Community College ESL Curricular Changes: Faculty Perspectives on Co-Requisite Models of Instruction

• In Event: 31.080 - English Language Learners in Community Colleges: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

In an effort to address concerns about the effectiveness of traditional developmental education, community colleges have begun experimenting with a range of acceleration course structures to streamline pathways for completing developmental and freshman requirements, reduce the number of exit points, and attain better retention and graduation rates (Cho, Kopko, Jenkins, & Jaggars, 2012; Edgecombe, Smith, Jaggars, Xu, and Barragan, 2014; Xu, 2016). Some initial research has shown that co-requisites (pairing a developmental course with a college level course) have been successful in improving student outcomes (Anderst, Malloy & Shahar, 2016; Cho et al., 2012). However, as the recent RAND paper demonstrates (Daugherty et al, 2018), Texas community colleges faced significant challenges in implementing co-requisite models, including: limited buy-in among faculty, advisors, and students, issues with scheduling and advising logistics, limited preparation and support for model design and instruction, and rapid speed and uncertainty around policymaking.  

This presentation will share findings from a semester-long case study that examined the implementation of co-requisite linguistics and ESL writing courses at one of the seven community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY) system. This co-requisite course is structured as an extended instructional time model, meaning that students enrolled have three hours of linguistics curricular material and an additional three hours of developmental writing support. Specifically, this study focuses on two interrelated research questions: 1) How do co-requisite models for English language learners shape curricular and pedagogical decisions? 2) In what ways do instructors address the reading and writing needs of their students while simultaneously providing course content?  Through interviews with faculty teaching the course and the collection and analysis of syllabi and assignments, findings reveal the impact of this new co-requisite policy on teachers’ curricular decisions and pedagogical practices as well as the complex experience of teaching co-requisite classes to English language learners who are still in the process of developing their reading and writing skills. 

A detailed exploration of co-requisite teaching is critical because nation-wide, community colleges are moving towards the elimination of developmental education, and while ESL has not yet been included in this plan, these courses are also under review at many campuses. CUNY is therefore looking to widely adopt the co-requisite model in its course offerings. Documenting the enactment of co-requisite policy in real time, our findings reveal the ways in which these courses may differ for instructors of students still developing academic language skills. Given the obvious and highly-influential role that instructors have in improving community college student outcomes (Bailey, 2009; Walker 2015), this study can provide critical information for faculty and administrators interested in the implementation of accelerated course models for English language learners.

Authors

• Sharon Avni, Borough of Manhattan Community College - CUNY

• Heather Bobrow Finn, Borough of Manhattan Community College