Mainstreaming best practices of learning assistance and developmental education within first-year courses

Isolated and prerequisite remedial and developmental level courses are on the chopping block. FOr good or bad, the national dialogue argues for their relegation to community colleges and prohibition at four-year institutions. How are needs met for students who still some of the outcomes from such courses? Embedding the best elements into rigorous, first-year courses is a solution. Doing so benefits all students within the courses since all will experience turbulence within the curriculum. Following is an article that describes changes forecast a decade ago.

Damashek, R. (1999). Reflections on the future of developmental education, Part II. Journal of Developmental Education, 23(2), 18-20, 22. Retrieved July 4, 2004 from:  http://www.ced.appstate.edu/centers/ncde/reserve%20reading/V23-2damashek%20 reflections.htm

Interviews were conducted with a number of leaders within developmental education: David Arendale, Hunter Boylan, Kaylene Gebert, Martha Maxwell, Santiago Silva, and Diana Vukovich. The dialogue points to several emerging trends: (a) mainstreaming, (b) removal of developmental education from 4-year institutions, and c) increased professionalism of developmental educators. Mainstreaming developmental education courses into college-level, graduation-credit programs of study fits into the paradigm of learning assistance and enrichment for all students. The participants in the discussion were unanimous in proposing a comprehensive academic support program that would include elements such as a learning center, adjunct or paired courses, Supplemental Instruction, tutoring, student assessment, and program evaluation. Boylan advocates funds for professional development and Gebert proposes faculty, student, and staff recognition whereas Silva includes academic advising, counseling, career services, mentoring, and especially faculty training in his list of important program components. Arendale and Vukovich propose a complete paradigm shift away from the medical model to learning support for all students. By deferring to Maxwell’s (1997) latest book Improving Student Learning, Vukovich gives Maxwell credit for providing insight into best practices based on years of experience and the best research resulting in the recommendation of a comprehensive learning assistance model. the value of such a model is that it is more easily integrated into the academic process because it is understood as service for all students. This model is not burdened by the stigma of serving only the least able students, who, for many academic, administrative, and political leaders, are seen as a drain on the institution’s academic standards.

Developing smartness: The lost mission of higher education

Headlines within the postsecondary press report morre frequently the "alarm" of students arriving at college that lack sufficient academic preparation and their subsequent need for enrollment in developmental-level courses. These are  not new concerns. Higher education officials have been voicing them since the first college oppened in America four hundred years ago. Why are we surprised? Students go to college to learn what they don't already know and to do things that are yet to have the skills for.

The change in the dialogue is now that more policy makers want to stratify access and opportunity in higher education. Admit only those students who are already smart and skilled and send the rest to the community college. Even community colleges are increasingly voicing frustration over the burden and some call for entry level standards and elimination of open door admissions. Before proceeding with that conversation, they should review Dr. Astin's article on this subject.

Astin, A. W. (1998). Remedial education and civic responsibility. National Crosstalk, 6(2), 12-13. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/pdf/ ctsummer98.pdf The author, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, argues that remedial education is the most important problem in education today and providing instruction in this area would do more to alleviate more social and economic problems than any other activity. Astin discusses the history and stigma of remedial education and how higher education has become focused on "identifying smart students" rather than "developing smartness" in all its students. Astin argues that it is for the benefit of society that remedial education, affirmative action, and other programs be highly supported and valued.

It is easy for a college to take highly gifted students and help their reach even higher. It takes much more skill, commitment, and dedication to take students who have high desire, but have yet obtained a wide set of skills, experiences, and knowledge. But isn't that what the general public wants us to do? Identifying smart students and admitting them is easy. "Developing smartness" is much harder. And more satisfying.

The Community College and Remedial/Developmental Education

Recently the Gates Foundation announced a gift of over $100 million to support community colleges in identifying best practices to improve remedial and developmental-level courses and other services to support higher student achievement and graduation rates. The following interview forecast many of these recommendations by Robert McCabe a decade ago. Revisiting McCabe and reading his book provides best practices and case studies of success with increasing student success.

Callan, P. M. (2000, Fall). An interview: Robert McCabe. National Crosstalk, Retrieved July 4, 2004, from: http://www.highereducation.org/crosstalk/ct1000/interview1000.shtml

Robert McCabe, senior fellow with the League for Innovation in the Community College and former president of Miami-Dade Community College is the focus of this interview. Much of the interview revolves around McCabe's newest book, No One to Waste, a national study of community college remedial programs. McCabe employs a variety of arguments for the support and expansion of remedial education.

