Packing Slip 
item |
The Classroom Academic Skills Integration (CLASI) program |
contact |
Rene Barrios (Chandler-Gilbert Community College) rene.barrios@cgcmail.maricopa.edu |
credits |
Dorothy Tegeler, Adjunct Counseling Faculty Anna Shigley, Adjunct Counseling Faculty Ishrat Lallmamode, Student P-T Office Assistant |
college(s) |
Chandler-Gilbert Community College |
discipline(s) |
CPD: Career and Personal Development (Counseling) |
summary |
The Classroom Academic Skills Integration (CLASI) Pilot, was a series of workshops and online modules (Motivation/Procrastination, College Transition/Classroom etiquette, and Active Listening/Notetaking)developed as a result of faculty expressed concern about lack of student preparedness (in attitude and effort)for college. Surveyed CGCC faculty provided for the three topics developed. Faculty were asked to require, or offer as extra credit, student completion of one or more of the workshops. |
details |
The CLASI program was designed with the intention of providing instructors the opportunity to expose their students, through an out of class assignment, to faculty-identified areas of academic preparation that students lack in. Five topic areas were identified, based on survey results taken in Spring 2006. After reviewing what we wanted to include in the workshop/module for each topic, it was decided that two of the areas identified could be combined with two of the other topics, and thus it was decided to develop three topic workshops, along with the related online module. With two adjunct counseling faculty, development of the topic workshops occurred in the fall in preparation for implementing in the spring. Residential faculty were sent emails asking for their participation in the CLASI pilot in spring 2007. An overview of the CLASI purpose, process and procedures were sent out to the residential faculty via email over a two month period. The following reflects the information sent to faculty as an attachment to an email: The Classroom Academic Skills Integration (CLASI) program The Classroom Academic Skills Integration (CLASI) program is a proactive classroom enhancement program aimed at exposing students to academic and behavioral skills, strategies, and attitudes that enhance academic learning, classroom participation and retention. There is tremendous expressed evidence by faculty that many students coming to CGCC are lacking in academic skills and understanding of college level commitment especially in classroom etiquette, active listening and reading, procrastination, self-responsibility, note taking, and performance anxiety. CLASI aims to provide students with college level insight needed to successfully participate in and meet the demands of college coursework. CLASI involves skills based modules meant to supplement any course. Information is dispersed through scheduled workshops or individual self-paced online assignments. Three topic areas have been identified, developed and will be piloted in the spring of 2007. The goal is to develop several additional skill based modules over the next two years in order to expand the topic offerings to a wider range of faculty. Based on survey results collected in April, 2006, the CLASI pilot will initially involve the delivery of instructional support topics directly with and through a limited number of faculty who will require completion of this academic skill assignments (either required or extra credit) as part of the class, or to any student desiring self-pace efforts to enhance their academic skills. (The workshops will be advertised and open to the campus also) Possible future expansion and collaboration, depending on our ability to meet requests, will be considered with additional interested/targeted academic divisions and departments such as the Learning Center, ACE, the office of Disabilities Resource Services, students on probation, and other interested parties on campus. The three topics to be offered in spring 2007 are Active Listening & Taking Notes Topics include: Staying focused during lecture, instructor cues, SQ3R technique, textbook highlighting. Motivation and Avoiding Procrastination Topics include: self-responsibility, clarifying academic goals & intentions, recognizing victim excuses, and time management College Transition and Classroom Etiquette Topics include: college level expectations and demands, academic integrity, time commitment, communicating with instructors, negative effects of poor attitude, poor attendance, tardiness & use of cell phones during class. For Your Information: • Instructors will receive confirmation of student completion of the assignment. • The workshops and online option will begin the third week of the semester and run six weeks through the 10th week of the semester, thus forcing students to complete this activity during the first half of the semester. • CLASI workshops will be offered Tuesday and Wednesday 12:45-1:45. Online option is 24/7. • The online option will require students to meet with a counselor to complete the assignment. • Instructors can offer this as a required out of class assignment or as extra credit. • No class time is needed. The following is content to a handout to instructors who participated in the pilot: