Teaching Academic Reading Strategies To Improve Learning

Quality Enhancement Plan

Submitted to the Commission on Colleges Of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools On-Site Visit: October 18th – October 20th 2010

Dr. Ty Handy, President Dr. Melinda Stein, Accreditation Liaison

Northwest Florida State College

TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE COLLEGE ...................................................................... 2 PROCESS USED TO DEVELOP THE QEP ............................................................. 4 IDENTIFICATION OF THE TOPIC ........................................................................... 8 DESIRED STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ..................................................... 19 LITERATURE REVIEW AND BEST PRACTICES ................................................. 20 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 20 Best Practices in Direct Instruction of Academic Reading ........................... 22 Best Practices in Reading Strategies ............................................................ 25 Previews .................................................................................................... 26 Annotation ................................................................................................. 27 Summaries ................................................................................................ 27 Graphic Organizers ................................................................................... 29 ACTIONS TO BE IMPLEMENTED AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ........ 30 The College Success Course ......................................................................... 31 The College Success Student ........................................................................ 33 Organization and Management Infrastructure .............................................. 35 TIMELINE .............................................................................................................. 39 RESOURCES ......................................................................................................... 41 ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................... 44 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 49 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 52

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Northwest Florida State College EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) seeks to enhance student learning by helping students become active, thinking readers. The plan is designed to teach reading strategies to improve student comprehension of academic texts. The centerpiece of the plan, named Reading to Learn (R2L), is an approach designed by NWFSC faculty members, an approach which will consist of Reading-Intensive Modules (RIMs). These modules apply specific reading strategies (previews, annotation, summaries and graphic organizers) to academic texts that students will encounter in their classes. To learn best practices in reading-related lesson development, selected NWFSC faculty members will attend conferences. Those instructors, in turn, will train more faculty members through ongoing in-house workshops. Trained instructors across academic disciplines will then create RIMs specific to their discipline. R2L will begin as a pilot project in the college’s study skills course, College Success. The first year is devoted to training and lesson development (RIMs). In the following three years, RIMs will be implemented in cohorts of College Success. By the fifth year, R2L will extend to select general education courses. The Nelson-Denny Reading Test will be used as a pre- and post- test to measure learning gains directly. An indirect measure of success will be a self-reporting reading inventory (MARSI 2.0.). In addition, student learning outcomes and other measures already in place college-wide will be used to track and assess the validity of the plan.

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Northwest Florida State College INTRODUCTION TO THE COLLEGE Northwest Florida State College offers postsecondary education opportunities to nearly 17,000 students annually through various lifelong learning, certificate, and degree programs. The mission of NWFSC is to provide quality educational programs and services which enable students to achieve their goals and which enhance the community through academic, career/technical, cultural, economic, and personal development opportunities. The goals of the college are as follows: 1. To provide an environment that promotes equity and access to college programs for all members of the community. 2. To provide student services and activities that enhance student success. 3. To provide programs of study at the high school, certificate, associate and baccalaureate levels. 4. To provide certificate and degree programs that prepare students for employment and careers in the public and private sectors. 5. To provide leadership and support for economic and workforce development. 6. To provide college preparatory and basic skills instruction, literacy programs, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), adult secondary education and vocational preparatory instruction. 7. To provide social, cultural, and co-curricular opportunities. 8. To provide a variety of continuing education, professional development, and leadership training opportunities. 9. To promote the understanding, application, and use of technology. Serving students and helping them reach their educational goals are the central focus of the NWFSC faculty, staff, administration and trustees. The "Emerald Coast" service area of Northwest Florida State College stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the 2

Northwest Florida State College Alabama state line and includes some of the nation’s largest military facilities, tourist destinations, and a growing population base. Established in 1963 as Okaloosa-Walton Junior College, the institution changed its name to Okaloosa-Walton Community College in 1988 to reflect its growing mission in the region. In 2003 the college received approval from the Florida State Board of Education and the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to grant baccalaureate degrees. As a Level II baccalaureate institution, the college became Okaloosa-Walton College in 2004 and Northwest Florida State College in 2008. As part of Florida’s system of 28 public state and community colleges, NWFSC is committed to the full community college mission and to providing expanded opportunities for citizens to earn a baccalaureate degree.

