Transcript Freshman Course Redesign at USC Upstate

Marsha Dowell, PhD, Senior Vice Chancellor
Warren Carson, PhD, Associate Vice Chancellor
Deryle Hope, PhD, Associate Director, International Studies
Cherie Pressley, Director , Upstate Regional Education Center
 Fall 2004—Freshman Composition
 Appointment of a Director of Composition
 Review of Institutional Assessment Data
 Anecdotal evidence—the degree of success in English
101 and English 102
 Why aren’t students performing better?
 Are we really teaching them what they need?
 Course Audit—30 sections of English 101, taught by 15
different instructors, using 15 different course syllabi of
varying quality (AP)
 Development of claims and evidence (AP; NAEP)
 Formalized conversations and work sessions with
English faculty from the largest feeder high schools
 Efforts to align courses (EPIC), thereby helping to
remove the disconnect between HS achievement and
college success
 Mandatory professional development retreats each
semester for ALL composition faculty
 Better sense of where HS curriculum ends and where
the University curriculum begins
 A collaborative spirit among HS and University faculty
members that focuses on transition to college and
student success
 A shift away from a teaching-focused approach to a
more learning-focused approach to writing instruction
 A common course syllabus for the English 101-102
sequence
 A scoring rubric to encourage more consistent grading
 Greater focus on best practices in writing assessment
 New placement model
 Reduction in the percentage of DFW grades in English
101-102
 Pilot dual enrollment courses in English 101-102
What is the Scholars Academy?
 An accelerated high school option located on
the USC Upstate campus
 Open to rising 9th graders in all Spartanburg
school districts
 Students remain as home high school students
but spend half-day at the university
 Students can earn up 60-70 college credits in 4
years along with a HS diploma
SC SCHOOL DISTRICT MAP
Daily Schedule
8:30 a.m.—12:30 p.m.
3 classes each day MWF, T Th
Honors/AP/Dual Credit
(college credit)
12-12:30 p.m. Lunch at USC Upstate
12:30 p.m. Return to home school
Take at least one class there.
Participate in extra-curriculars.
Requirements
Maintain As & Bs in all
courses
Begin as a ninth grade
student
Commit to graduate the
program
Be self-motivated,
academically gifted
Have parent support
Campus Location
Library Building
Current Facts
Cohort 1: graduated 20 students
Cohort 2: 11 rising seniors
Cohort 3: 24 rising juniors
Cohort 4: 32 rising sophomores
Cohort 5: 40 rising freshmen
Experience with 127 students
in a variety of courses
Freshman
Fall
Algebra II Honors/Geometry Honors
English II Honors (yr.-long)
US History 105 (dual credit)
Freshman Seminar (CP elective yr.-long)
Spring
Geometry Honors/Precalculus 126
English II Honors
US History106 (dual credit)
Physical Science 101 (dual credit)
Freshman Seminar
Sophomore
Fall
Precalculus 126/127 (dual credit)
Biology 101 (dual credit)
English III Honors
Sophomore Seminar
Spring
Precalculus 127/Calculus 141(dual credit)
World History 101(dual credit)
AP English Language and Composition
Sophomore Seminar
Juniors
Fall
English 102 (dual credit)
Calculus 141 or AP Calculus (dual credit)
Chemistry 111 or Astronomy 111 (dual credit)
German 101 (dual credit)
University Singers (dual credit)
Spring
AP English Literature
Calculus 142 or AP Calculus (dual credit)
Biology 102 or Chemistry 106 (dual credit)
Foreign Language or Economics (dual credit)
University Singers (dual credit
Findings
Students are generally unprepared
Students need interventions:
Study sessions with
designated Cohort partners
and upper class Academy peer
coaches
Peer tutoring from university
students
Group help/study sessions
provided by professors
Extra coaching provided by
Academy instructors
Math lab/writing lab access
Findings, continued
Interventions are most effective after an
“awakening”:
First failing grade on a test or
paper
Probationary status or loss of
scholarship/ program status
Principles for improving the transition from high
school to college
 Academic
 Socio - emotional
 Shift from memorization to
understanding
 Realistic self-awareness of what it
takes to be successful in college
 Focus on critical thinking
 Set priorities
 Higher standards of acceptable work
 Self-discipline
 Students assume responsibility to
learn from written texts
 Be intellectually curious
 Develop metacognitive strategies
 Persevere and be resilient
 Student engagement
 Need support systems
 Technology
 Be flexible and adaptable
 On-going research activities
 Overcome fear and doubt
 Take initiative
 Need a sense of accomplishment
 Need validation and sense of
belonging
Observations
• Motivated students who take advantage of
interventions improve.
• Students who understand consequences tend to
improve.
•Certain course parameters facilitate success.
•Early student success breeds success.
Crescat scientia, vita excolatur
“Let knowledge increase, let
life be perfected.”