1 P a g e. 1 Conley, D. T. (2007). The challenge of college readiness. Educational Leadership, 64(7),

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1 Title - Literacy FIRST! Freshmen Influenced by Reading using Common Core Standards-based Teaching Methods at the College Level Proposal project lead / contact person - Sherrye Smith, EdD; Department Head, Division of Social Sciences/Assistant Professor, Teacher Education; Atlanta Metropolitan State College; ssmith@atlm.edu; Tel: Other team members Atlanta Metropolitan State College - Dr. I Bagci, Professor-Mathematics, ibagci@atlm.edu Rutha Frazier Professor-English, afrazier@atlm.edu Georgia Perimeter College - Dr. Rhonda Wilkins, Director of Education and Field Experience Programs, Assistant Professor, Teacher Education, rwilkins@gpc.edu. Kennesaw State University - Dr. Joanna Simpson, Assistant Professor of Secondary and Middle Grades Reading and Literacy Education, jsimps46@kennesaw.edu; Dr. Maurice Wilson, Interim Director, Education Student Services, Associate Professor of Elementary Mathematics Education, mwilson@kennesaw.edu Metropolitan Regional Educational Service Agency (MetroRESA)- Kathy Matthews, School Improvement Specialist-English, kathy.matthews@mresa.org; Linda Segars, School Improvement Specialist-Mathematics, linda.segars@mresa.org Project Category - Category 2: Planning for Success in Gateway Courses Overview of project: The focus of the collaborative partnership between Atlanta Metropolitan State College (AMSC), Georgia Perimeter College (GPC), Kennesaw State University (KSU), and MetroRESA is to realign curriculum in first year courses in English (English Composition-ENGL 1101) and mathematics (College Algebra-MATH 1111) at USG access colleges using the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS). As the only access colleges within the greater Atlanta area, high school graduates interested in starting their College and Career pathway at USG access colleges close to home would attend either AMSC or GPC. Working with English and Math educators from Kennesaw State University, as well as experts in both areas from MetroRESA, AMSC and GPC would conduct a horizontal and a vertical gap analysis to determine what is missing from first year courses, in order to begin aligning courses to CCGPS. Aligning gateway courses to the CCGPS throughout the region would provide a cohesive K-16 program. Impact on completion: At AMSC in fall 2012, 630 students enrolled in ENGL Only 68% of those enrolled successfully completed the course. As primarily transfer colleges preparing students to attend 4- year institutions, it is critical that all students graduating or transferring from AMSC and GPC model college level literacy skills in English and mathematics. Completion of Literacy FIRST! would provide a seamless clear set of expectations and outcomes aligned to a CCGPS instructional model, focused on improving literacy throughout the content areas, for students enrolled in college entry-level English and mathematics courses. Aligning courses with the CCGPS and embedding a focus on literacy should not only improve course success rates, but should also improve retention and graduation rates (see Table 2) Potential lessons to be learned: Research suggests that one of the major reasons that students falter in college is the gap between their high school experiences and college expectations (Conley, ). By addressing this gap through Literacy FIRST!, literacy skills should improve and there should be an increase in the success rate in gateway courses, as well as college completion. Focusing on the potential lessons to be learned through the project is important for student success. The primary lesson would involve how to improve the structure of gateway courses for student success. 1 Conley, D. T. (2007). The challenge of college readiness. Educational Leadership, 64(7), P a g e