TIME PERIOD CLASI begins the 3rd week of the semester (Jan. 29th) and ends the week before Spring Break (March 9th). We want students to complete these workshops during the first half of the semester. WORKSHOP OR ONLINE OPTION Students have two options for completing CLASI. They can attend a scheduled one hour workshop or complete an online web-based module. If they choose the online option, once they complete the exercises, they MUST meet with a counselor to review their completed exercises. VERIFICATION OF COMPLETION FORM (VCF) We will provide your students with a VCF verifying attendance and completion of the CLASI assignment. At the end of February, we will provide you a list of your students who completed the assignment. At the end of March a final list will be provided to you. In regards to the workshops, in order for a student to receive a VCF, they will not be allowed in late (5 minutes), nor can they leave early from the workshops. SCHEDULED WORKSHOPS Here are the topics, dates, times and location of the CLASI workshops. Your students are asked to register ahead of time for the workshop(s) they will be attending. They should register within the first three weeks of class. Registration is via email or phone. Phone Registration: Call 480-732-7158. Online Registration: http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/c/la/clasi/survey/1/ ALL WORKSHOPS HELD 12:45-1:45pm IN ROOM A162 Why am I in college? T Jan 30 Motivation/Procrastination W Feb 7 Motivation/Procrastination T Feb 20 Motivation/Procrastination W Feb 28 Motivation/Procrastination Community College: It's not the 13th Grade! W Jan 31 College Transition/Classroom Etiquette T Feb 13 College Transition/Classroom Etiquette W Feb 21 College Transition/Classroom Etiquette T March 6 College Transition/Classroom Etiquette I can hear you, but I'm not listening, and I hate to read too! T Feb 6 Active Listening:Notetaking/Reading a text W Feb 14 Active Listening:Notetaking/Reading a text T Feb 27 Active Listening:Notetaking/Reading a text W March 7 Active Listening:Notetaking/Reading a text ONLINE OPTION To complete the online option of CLASI, students must log on at http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/c/la/clasi/home/1/ where they will complete the topic assignment. All three CLASI modules will be online. To ensure students complete and understand the content of the assignment, they must complete the online option by March 9th , and they MUST meet with a counselor after completing the module exercises. Appointments to meet with a counselor to review their exercises can be made in advance up to Thursday, March 29th. THE ONLINE CLASI WEBPAGE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AFTER MARCH 9TH! INSTRUCTOR ROLE Workshop registration: To get your students to complete the CLASI assignment in a timely manner, registering for a workshop within the first three weeks of the semester is important. Set a timetable for your students to complete the workshop registration process. Online Option: Students who choose to complete the online option must also be given instructions for completing the exercises in a timely manner. The procrastinators will wait to the last minute if not given a timeline. We recommend that within the first three weeks of the semester, your students set up a future appointment in February and March to meet with a counselor and plan to complete the online exercises prior to the appointment. When they make an appointment, they receive an electronic notice of their appointment time and date. FEEDBACK AT END OF SEMESTER Since this is a pilot program, we hope to expand and improve on it for future implementation. I will send you a survey in April asking you and your students for feedback on the material covered, the process, problems encountered, and effectiveness of CLASI. SUMMARY OF STEPS 1. Assign CLASI as an out of class assignment (required or extra credit) and give it a point value in your syllabus. 2. Hand out the CLASI instructions, or place on blackboard, directing students how to register for the workshops. They should register by the 3rd week of the semester. 3. Also by the end of the 3rd week of the semester, students choosing to complete CLASI online need to set up a future appointment to meet with a counselor for AFTER they complete the online exercises. Completed online exercises are reviewed during the counseling appointment. 4. At the end of the 3rd week of the semester, verify your students have either registered for a workshop or made an appointment with a counselor. Don't let them put it off. 5. Have students having problems with registering or making an appointment call 732-7158. 6. As semester progresses, collect the VCF turned in by students who attended a workshop or met with a counselor to complete the online option. 7. At the end of February, you will receive a list of students who completed the assignment. Remind others that time is running out and to get it done. 8. Workshops end Wednesday, March 7th. 9. The online option is shut down after Friday, March 9th. 10. Students completing the online option will have until Thursday, March 29th to meet with a counselor to complete the assignment. Exceptions to this deadline are left up to the instructor. 