STARS: Focus on Student Needs
The STARS community is designed to couple GWCC's lowest level of developmental coursework (ENG 061 and RDG 081) with a Success Orientation Seminar (AAA 150) course. We wanted to combine these three courses because they share the same student population--the most at-risk at our college. When compared to the rest of our student body, students in these three courses have the lowest skill level, the least familiarity with college, and the least supportive environments. We were concerned about increasing the retention and academic success of these students and about accommodating the broad diversity of student backgrounds. The focus would be on motivation and strengthening the basic skills and attitudes necessary for success in college.
Table 2
Concepts of Integration in the STARS Block
(Concepts Apparent to Instructors Prior to Implementation)
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AAA 150
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ENG 061
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RDG 081
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READING
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muscle reading creating pictures
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SQ3R mapping
reading ties to AAA content
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NOTES
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notes from books
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notes from books
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THINKING
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critical thinking library
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critical thinking library
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WRITING
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prewriting revision
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prewriting revision
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VOCABULARY
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parts of speech
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parts of speech
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Table 3
Concepts of Integration in the STARS Block
(Concepts Apparent to Instructors at Mid Semester)
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AAA 150
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ENG 061
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RDG 081
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READING
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muscle reading creating pictures
comprehension keywords
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grammar
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SQ3R mapping
underlining
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NOTES
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notes from books
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notes from books
study sheets
mapping
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TESTS
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test taking
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test taking
question types
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THINKING
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critical thinking library
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critical thinking
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critical thinking library
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LEARNING
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general to specific integrating
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general to specific integrating
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general to specific integrating
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WRITING
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rewriting revision
speaker summary
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prewriting revision
journals tied to AAA concepts on reading
topic sentence support
outlining
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written answers to questions on reading
main ideas support paragraph patterns
mapping
summary
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VOCABULARY
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parts of speech
subordination/coordination
prepositional phrase
spelling irregular verbs
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parts of speech
conjunctions as context clues
comprehension
sounding out words with phonetic symbols
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"The main connection was viewed as the theme of success following from self responsibility."
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Since STARS was our first attempt at an LC, we structured the program as loosely linked courses. We began with some broad assumptions about our student's needs and only later began to realize the importance of having a conceptual framework. Because our primary purpose was to orient our students to the role of college student, the content of AAA 150, the Success Orientation Seminar, formed the central strand of the program coordinated with the other two courses. As the semester progressed, we discovered more connections across the three courses. Table 2 shows the parallels across courses we were able to identify prior to the beginning of the semester while Table 3 shows the overlaps recognized by mid-semester. It can be seen that the points of integration grew in two ways: more potential areas for integration were identified and more overlap was seen between reading and English. With both instructors present, they were able to recognize and document the process as more complex structures and frameworks emerged.
The main connection was viewed as the theme of success following from self responsibility. The Success Orientation Seminar course had numerous speakers from various areas of the college. As the instructors noticed this same message being repeated in various contexts and by various people, they were able to underscore the point to the students.
Table 4: Responsibilities
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As a read/listener it is your responsibility to...
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As a writer/speaker it is your responsibility to...
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- Identify main ideas
Identify the writer's/speaker's main ideas so that you can understand.
- Organize
Organize main ideas so that you can remember them.
- Identify the support
Identify support so you can consider the information critically.
- Interpret meaning based on Standard American English.
* Make study sheets to help you remember.
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* Make study sheets to help your bring thoughts from memory.
- Communicate main ideas
Offer clear main ideas so that the reader can understand.
- Organize
Organize the main ideas so that the reader/listener can understand/ consider them.
- Use support
Use support so the reader/listener can understand/consider the information.
- Use Standard American English
Use Standard American English so that the reader/listener can understand.
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Table 5: The Methods Circle
| Identify main ideas |
Underline
Key Words |
| Identify organization |
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Find paragraph pattern
Identify support
Find how support was added to organize the main ideas
Map
To do this, you must categorize the main ideas and the support. As you categorize
you make it easier to remember.
Ask questions
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| Interpret |
| Interpret meaning based on Standard American English cues. |
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| Identify main ideas |
Key Words
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| Identify organization |
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Find lecture pattern
Identify support
Listen for explanation and elaboration used to clarify the main ideas.
Take notes
To do this, you must categorize the main ideas and the support. As you categorize
you make it easier to remember.
Ask questions
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| Interpret |
| Interpret meaning based on Standard American English cues. |
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|
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| Have clear main ideas |
| Offer clear main ideas so the reader can understand and consider |
| Use clear organization |
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Utilize paragraph/essay pattern so the reader can understand.
Offer support so the reader can understand.
Outline
To do this, you must categorize main ideas and support. As you plan the organization
you make it easier to write.
Answer questions you may have.
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| Edit |
| Use Standard American English so the reader can understand. |
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| Have clear main ideas |
| Offer clear main ideas so the reader can understand and consider. |
| Use clear organization |
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Structure speech so the listener can understand
Offer support so the listener can understand.
Outline
To do this, you must categorize main ideas and support. As you plan the organization
you make it easier to speak.
Answer questions you may have.
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| Self monitor |
| Use Standard American English so the listener can understand |
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"...there is a greater chance of skill transfer to other college coursework."
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Eventually, we began to see this responsibility theme as applying to the reading and English courses as well as to the AAA 150. Tables 4 and 5 show the frameworks which began to guide our instruction about midway through the semester. The first presents the parallel responsibilities of reader and writer, revealing that the two skills courses in STARS were indeed mirror images of each other. The second brings in the roles of speaker and listener as well as reader and writer in showing the communication methods used by successful students. The format of these diagrams--separate boxes arranged to show parallels--reflects where we were conceptually in our first attempt at LC. We still saw the courses as distinct though we were excited about making connections among them. These frameworks allowed us to build more integration in STARS activities.
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