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Northwest Florida State College PROCESS USED TO DEVELOP THE QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLAN

Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) developed the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) using a process of committee review and surveys to ensure opportunities for input from all college stakeholders. The selection of the topic and development of the plan occurred over an 18 month period beginning in August of 2008. The process, driven by research data analysis, involved virtually all segments of the college community from students, staff, and faculty to the Board of Trustees and the community at large. The process began with the formation of the Student Success Committee (SSC) - charged with identifying areas of student learning and success in need of improvement (See Appendix A). Membership in the SSC includes administrators, advisors, learning support staff, and full-time faculty from across the various instructional departments. The committee met routinely to discuss initiatives to improve student learning. As the 2011 reaffirmation deadline drew nearer, efforts to develop the QEP gained momentum. Faculty and administrators attended Summer Institutes sponsored by the Commission on Colleges (COC) in 2008 and 2009. They also attended annual COC meetings each year. Meanwhile, efforts were underway to increase faculty awareness of QEP development. At the January 2009 faculty meeting, faculty members received a QEP informational handout (Appendix B). The handout defined a QEP, outlined a working timeline for the QEP, explained the topic selection process/progress, and included broad topic suggestions for discussion and expansion. Later that year, at the associate (adjunct) faculty meeting, the college administered a survey (Appendix C) that, among other items, asked for associate faculty input regarding the QEP. Associate faculty were asked the following question: “What suggestions do you have that we could incorporate into this quality enhancement project?” In response, answers included the following

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Northwest Florida State College comments: “Stress skills that transcend subject areas – thinking, reading, problem solving, analysis,” conduct a “comprehensive review of the effectiveness of ‘teaching across the curriculum’ . . . ,” and “Students need to learn to read for not just facts but trends, comparisons, contrasts, themes, etc.” In February 2009, the College-Wide Council (CWC) joined the process with discussion on how to select and narrow the QEP topic. The CWC is a representative body of faculty, support staff, administrators, and students who have been elected by their peers or appointed to address college issues and recommend policies and approaches to the president for his/her action and referral to the Board of Trustees. Expanding upon guidance set forth by the Commission on Colleges, members of the CWC generated a list of seven guidelines regarding the QEP topic: 1. The topic may pose a significant expansion on current student success initiatives, but should not replicate strategies already underway. 2. The topic should result in a sustainable enhancement to student learning (as distinct from a project with a one-time result). 3. The topic must embrace an initiative(s) that can be assessed in specific, measurable student learning outcomes. 4. The topic may involve a key segment/department of the college as the lead developers/implementers (e.g. the Communications Department, Academic Success Center, Enrollment Services), but must include broad-based involvement with a “transformative” college-wide impact on student learning. 5. The topic must be supported by institutional research and postsecondary best practices. 6. The goals and outcomes must be reasonably attainable over the five-year span of the plan.

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Northwest Florida State College 7. While development and implementation of the QEP will require allocation of college resources, the magnitude of the effort must reflect the fiscal constraints of the current economy. Also in February 2009, student input was sought through the college’s student government association. At an NWFSC Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, SGA senators indicated a preference for the following QEP topics: support services, reading, and writing. Moreover, community professionals were asked for input through an initiative called “NWFSC Listens.” NWFSC Listens is a series of discussion groups conducted in a focus-group manner with individuals from industry, business and professional sectors. Input is valued for program and unit review and was considered in developing the original list of QEP topics. The Curriculum Committee also assumed a key role in developing the QEP. This committee plays a leadership role at NWFSC by reviewing and recommending courses, programs of study, and student support services. Membership is predominantly full-time faculty and department chairs. In March 2009, after reviewing input from the Student Success Committee, College Wide Council, SGA, NWFSC Listens, and faculty and associate faculty, the Curriculum Committee generated a list of thirteen broad QEP topics (Appendix D). The topics were discussed across campus, both formally and informally, through faculty meetings, department meetings, committee meetings, and collegial discussions. Later in March 2009, the list was narrowed during a meeting of Vice-President of Instruction (VPI) staff. The VPI staff group brings together deans, directors, and department chairs representing all disciplines campus wide. The group meets to address operational and planning issues in the instructional services areas. Members set project priorities, assess program and student outcomes, develop and clarify operating 6

Northwest Florida State College procedures in the instruction and student services areas, issue guidelines to assist faculty and instructional services staff, and make recommendations the vice president may present to the curriculum committee or the president for review and action. During discussion about the QEP, three topics emerged: (1) “Better Learners through Critical Thinking,” (2) “Successful Readers = Successful Students,” and (3) “Successful Writers = Successful Students.” In April 2009, the list of three topics was distributed to all full time and part-time faculty. Faculty members considered the three topics and voiced their preferences via e-mail. While input was varied, when faculty members recommended teaching critical thinking skills, it was usually because those skills support both reading and writing skills. English Professor Dr. Deborah Nester summarized the thoughts of many by stating “. . . if you are to choose only one I would like to see critical thinking implemented. In my view, that’s the area in which students are most deficient—and is the area that supports improvement in both reading and writing.” That same month, the QEP Steering Committee was formed to narrow and focus the final QEP topic, as well as provide ongoing leadership for the development and implementation of the QEP. The QEP Steering Committee offers broad-based representation. Members include college administrators, faculty, adjunct faculty, program and site directors, librarians, and staff. They represent a range of departments: math, natural sciences, nursing, English, public safety, social sciences, teacher education, and developmental reading. The committee members are as follows: co-chairs Brian Shonk and Dr. Sasha Jarrell, Janice Henderson, Amy Riddell, Iris Strunc, Gail Kaltz, Dr. Daryl Ritter, Dr. Lynn Ketter, Charlotte Kuss, Lynn Horrigan, and Penny Cox. The first order of business for the QEP Steering Committee was to identify a QEP topic from the three proposed.

