FRAMEWORK

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: In order to demonstrate their continuing development in college-level reading, critical thinking, and writing skills, English 90 students will: A.) Read actively, in order to comprehend and summarize pre-college readings* B.) Read critically, in order to analyze, evaluate and synthesize pre-college readings. Students will also explain how the social-cultural-historical context of both the reader and the text influence their meaning-making process C.) Write expository essays which integrate and synthesize course readings and are clearly focused, fully developed, and logically organized. D.) Compose their essays with sentences which display a developing syntactical maturity and whose meaning is not impaired by excessive grammar, usage and proofreading errors. E.) Gain an awareness of their own reading, thinking, and writing processes and monitor their learning.

GRADING SYSTEM Formative and Summative Assessments The grading system used for English 90 predictably focuses on summative assessments that are more heavily weighted against the few formative assessments that factor into their overall grade. I use a total points scale where the major essays are worth 100pts, and while the formative analysis work and pre-writing are not graded, they are required as part of the necessary work that must be completed in order for the student's essay to be accepted on the respective due date. Below is a list of the assignments their grade is based on as well as their point value. Essay 1---100pts Midterm 1---100pts Summary Response Essay---100pts Summary Paragraph Quiz--50pts Comparison Paragraph Quiz---50pts Attendance/Participation---50pts Final Essay 200pts Next Time Form and Content For the next semester I am revising both my rubrics and my syllabus to include more specific descriptions and examples of "A" versus "C" work.Though I felt the rubrics were effective, I would like to expand my peer editing workshops to include a stronger emphasis on the difference between form and content. Moreover, illustrating specifics like the difference between papers that have all of the form elements but average content, in comparison to essays that have both the form elements and exceptional content or critical reasoning.

RUBRICS Explanation of conceptual rubric The rubric I use for the essay focuses primarily on organization and content. The division you will note is based on the specific form and content aspects of each paragraph of the essay (introduction, body, conclusion). Within each form element such as, a topic sentence, for example, there are specific content requirements in parenthesis. Thus, the students are graded on a rubric scale of 1-4 where 4 represents an "A", 3 is a "B", 2 is a "C" and 1 is a "F". Assesment While grading the papers I assess each criterion based on the rubric scale and then add the total over the amount possible to get a percentage that is used to give them their letter grade. Adjacent to each category assessed is a section for notes that emphasize the logic behind their earned score which serves to more broadly identify the comments made in the margins of their paper. NEXT TIME Aligning to SLOs I like that the rubric helps me identiy the specific portions of their paper that needs to be revised or that works well in the argument. I think that this allows them to digest their feedback better. However, I want to revise my rubric to incorporate more thoroughly explained content standards that align with the form elements. Distinguishing between "A" and "B" level work requires more specifics and I hope to provide that in my revision of the rubric. Part of the stress on form and content comes from my attempts to align the assessment toward the SLOs listed at the top of the page. I may want to incorporate similar language in my rubric as is found in the SLOs for consistency. Are my students using the feedback I provide for them? It is a constant struggle to get students to productively use the feedback given to them. I offer incentives in the typical forms like revision opportunities for a better grade, however, I am looking for a way to incorporate their own understanding of the revision and feedback process into lessons in the form of editing workshops. I may want to offer editing workshops consistently every month to provide a familiarity and external value to providing and using assessment feedback. English 90 Rubric for Expository Essay 1

PROVIDING FEEDBACK Using Technology Outside of the obvious written feedback I also try to incorporate technology by using the online blackboard discussion boards. This medium provides instructors the ability to provide feedback on critical thought and analysis not merely by posting questions or topic but by answering and consistently responding to the ideas the students present. I also give them an opportunity to fill out anonymous surveys about course content, specific lessons and their learning process. Next Time Online Journals and Metacognitive Logs I tapped into the power of the online resources available to me too late in the semester to really be able to exploit all of the possibilities for providing feedback and allowing them to participate in metacognitive discussions on their learning process more actively. Next time I will set up bimonthly metacognitive journals online that each student will be required to complete. Each month I will post a specific topic about an aspect of the learning process they are experiencing that they must address in their journal. The second topic they will journal in their bimonthly journal postings will be their choice. Online discussion teacher response example

