chabot Placement = PrealgebraHistogram of ALEKS Initial Assessment in Prealgebra

Consider other ways to effectively use individualized approach to expand students’ options within the math curriculum; possible options: shorten the workshop to, say, 5 weeks while keeping the same format…To reduce student procrastinationTo give student a better sense of pace of regular

math courseTo identify students who can better benefit from

self-paced formatTo allow students who can advance the opportunity

to be reassessed before registrationTo allow multiple workshops through out the

semester to catch dropouts from regular math courses

Next Steps: MathImprove Workshop Design

• Use insights from Jumpstart to reconsider English developmental sequence

How should we direct students toward the appropriate path – accelerated vs. two-semester track?  

Which students need a longer sequence? What are their specific needs, and does our current sequence meet them?

Do we have the right balance of accelerated and non-accelerated sections?

Next Steps: English Department

How might we support students confronted with external life challenges that pull them away from school? Are there alternative models of counseling that can be used to intervene in crucial moments?

How might classroom faculty work with these challenges?

How might we help students develop a stronger sense of intrinsic motivation to meet the demands of college?

Next Steps: All Areas

Early Census data shows higher persistence rates among

first-time college students in Jumpstart:

Fall ‘09 to Spring ‘10 PersistenceNew, first time Jumpstart students: 72% (N

= 85)New, first time non-Jumpstart students: 65%

Emerging Data on Program Impact

Reflect on ongoing data from Jumpstart experiment

Did taking English, math, and counseling in their first semester correlate with success in other courses? How do Jumpstart students perform in English and Math courses in future semesters?

Continue to use basic skills committee to develop coordinated, institution-wide support for students

Next Steps: Institutional

As new initiatives are developed within one campus group, ensure that the representatives on that group are sharing information in an ongoing way with departments, other institutional groups, and other administrators to facilitate smooth implementation

Be intentional about aligning new initiatives with existing campus structures and timelines

Lessons Learned: Institutional

Directing students to enroll early in an accelerated English curriculum that integrates reading and writing and provides a one-semester track to college-English

Developing systems to increase student participation in assessment, orientation, and counseling

Using ALEKS to develop workshops to address student math skills

Using the Basic Skills Initiative Committee to develop an institution-wide initiative that crosses academic and student services as well as multiple disciplines and combines Faculty Development with Learning Support

Replicable Components from Jumpstart