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Northwest Florida State College IDENTIFICATION OF THE TOPIC During initial meetings of the QEP steering committee, members discussed the three proposed topics and reviewed input from all stakeholders. Because critical thinking supports both reading and writing, QEP committee members chose it as a broad topic for the QEP. However, the need to narrow the focus of the broad critical thinking topic soon became evident. The first effort to narrow the focus included administering the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) to a sample of 164 NWFSC students. The CCTST is an internationally recognized assessment instrument that targets three core critical thinking skills: analysis, evaluation, and inference. The overall results revealed the average NWFSC test taker scored between the 54th and 61st percentiles compared to an aggregated sample of two year colleges. The accompanying scale scores showed student performance in the three core critical thinking skills of analysis, evaluation, and inference. Of the three, NWFSC test takers scored lowest in the areas of inference and evaluation. Inference and evaluation items assessed students’ ability to create new knowledge from what they read and to assess the validity of what they read. These results suggested a QEP focus might involve critical thinking support in the area of academic reading. On November 17, 2009, the QEP steering committee co-chairs presented a QEP update to the Board of Trustees and requested their input. Under the Board’s direction, QEP committee members continued to gather data to focus the QEP topic. They reviewed both direct and indirect data from a variety of sources including faculty and student surveys, course evaluations, Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) reports, and accountability measures reports. One source of information was a faculty survey (Appendix E), which listed specific perceived deficiencies regarding students’ academic performance in college coursework. 8

Northwest Florida State College The survey was completed at a faculty meeting by fifty-seven full-time and adjunct faculty members. According to survey results, faculty members ranked the top five areas of student deficiency as shown in Table 1. Four of the areas of perceived deficiencies were related to academic reading tasks. Table 1 Faculty’s Top Five Areas in which Students are Most Deficient (n=57) Factors Affecting Students’ Academic Performance in College Coursework Write with precision and clarity Read at a level appropriate to the course textbook and extract the key/important elements from a reading assignment Exhibit Level of self-discipline and dedication needed to succeed at the college level Justify / explain an answer or position

Rank

Use precise, college-level vocabulary

1 2 3 4 5

Data was also gathered from student surveys (Appendix F). Given a list of college course assignments, three-hundred students were asked to identify which assignments they would most like to avoid with a “free pass.” As indicated in Table 2, two of the top three assignments selected by students were related to academic reading tasks. Table 2 Top Three Assignments Selected by Students for a “Free Pass” (n=300) College Coursework Assignment Rank Writing a 5-page persuasive essay 1 Completing math word problems 2 Summarizing a thirty-page textbook chapter in three pages 3

Taken together, the faculty and student feedback suggested to the QEP Steering Committee that students find academic reading tasks to be onerous and/or difficult and might improve their learning through better reading skills. In addition to the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and the in-house surveys, the committee reviewed instructor/course evaluations which are administered to all NWFSC students in the fall semester. Students are asked to rank seventeen statements 9

Northwest Florida State College on a scale of 1 through 5 with 5 meaning the student strongly agrees with the statement and 1 that the student strongly disagrees. For the past three years, the statement with the lowest mean has consistently been “The textbooks are a useful part of this class.” These findings prompted an item analysis of questions on the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). Particular attention was given to questions that related to critical thinking and reading as committee members sought to narrow the topic of the QEP. Administered to NWFSC students in 2007, questions of particular interest and respective frequency distributions are displayed below in Table 3. Table 3 Selection of Responses from CCSSE 4. How often have you? e. Come to class without completing readings or assignments n. Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with instructors outside of class r. Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with others outside of class (students, family members, co-workers, etc.) 5. How much coursework emphasis on? a. Memorizing facts, ideas, or methods from your courses and readings so you can repeat them in pretty much the same form b. Analyzing the basic elements of an idea, experience, or theory c. Synthesizing and organizing ideas, information, or experiences in new ways d. Making judgments about the value or soundness of information, arguments, or methods e. Applying theories or concepts to practical problems

Very Often 4%

Often

Never

7%

Sometimes 58%

3%

10%

32%

55%

20%

29%

42%

9%

Very Much 28%

Quite A bit 41%

Some 26%

Very Little 5%

23%

42%

28%

7%

20%

36%

37%

7%

17%

35%

35%

13%

14%

38%

26%

12%

10

31%

Northwest Florida State College or in new situations f. Using information you have read or heard to perform a new skill 6. How much reading and writing? a. Number of assigned textbooks, manuals, books, or book-length packs of course readings b. Number of books read on your own (not assigned) for personal enjoyment or academic enrichment 12. How much has individual experience at NWFSC contributed to? e. Thinking critically and analytically