CONTENT

MAJOR WRITING ASSIGNMENTS Summative Assessments: Essays The major writing assignments are essentially the essays. However, in order to prepare for that type of summative assessment I focus heavily on providing a series of scaffolding exercises that build the skills necessary for success on the essays. Below is a breakdown of the varied formative assessments. The summative assessments are the essays. The link found below is specifically for a summary response essay on one of the novels the students read during the course. The assignment focuses on not only providing the directions, but it also gives examples of writing an introduction paragraph and gives a conceptual breakdown of the essay form. NEXT TIME Pre-writing Emphasis This assignment turned out to be pretty successful because only one person failed to turn it in and only 5 failed the essay. Below is the number of A papers and C papers. The data below reflects two classes with a total of 51 enrolled students. I will note that there were no D papers. A 16 C 10 I think the reason this assignment was successful is because of all of the pre-writing scaffolding the students completed before writing the essay. The close readings appear to be key because they focused the student's analysis and overall synthesis of the text. Summary Response Essay

WRITING PROCESS ASSIGNMENTS Maintaining Focus Once the students come up with their thesis statement I have them focus on how to create an outline that keeps their central argument consistent throughout the essay. The two links show the essay outline and a body paragraph workshop sheet that is used to keep the body of their essay focused and on topic with their central argument. NEXT TIME Scaffolding Emphasis The outline is very standard and usually works towards having the students maintain the essay form. However, the body paragraph workshop handout is something I tried in response to their first essays where I found that most of their papers lacked focus in the body paragraphs. The biggest problem I noted was problematic topic sentences and vague interpretations. Since most students used this handout I noted that the second essay had clearer body paragraphs. Though some students still wrote topic sentences that were awkwardly phrased, overall they were getting closer to incorporating the required analysis elements in their body. Pre-writing: Body Paragraph excercise Pre-writing: Essay Outline

CRITICAL READING AND ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENTS Active Reading During the reading of the novel I model how to complete a close reading and from that create an overall conclusion in cause and effect form. Then, I have them complete close readings in class and present them on the board to each other, where we collectively work on creating overall conclusions for each of the close readings presented in class. This way they have practiced it once with guidance before they are asked to complete them regularly on their own as part of their homework. NEXT TIME Close Readings I found that the close readings worked well because I continued them throughout the entire semester and I showed the students how to use them as pre-writing to facilitate writing their essay, so they were able to see purpose in that. This project aligned with the course learner outcomes and I believe that also played a role in giving the assignment purpose since I did not grade them but required them in order to be able to turn in their essay. Also, because they are able to choose the passages from which to complete their close readings as the semester progressed, it then reflects their academic student voice that clearly came out during the class discussions of their close readings. Thematic Summary Assignment Close reading chart

QUIZZES Assessment in Parts During the course I try to incorporate quizzes that assess their pre-writing excercises and homework because it allows students to see a concrete goal in completing the homework since I don't collect it. For the most part, their homework is used as the basis for class discussion in reviewing and synthesizing the reading material. However, even though the point value of these quizzes are not very significant in relation to their overall grade, they seem to have a positive effect in getting the students to prepare for the assessment. NEXT TIME More Feedback Though the use of these types of assessments was overall productive, I think that providing more feedback on some of these assignments during the beginning of the course will help bring up conversations about how to use this information more effectively. I hope to incorporate some type of feedback/comments workshop that focuses on how to use teacher and peer comments productively. Vocabulary Quiz Comparison Paragraph Quiz

GRAMMAR Sentence Structure Focus and Online Resources To review grammar I use the sections in their textbook to focus on sentence structure and a variety of online websites and practice tests that focus on the parts of speech. I use class time to look at sentence structure and present writing strategies like sentence combining methods and examples of using parallel structure. The online resources then focus on reviewing the parts of speech and complete sentence requirements. Grammar quiz 1 Parts of Speech Parts of Speech Practice Quizzes Sentence Structure Sentence Structure Quiz

REFLECTION

ENCOURAGING STUDENTS Clear Lesson Presentation Several strategies for keeping students interested throughout the course involve both pre-planning activities and on the spot motivation. I have been considering spending more time on making better lessons because there is a value in being clear in your instructions and also incorporating visuals into your presentation of information. Making Information Manageable: Breaking up Information Since reading is something most students in the course struggle with, I began making their assignments and class time more visual. For example, if I am presenting a text analysis and modeling this process, I make sure to break up the text and categorize information visually so that it is easier to read and therefore digest. In fact, I used this technique when I created the layout and directions to their Bless, Me Ultima Essay assignment which is attached as a link under Major Writing Assignments. Email Another thing I have incorporated into this year is trying to functionally use email. I email students to check up on them their status in the course, and how they feel they are doing. I use consisitent email reminders for important quizzes, assignments, homework etc. What underlies my attempts to encourage students is fundamentally the idea of active communication. Really trying to create open and safe channels to communicate allows students to find support when their motivation is diminished or when they are struggling during the course. NEXT TIME Reflection and Voice Next year I would like to incorporate a series of reflection pieces as a Reflection Portfolio that is divided up into several categories that address a variety of topics discussed in the course as well as, their learning process and educational experience. I believe that the real encouragement comes from them and is found within, whereas, I serve more as an external influence that hopefully gives them the tools to bring out their potential. Their Reflection Portfolio will allow them to navigate between their personal student voices and their academic voices in order to allow the expression of both in the appropriate mediums. In their reflection, the students will be able to think through their tasks, problems, experiences etc. and develop their views and goals more concretely.