11. A feedback survey is sent to you and your students the last week in April. 12. You feel good about your efforts to help your students become more successful. ------------------------------------------------------------ How did the project improve, advance, or enhance student learning? Please provide specific examples. ------------------------------------------------------------ The actual CLASI program involves having students complete an out of class assignment. The instructor decides if they want to"integrate" this assignment into their class by either requiring or offering extra credit for their students to participate. With so few students attending new student orientation, and countless numbers of academically underprepared students enrolling in our classes, instructors can help students strengthen their commitment and ability to survive college. As stated in Question #2: There is tremendous expressed evidence by faculty that many students coming to CGCC are lacking in academic skills and understanding of college level commitment especially in classroom etiquette, active listening and reading, procrastination, self-responsibility, note taking, and performance anxiety. CLASI aims to provide students with college level insight needed to successfully participate in and meet the demands of college coursework. We surveyed students just after they attended the workshops for their feedback to the content, and we are presently still collecting feedback from them on the effect of the information they were introduced to in the workshop, or online module earlier in the semester. The faculty participants are also being surveyed. Examples of how the workshops enhanced/inproved student learning: 1. Motivation/Overcoming Procrastination: It is well documented that having clear goals helps students persist. Helping them clarify their goals, and then providing them strategies for when they start procrastinating, provided students with a reminder of why they are here and what they need to do to achieve success. This link connects you with the online module for Motivation and Procrastination: http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/c/la/clasi/tdocument/9/ 2. Active Listening and notetaking: Students are not accostumed to reading large volumnes of reading assignment and when they do tackle this endeavor, they lack skills and strategies for using their time wisely when reading. Students also daydream often in class, lose track of the lecture, or wonder mentally to other things they have pending. This workshop introduces them to the SQ3R method, the Be Here Now process of keeping one's attention on the task at hand, and they learn to condense material they hear and read. This topic is a common area in which students lack know how and familiarity. The module webpage is: http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/c/la/clasi/tdocument/1/ 3. College Transition and Classroom Etiquette: The behavioral expectations and academic demands on students in the college environment is foreign to many students. Many just out of high school graduates believe their lack of study habits, effort and classroom attitude (tardiness, cellphones, not reading assignments, etc) in high school are the same at this level. This topic area provides students with specific college policies (academic misconduct), instructor expectations (syllabus, attendance, grading policy, etc) that they need to be made aware of and the consequences related to lack of knowledge of these topics. Having students write or discuss how high school and college differ can bring students awareness of how they need to adapt in order to succeed. This online module webpage is: http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/c/la/clasi/tdocument/5/ ------------------------------------------------------------ How did you evaluate your project's success? What did it tell you? ------------------------------------------------------------ Simply by the fact that I got 10 faculty to participate in the pilot I would consider this endeavor a success. The CLASI pilot, in my opinion, was successful for the follow reasons: 1. 10 faculty (8 residential and 2 adjunct) participated in the pilot 2. 6 faculty required the assignment, 4 offered as extra credit 3. 62 students completed the online module 4. 149 registered to attend the workshops, 96 attended 5. Approximately 158 students completed CLASI either by attending a workshop or completing the online module. CLASI Student Feedback Results This data is as of May 4th, 2007. The following shows student percentage breakdown of responses to three questions on the student feedback surveys collected during the last two weeks of April. The three questions reflect student feedback on a) recommending the CLASI to others, b) affect on their effort, attitude and attention in class, c) and if the information learned was helpful/useful. Not all surveys have been collected. The following represents a little over half the expected surveys to be completed and collected. TOTAL COMBINED WORKSHOP AND ONLINE SURVEY RESULTS. N=87 Which workshop or online module did the student complete: 46% Motivation and Procrastination 27% College Transition and Classroom Etiquette 27% Active Listening and Note taking Total percentage breakdown of student responses on the workshop or online module assignment (not broken down by topic) Q6. Would you recommend this workshop/assignment to other students? 