21%

None

34%

1-4

32%

5-10

14%

11-20

3%

50%

31%

10%

More than 20 6%

26%

49%

15%

5%

5%

Very Much

Quite A bit

Some

Very Little

22%

45%

26%

6%

The following results were significant to the committee: •

58% of students reported sometimes coming to class without reading assigned work

•

55% never discussed ideas from readings with instructors outside of class

•

Only 21% reported using the information they have read or heard to perform a new skill

•

26% reported reading zero books for pleasure or academic enrichment Clearly, students exhibit minimal regard for and dedication to reading as a valuable path to learning. Finally, a review of the state of Florida’s 2009 Accountability Measures Report revealed the success rates for students in NWFSC preparatory reading courses are consistently lower than those of students system-wide. Table 4 compares success rates for NWFSC college preparatory reading courses with rates in the statewide system. Table 4 Success Rates for College Preparatory Reading Courses 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 NWFSC 67.55 67.90 69.07 61.45 63.58 System 71.40 71.39 71.43 69.89 68.32

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Northwest Florida State College This performance trend prompted committee members to question whether the success rates for developmental reading students might improve if the college offered additional courses and/or instruction to support academic reading strategies. Consideration of all data led QEP Steering Committee members to revisit reading as a focus for the QEP. It also inspired the committee to discuss ideas with reading experts on campus, student service personnel, and NWFSC Collegiate High School faculty (Appendix G). From NWFSC English Professor Deborah Fontaine, the QEP Steering Committee members learned that performance of remedial reading students is enhanced with direct instruction. At NWFSC, Professor Fontaine researched the effect of remedial reading instruction on developmental students’ success in other classes (remedial reading instruction is offered through college preparatory reading classes which are offered for students who enter NWFSC with a reading placement score below the cut-score). The results of her study show that students who require and pass a remedial reading class succeed at a higher rate in reading-intensive college credit courses (history, biology, psychology, etc.) than students who require reading remediation but do not take it before taking such classes. In light of information offered by student services personnel, the findings were of particular interest to the committee. NWFSC Registrar Chris Bishop and student advisor Betsy Hanson met with the committee and informed members that a high percentage of students who test into remedial reading courses enroll in reading-intensive college courses before they receive reading remediation. For example, in the fall of 2009, 799 students tested into remedial reading, but of those only 33% were able to enroll in a remedial reading course due to seating limitations. As a result, students who needed reading remediation took reading-intensive college-level courses such as history,

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Northwest Florida State College biology, psychology, and sociology without the remediation. In view of Professor Fontaine’s findings, this information concerned the committee. Finally, QEP Steering Committee members looked to the college’s onsite charter high school, the Collegiate High School (CHS), for ideas. CHS enrolls, on average, 250 students and offers two programs of study, the Collegiate/Dual enrollment Program and the Pre-collegiate Program. Eighty percent of CHS students enter through the Collegiate Program, which has the following entrance requirements: passing scores on the Florida College Placement Test (FCPT) and a high school GPA of 3.0. To encourage open access, the CHS GPA requirement is five tenths lower than that of the local school district, which requires students to have a GPA of 3.5 to be eligible for dual enrollment. In addition, open access is encouraged through the pre-collegiate program, which, like any public high school in the state of Florida, has no entrance requirements. During ten years of operation, CHS has made reading a priority through its successful Culture of Reading initiative. The school’s Culture of Reading initiative brings together several components: traditional coursework, an open-access lending library, online student book reviews, a student book club, and a guest reader program. The curriculum includes two sophomore-level courses – College Success and Reading Across the Genres -- designed to teach study skills and to encourage reading for information and for pleasure. All sophomores take the courses. While other components of the Culture of Reading were of interest to the committee, the measurable gains in reading comprehension found in students who had completed these two specific courses prompted the committee to consider using the school’s approach as a model. Specifically, significant learning gains in reading were found in an analysis of scale scores from the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, which was administered to all Collegiate High School students enrolled in College Success and Reading Across the Genres in the fall and spring semesters of 2006, 2007, and 2008. A paired t-test was 13

Northwest Florida State College conducted to analyze the data and determine the effectiveness of the course work for improving reading comprehension skills.

Scale Scores Year 2006 Year 2007 Year 2008

Table 5 Nelson-Denny Paired t-test Fall (Form Spring Difference G) (Form H) 226.16 232.15 5.98 228.30 232.54 4.24 224.22 233.45 9.23

t-value

p-value

4.46 4.02 7.46