Measuring “College Readiness” thru High Impact Practices: Assessing a Journal to Article English Composition activityPRESENTATION BY DEAN RAMSER

K E Y W O R D S - C O L L E G E R E A D Y, H I G H I M PA C T P R A C T I C E S , C I V I C E N G A G E M E N T, U N D E R G R A D U AT E R E S E A R C H , D I V E R S I T Y & G L O B A L L E A R N I N G , A N D S E R V I C E L E A R N I N G , C O M M U N I T Y - B A S E D L E A R N I N G .

INTRODUCTION

College readiness and career readiness have become important policy goals for education over the past few years.

Current California and National Standards point toward college and career readiness. However, many people contend that it is unclear what is meant by these terms.

What do they mean? What are some definitions? How can college and career readiness be measured?

What are the implications of various measurement approaches?

This Journal to Article English Composition activity focused on three themes:

Undergraduate Research, Diversity/Global Learning, and Service Learning, Community-Based Learning,

to determine students’ “college readiness” according to

“Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing” developed by the

Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English , and the National Writing Project

–Students’ journals and research essay are measured using qualitative rubrics of

“Service Learning, Internship & Civic Engagement (SLICE) and High-Impact Practices (HIP).”

Giroux, Henry. “When Hope is Subversive.”Tikkun (2004).

Henry Giroux in “When Hope is Subversive” emphasis the importance of educated hope in enabling students to understand and tap into their own potential as citizens and agents of social change.

HIP/SLICE Journal to Article English Composition activity creates the space for educated hope to develop.

As Giroux explains, “hope makes the leap for us between critical education, which tells us what must be changed; political agency, which gives us the means to make change; and the concrete struggles through which change happens. . . . What hope offers is the belief, simply, that different futures are possible.”8

Simmons, Michele. "Encouraging Civic Engagement Through Extended Community Writing Projects: Rewriting The Curriculum." Writing Instructor (2010): ERIC. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Simmons argues that we must re-think and re-write community writing projects, that we must explore ways to incorporate extended community writing projects—projects that span multiple courses and often require multidisciplinary expertise and a broad sense of critical inquiry to complete—into our curriculum. I agree.

Writing outside your discipline, across the Curriculum so to speak, accomplishes this.

Projects that ask students to draw on their abilities to understand complex information, analyze audiences, conduct research to gather information about stakeholdersʼ perceptions and needs, and apply this information to solve a community problem may encourage them to see that the skills they learn have broader application than just the classroom or workplace.

HIP/SLICE Journal to Article English Composition activity challenges students to examine their own community.

Moore, Tami, and Jesse Mendez. “Civic Engagement and Organizational Learning Strategies for Student Success.” New Directions for Higher Education 2014.165 (2014): 31–40.

As Moore and Mendez assert, student civic engagement is both a manifestation of an institution’s commitment to community engagement and an “educationally purposeful activit[y]” (Kuh et al., 2007, p. 44) through which students deepen their engagement (Kuh, 2009), and thereby enhance their chances of achieving desired learning outcomes in college, or, in other words, succeeding.

California State University Dominguez Hills and our Service Learning Internship Community Engagement center support this vision.

Riehle, Catherine, and Sharon Weiner. “High-Impact Educational Practices: An Exploration of the Role of Information Literacy.” College & Undergraduate Libraries 20.2 (2013): 127–143.

Riehle and Weiner agree that service learning includes experiential learning, confronting “real-world” problems, applying reflection and knowledge in developing solutions in the context of the subject matter.

When students gain community awareness, their interest and success in graduate school, overall student development and satisfaction, and critical thinking, also develop.

Studies show positive effects as a result in academic performance (including GPA, writing skills, and critical thinking), values (including commitment to activism and diversity), self-efficacy, leadership, choice of a service career, and plans to participate in service after college.

California State University Dominguez Hills Library, Librarians, Archivists, and support staff generously encourage student research.