27% Definitely 51% Possibly 10% Not Likely 12% No Q7. In regards to your classroom effort, attitude, and/or attention, did completing this assignment help you improve? 24% Actually, it did quite a bit 34% I have noticed some positive effect 26% I'm not sure, maybe 5% Not really 12% None at all Q8. Was the information from the workshop/assignment helpful or useful to you as a student? N=60 53% Yes 33% Somewhat 10% Not really 3% No (Breakdown of the workshop and online module responses in the wod document section of this report under the CLASI file.) WHAT DID THESE RESULTS TELL US? With the data we have collected so far, I believe this program to be of value to the students, the classroom environment, and the campus as a whole. With the majority of the students responding in the positive, it suggests that CLASI has potential on a larger scale to have a positive effect on student attitudes and behaviors as it relates to improving their academic preparedness and motivation. Once all data is collected a more indepth look at activities, content, topics and process will be evaluated and acted upon. I feel this endeavor may have just begun it journey towards bigger more effective outreach efforts and participation. Only lack of campus funding will hinder it's potential. ------------------------------------------------------------ What is your plan to share this project with others? ------------------------------------------------------------ Once I collect the remaining student and instructor feedback surveys, I will tally them and forward the instructors their results as well as the overall results from the surveys. I will forward the total survey results to my division chair and VP of instruction. I will share this program with other counseling divisions within the MCCCD. Survey results from students and faculty will be shared via email to all instructors encouraging their involvment in 07-08. ------------------------------------------------------------ What, if anything, will happen in the future with this project? ------------------------------------------------------------ Plans are to offer CLASI again in the fall 2007 semester. It will be open to all faculty, and not limited to residential (in the pilot two adjunct faculty heard of the program and asked to participate). The plan is to ask for additional campus funds to maintain this program as it is expected to be offered to a larger number of students beyond what participated in the Pilot. Marketing to student service departments like disability services, probationary students, underage students, and other areas where cohorts of students are given assistance to help with persistence, I will encourage they have their students complete CLASI. Also, a collaborative Learning project with the Math Division has been given a grant to incorporate CLASI in the project to enhance student motivation in the upper math levels. I also plan on approaching the VP of Instruction (Academic Affairs) to make this program the foundation from which to build on a required college orientation program. ------------------------------------------------------------ What, if anything, would you do differently? ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Learning the online web page development process (WebPort)on which we placed the online CLASI modules, would have been best learned in Spring 2006, or during the summer prior to when it needed to be developed, rather than learning it during the fall semester and making sure it was ready to go in the Spring. It slowed us down a little in preparing the online modules. 2.We were not prepared for the one evening class section that participated in completing the online module that required meeting with a counselor to complete the assignment. Many students from this class wanted evening appointments and we do not have evening counseling appointments. Students found it difficult to come during the day to complete the assignment. I made arrangements to meet in the late afternoon/early evening hours with several of those students, while others came during the day, and some could not complete this part of the assignment. I will be sure to inform instructors that CLASI is a day time program and may not be able to accommodate evening instructors who want to participate. Note! As a professional courtesy to the owner of this package, if you use some aspect of this package or have some thoughts about it, please share your feedback via the comments form below. |
web links |
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/learngrant/ http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/c/la/clasi/home/1/ http://webport.cgc.maricopa.edu/published/c/ou/counseling/survey/4/ |
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extra |
Last modified: May-04-2007 Date created: May-01-2007 Visitor count: 1145 Dublin Core Metadata record  This package is included in the Maricopa Learning Grants special collection. |
Maricopa Learning eXchange
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=1932