INSIGHTS FROM STUDENTS Metacognitive discussions I spend time during class after every unit or project discussing how they feel about the work they completed and the way it was presented. I ask them what worked for them and what didn't and find it fascinating to see how students can say that one project or presentation was clear and helpful, while another student can express confusion or dissatisfaction with the same lesson. Online discussions I began using the Blackboard discussion board to discuss assignments and readings because I discovered that some students feel safer when using their voice online. In an attempt to reach these students I began posting and using the blackboard discussion board where I found that some of my least vocal students were discussing and responding more actively online than during class. I hope to use these more effectively and consistently next term. NEXT TIME Organizers and Metacognition It is clear to me that the metacognitive discussions serve not only to help the instructor understand student learning experiences but also, it serves to create awareness of how the information and the way it is presented affects other students' learning processes. I don't think I really saw that aspect of the discussion come out more clearly than this semester. The clearest moment illustrating the usefulness of these discussions for receiving insight and creating a class community came when I was presenting a style of close reading that incorporates the use of graphic organizers. During the outlining section, while I was presenting the method of using this organizer I was drawing a chart on the board, a student said "Alex, there are those charts you love!" The student's reference to another classmates learning style preference allowed me to see how fruitful metacognitive discussions can be in allowing students to understand different perspectives and learning styles. Discussion board assignment Student Response This response came from a student who hardly spoke or participated in class. Student response to another student

BUILDING A COMMUNITY Student Community My student population is socioculturally diverse. Though most students are within 1-3 years out of high school, I also have about a few students who are 10-20 years out of high school. Community Building The first thing I do to begin the semester long process of community building is bring in enthusiasm into the course. The effect an instructor's attitude and enthusiasm for the course and the material presented is important in setting the tone of the class environment. Concurrently, I make a point of discussing purpose and respect in relation to the course and student participation. Putting this idea in the context of critical thinking and what it takes to participate in that process allows them to see the importance and purpose of creating a classroom community. Class time During class I often try to call them by their first names and bring up relevant information they have shared during the course to create a more personal environment for us. This has become incredibly important in making the students feel comfortable enough with me to be able to ask me questions and take educational risks during our class discussions, as well as being able to express their personal student voice as opposed to the academic student voice used in the course assignments. Since critical thinking often requires us to take risks and challenge our existing beliefs, it has become invaluable to set up a strong trust within the student and teacher relationship. This process is probably the most time intensive one in terms of creating a class community because it is in some part dependent on their level of personal/psychological development. Thus, there is always going to be a variation in the level of trust and communication from student to student. It is similar to the discrepencies found between one student learner to another. NEXT TIME Using Technology I would like to more actively use technology as another medium for creating a classroom community. I have observed the effect of responding to the discussion boards and acknowledging the student critical thinking process more consistenly. Also, I am excited about incorporating a Reflection Portfolio as one of my major writing assignments. The portfolio wil be comprised of a series of reflective paragraphs and a final reflective essay addressing topics like student learning processes, unit/text response, presentation of materials, and other aspects pertaining to the student experience.

STUDENT WORK Guided Practice The student work found in the links provided reflects the type of in class work I focus on. Since I ask them to actively read during their reading assignments, I focus on modeling and then having them recreate the processes I present in class as a type of guided practice before their homework. The link illustrates an example of a series of close readings for a chapter being reviewed during the course. NEXT TIME Tutors The student tutors provided an interesting resource that I will use more next semester. I found the tutors helpful and wonderfully interactive during the guided practice lessons discussed above. I think that making the tutors a part of the lesson activity more integrally will allow us to reach more students and prepare them for their independent work. n Class Guided Practice Page 2 In Class Guided Practice Page 1 n Class Guided Practice Page3