ERIC Database, ED448813, Title: No One To Waste: A Report to Public Decision-Makers and Community College Leaders. Authors: McCabe, Robert H. Abstract: Twenty-five community colleges participated in a study that tracked 71 percent of 592 students who successfully enrolled in a remedial program in 1990. Follow-up interviews of program completers gathered information about further education, employment, family, and facts about post-remedial life. A criminal justice search was also conducted on the entire study cohort. These data were the basis for this first comprehensive national study on community college remedial education students. The study found that most successfully remediated students perform well in standard college work, gravitate to occupational programs or direct employment, and become productively employed. While a majority of the remedial students were white non-Hispanic, ethnic minorities were overrepresented in the cohort and even more so in a seriously deficient student sub-cohort, confirming that remedial education is a significant issue for ethnic minorities. While community college remedial programs are cost effective, most colleges fail to use the substantial research concerning successful remedial education, and do not fund programs at a level necessary for successful results. Recommendations include: (1) giving remedial education higher priority and greater institutional and legislative support; (2) requiring assessment and placement of all entering students; and (3) developing a national guide to assist colleges in developing effective remedial education programs. (Contains 15 figures and tables, 45 references and 63 pages.)/p>

Reinventing learning assistance and developmental education

The recent announcement of $110 million by the Gates Foundation to reinvent remedial and developmental education at community colleges calls for dramatic change. Several years ago a group of past national presidents of two of the largest organizations in that field created a blueprint for not revising, but for reinventing the field. Following is an executive summary to the complete report which is available online [click here for report]. The major findings from this strategic review include the following:

1. Significant and systemic change is required. The external threats to the existing organizations for not engaging in dramatic change and renewal far outweigh the advantages of no change. The organizations have worked incredibly hard with a strong volunteer leadership structure to implement their strategic plans. Progress has been positive but slow and incremental due to limited resources and the volunteer leadership base available through the organizations. The organizations have been working at maximum capacity for a long time. The unmet needs of their association members require a dramatically different structure. An analogy illustrates the current state of the professional associations. A well-known parable cautions against placing “new wine in old wineskins.” When it was common practice to place wine in a leather pouch that was stitched together, fresh leather was always used since it would stretch when the new wine expanded during its fermentation process. Use of a previous old wineskin container that had already been stretched out would rupture if new wine was placed within it. This analogy describes why a new association “container” is necessary to achieve an expanded set of services for members and increased influence within both higher education and the wider society.

2. A strategic review of creating a new professional association identifies a long list of potential strengths for such a new structure. This review also identifies potential external threats and weaknesses. The Working Group identified potential solutions for dealing with each. One of the biggest challenges is the process of creating the new association. A basic law of physics is “where there is movement, there is always friction.” The final section in this report identifies a suggested calendar of events to engage more people in the conversation to encourage buy-in and support for change.

3. The Working Group identifies that in addition to the current profile of association members, there are other groups within postsecondary education that could find affiliation with a new organization desirable. A new association with an expanded mission, vision, and more inclusive language could encourage active membership by these groups. More than 60,000 professionals work in the field served by CRLA and NADE. However, less than10% are members of these associations. A new association would be more attractive to these nonmembers if they could access more services through venues in addition to conferences.

4. The reason for change is not rearranging organizational patterns. It is about increasing the quality and quantity of professional development venues for individual members. CRLA and NADE host excellent chapter and national conferences. However, a careful review of other postsecondary professional associations finds that they offer many more services for their members through rich web sites, multiple publications, on-line conferences, webinars, and research that identifies best practices for their members.

5. A new professional association serves as a catalyst for new language, expanded mission, and reinvented vision for serving a wider community. While the reason for change is about professional development and service to its members, the organizational language and structure have an impact upon the association’s capacity to serve its members. Some examples of these potential changes for conversation among a larger group inside of CRLA and NADE include: More inclusive association purpose statement such as: “The purpose of this organization is to advance the scholarship and practice of professionals dedicated to postsecondary student success through academic support and instruction”.

6. A wider conversation needs to occur concerning the ideas and possibilities presented in this report. The final section of this report identifies a possible scenario for this wider discussion. The inclusion of more voices and ideas will generate an even better vision for a new future.

The pace and scope of change needs to dramatically accelerate. Rather than incremental change, dramatic reinvention and transformation is needed. A new term used to describe this change is “leapfrogging” (Harbison & Pekar, 1998; Nonaka & Nichiguchi, 2001). Instead of “fixing” an old process, it is “leapfrogged” and a new process is introduced. The often-cited classic example is how emerging countries are designating cell phones as the primary communication channel and skipping the wiring of the countryside with traditional telephone wires. The cost of the new technology and ease of implementation is much less than the older technology. With this report, the Working Group strongly supports the creation of a new professional association rather than attempting to retool the older ones. The synergy of a larger organization with more assets and a fresh start presents many opportunities.

This Working Group completed the first draft of this report during its meeting in Austin, TX in June 2007. The conclusion was that a new professional association would be beneficial, but the change process would be difficult and significant. Our group recognizes that the easiest course is to continue to make incremental changes within the current structures. Perhaps the umbrella group for the existing associations, American Council for Developmental Education Associations (ACDEA), could provide more coordination and collaboration for the field to better meet the needs of the members. Those are two possible paths to the future. However, this Working Group recommends a third path: creating a new professional association with a more inclusive language, mission, and vision for the future for all the reasons stated in this report.

A reoccurring question examined by the Working Group has been “why change?” This long report has carefully explored the pros and cons of creating a new association and provided numerous suggestions for its services and organization structures. A better question than “why change?” is “what kind of change is demanded by postsecondary education and needed by these professionals?” Perhaps others can provide a paradigm for us when considering the future. When writing a dialogue among several of his characters in a play discussing the future, Shakespeare penned the expression “The Undiscovered Country” to describe this place. While everyone will visit the future, no one can come back and tell others exactly what it will be like. However, all of us will walk into The Undiscovered Country.