2 Area of need and defined potential impact on completion Within the greater Atlanta area, there are two 2-year colleges, Atlanta Metropolitan State College and Georgia Perimeter College. The pass rate for gateway courses in English and mathematics is a national problem. This problem is reflected in the pass rate for these courses at Atlanta Metropolitan State College (see Table 1). The completion of these college gateway courses Table 1 2 Fall 2012 Pass Rate for Gateway Courses - Atlanta Metropolitan State College # Students # Pass Rate enrolled in course n (%) ENGL MATH Connection to the Campus Completion Plan Complete College Georgia-Atlanta Metropolitan State College 3 Known as the campus completion plan, the overall Complete College Georgia (CCG) goal for Atlanta Metropolitan State College is to increase its 3-year associate s degree graduation rate, for first-time fulltime freshmen, from the 10.2% average over the past three years, to the current national average of twenty-four percent (24%) by The 4 th primary objective of the plan, employ more rigid quality benchmarks for monitoring and ensuring continuous course and program quality, is reflected in Literacy FIRST! Table 2 Fall 2012 Enrollment Data, Retention and Graduation Rates (most recent) College Enrollment Retention Rate Graduation Rate (%) (%) Total Freshmen AMSC 2, GPC 23,619 1, Complete College Georgia-Georgia Perimeter College 4 Georgia Perimeter College s CCG goal #1, partnership with K12 to strengthened college readiness and access, coupled with goal #4, restructuring instructional delivery to support student success, is directly reflected in Literacy FIRST! For objective #1 under Goal #4: Restructuring Delivery to Support Student Success, GPC will increase pass rates in ENGL 1101, ENGL 1102, and MATH 1111 by 5%. Professional Development Model Professional development in the area of teaching using CCGPS is currently occurring in K12 settings. When designing a professional development model for the ENGL 1101 and MATH 1111 that are 2 The collection of scores for the pass rate for Georgia Perimeter College s gateway courses is included in Phase one of the project. 3 Atlanta Metropolitan State College (n.d.). Complete college Georgia plan. 4 Georgia Perimeter College (2012). Georgia Perimeter College CCG campus completion plan. Retrieved from depts..gpc.edu/~gpcenrol/gpc%20ccg%20report%20and%203-year%20plan% %20(final).pdf. 2 P a g e

3 realigned using the CCGPS, it is important to determine those areas where gaps occur in instructional methodology at the college level in order to increase student success. A generalized professional development model should take into account assessments, best practices for teaching undergraduate learners, engagement of students for retention and success, behavior of students, keeping up with students in the digital age including research on what is available and how to use it, social networking in education, best practices out of the classroom, using the internet for teaching and learning, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and legalities of teaching to colle30ge students (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 2011) (Mundy, Kupczynski, Ellis, & Salgado, ). Additionally, when constructing the professional development (PD) model for Literacy FIRST!, constituents must be identified. English and math faculty, both part time and full time, from AMSC and GPC should participate in the PD. PD will be conducted by partnership experts including KSU teacher preparation program content area experts and MetroRESA Instructional Specialists. Initially, the PD will begin with a seminar where 2-year college faculty in English and mathematics will attend a seminar focusing of the CCGPS from MetroRESA Specialists and KSU content area faculty, one in English and one in mathematics. This introduction will provide the foundation for conducting a gap analysis and aligning syllabi. Upon approval of the courses, further PD will include all gateway course faculty. These faculty will receive PD that includes (1) background information about the CCGPS, (2) alignment of syllabi using CCGPS, (3) successful instructional strategies for adult learners in English and mathematics, (4) using assessment to evaluate student learning and guide instruction. Potential for lessons learned and models for other institutions Potential for Lessons Learned Lessons potentially learned by completing the Professional Development Model for Literacy FIRST! include: 1. Whether COMPASS exam content aligns with gateway course pre-requisite skill levels required for course success in ENGL1101 and MATH The impact of aligning college gateway courses with the CCGPS 3. The effect of Professional Development on instruction in gateway courses Models for Other Institutions The successful alignment of gateway courses using the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) has positive implications for other institutions. Given the success of the alignment, and measureable data showing that the pass rate for ENGL 1101 and/or MATH 1111 has increased over time, it would be beneficial for other institutions to use the phases of this project to conduct their own realignment. Additionally, measureable data in the area of literacy for both courses would validate that literacy in all content areas is important for academic success. Goals and Objectives The goal of Literacy FIRST! is to improve student learning at Atlanta Metropolitan State College (AMSC) and Georgia Perimeter College (GPC), the only access institutions in the greater Atlanta area, by using the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) to determine and close the gaps in gateway courses in English and mathematics. The project objectives include: 5 Mundy, M.A., Kupczynski. L., Ellis, J.D., Robina, R.L. (2012). Setting the standard for faculty professional development in higher education. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics. Retrieved from 3 P a g e

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