We have the choice regarding how we walk into the future. Change can be proactively managed or simply reacted to. The best of past traditions can be brought into the future and merged with new structures and traditions or all can be left to chance. The most important element that moves forward into the new association are members of the current organizations. They form the core of the new future and bring forward the history and traditions of the previous organizations. Let us encourage new members to join these veterans as we walk together into The Undiscovered Country as colleagues and friends. Let’s build a new future together.

August 2007. CRLA/NADE Working Group: David Arendale, Hilda Barrow, Kathy Carpenter, Russ Hodges, Jane McGrath, Pat Newell, and Jan Norton

References

• Harbison, J. R., & Pekar, P. (1998). Smart alliances: A practical guide to repeatable success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Nonaka, I., & Nishiguchi, T. (Eds.). (2001). Knowledge emergence: Social, technical, and evolutionary dimensions of knowledge creation. New York: Oxford University Press. 

Gates Foundations Commits $110M to Reform Traditional Remedial and Developmental Education

(Gates Foundation Press Release) To aid community colleges in developmental education reform, the foundation announced a commitment of up to $110 million to help research and scale innovative programs. These strategies will help under-prepared students spend less time and money catching up, and will lead to improved retention and completion. About half of the foundation’s commitment has already been given to colleges and programs. The remaining $57 million will be given as grants over the next two years and will be guided by lessons learned through the earlier investments, which are showing that good remedial education contains several key elements:

• It starts early with effective collaboration between middle schools, high schools and colleges that can prevent the need for remediation in the first place. For example, El Paso Community College partners with local school districts and the University of Texas at El Paso, which has dramatically improved graduation rates in just a few short years.
• It is tightly structured blending credit-bearing classes with enhanced academic supports. For example, Washington state’s I-BEST program blends basic academics and career training into a seamless accelerated program.
• It’s flexible and personalized to address specific skill gaps to ensure that students learn what they need. This can be accomplished through technology and other means to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of remedial education. Monterey Institute for Technology and Education, for example, will fund the development of remedial math courses that will be made available for free to colleges. The project aims to reduce the time and cost of remediation through interactive and adaptive multimedia and games.

Reoccurring Themes for Historically-Underrepresented Students

A review of the history of academic access and learning assistance in American higher education validates the following reoccurring themes. Understanding these can help predict future trends and proactive actions to take.

1. Institutions often admit students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds but do not effectively deal with that reality.  Most institutions do not report their academic success with the media.
2. Many do not place sufficient resources in place to effectively deal with the oppressive and academically-deprived backgrounds of the students.  Many institutions target academic resources for upper division students who have survived.
3. College admission standards favor the dominant power culture.  Standardized admission tests are culturally biased in a variety of ways to favor of the dominant culture.  This has erected severe barriers for access of students to many institutions of choice.
4. No significant attention is placed on widespread reporting of college outcomes.  The dropout rate from college has remained at 50 percent for the past 100 years.  There is no significant tie between institutional funding by the state and its rate of academic success.
5. Educational leaders and faculty members have always complained about the academic preparation level of prospective students.  Academic expectancy always rises mores quickly than the academic preparation level of students.  The creation of admission standards guarantees that some students will be excluded and some will be admitted provisionally and need developmental education.  The quickly growing database of knowledge in the academic disciplines doubles every five to fifteen years, yet the number of lecture periods to deliver the information has remained fixed for hundreds of years.  Since employers expect more of college graduates, increased pressure is placed on college faculty to prepare students at higher levels of knowledge and skill mastery.
6. While learning assistance activities and approaches permeate the history of higher education in the U.S., it is nearly universally ignored by education historians.  There is little mention of learning assistance, students in general, or faculty members in histories.
7. While the name for learning assistance may change over time, the need persists.  Some institutions deal with the need by renaming courses.  Harvard University renamed it “Remedial Reading” course to “The Reading Course.”  Later they renamed “Basic Writing” to “Introduction to Expository Writing.”  Enrollment soared.   Other institutions simply renumber their courses to a higher level to make them more politically acceptable to campus or state officials.
8. Students with learning assistance needs are recruited for economic gain by institutions during times of low student enrollment.
9. Rising high school exit standards do not eliminate the need for learning assistance.  The College Board was created in 1890 for such a purpose.  The 1970's were dominated by A Nation At Risk Report. Two reasons explain why this has occurred.  The first is that expectation levels by the college faculty have risen more quickly.  The second is the number of students who enter or reenter college after a decade and have forgotten some of what they learned in high school.  The third is that more students enter college from high school (nearly two-thirds) than those who enrolled in college preparation course in high school (approximately half).  And of those students who enrolled in college prep courses, what proportion earned high marks?
10. Academic enrichment activities, based upon best practices of learning assistance, have been offered at privilideged schools for hundreds of years.  These institutions have used other language to describe their activities and have a campus value system and culture than support and nurture this orientation.