Lawrence, Joshua and Snow, Catherine. “Teaching urban youth about controversial issues: Pathways to becoming active and informed citizens.” Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 14.2 (2015): 103–119.

Lawrence and Snow show that exposing students to controversial issues is critical to their civic engagement development, which can generate high levels of disagreement. That complicated discourse prepares students for the world outside of the classroom.

HIP/SLICE Journal to Article English Composition activity challenges students to re-think controversial issues within their own framework

College and Career Readiness Defined ACT has long defined college and career readiness as the acquisition of the knowledge and skills a

student needs to enroll and succeed in credit-bearing first-year courses at a postsecondary institution (such as a two- or four-year college,

trade school, or technical school) without the need for remediation. ACT’s definition of college and career readiness was adopted by the

Common Core State Standards Initiative, which serves as validation of our extensive research and ACT’s College Readiness Standards™.

Measuring academic performance in the context of college and career readiness—focusing on the numbers and percentages of students

meeting or exceeding the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks—provides meaningful and compelling information about the academic

readiness of students. The Condition of College & Career Readiness highlights that information.

This study asserts that HIP/SLICE journal-to-article activity prepares students for that “college readiness” by engaging with the

community by journaling their active participation in civic events for fifteen weeks, reflecting in notebooks thoughts and feelings.

These notes and comments become empirical evidence to be used later in a documented research essay focused on the social justice

theme identified by the student and submitted as a final paper in the semester

HIP/SLICE Journal to Article English Composition activity

Keys to College Readiness- David T Conley (2011) Defining and Measuring College and Career Readiness

•Research Essay (Key Learning Skills and Techniques )

•Submission to Scholarly Journal (Key Transition Knowledge and Skills)

•Journal Activity (Key Content Knowledge)

•Assignment (Key Cognitive Strategies)

High Impact Practices (HIP): Critical Thinking Decisions

THINK

Service Learning Internship Community Engagement (SLICE):

students journal about their experiences

KNOW

First Year Undergraduate Research: students research their SLICE topic

GO

Making Concrete Abstract Ideas Developed Through Community

Engagement: students prepare essay for submission to scholarly journal

ACT

Students’ “college readiness” is assessed by:

considering new ways of reading and writing;

reading comprehension and writing organization

learning new strategies, and generating, investigating, and representing ideas

developing a level of curiosity to know more about the world

connecting to global issues, such as diversity, social justice, collaboration, and equity

ownership of actions and understanding of the consequences of those actions

adaptability to situations, expectations, or demands

and sustained interest in and attention to short - and long - term projects

Students of color experience fewer high-impact practices: White African American Latino Asian

Service Learning 59% 65% 62% 65%

Undergraduate Research 24% 17% 19% 25%

Internship or Field Experience 51% 40% 41% 46%

METHODThe Steps

Step One: Introduce CSUDH’s Service Learning Internship Community Engagement (SLICE)

Step Two: Students submit a brief description of their intended SLICE topic.

Step Three: Students keep a journal of their field experiences. The journal could be observations or interviews. I check for the SLICE journal before spring break and again at the end of the semester. I modified the requirements of the SLICE journal: 110 students completed fifteen pages and 111 students completed twenty pages.

Step Four: Two library research presentations by CSUDH librarians. The first session to learn how; the second session to find five scholarly journals that supported their research topic based on their SLICE journal.

Step Five: Students receive the essay rubrics: my writing rubric and Kuh’s “Inquiry and Analysis Value Rubric,” both of which I thought matched the style of investigation and reporting the SLICE journal suggests.

Step Six: Several group sharing of rough drafts, Peer Reviews of drafts, and PowerPoint sharing of the SLICE topic and Research paper. In addition the students used an online beta essay evaluation system WriteLab.com.

Step Seven: Learn Chicago Author Note Style for submission of their final research essay by email to the editor Dr. Jill Burk of Penn State’s Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research, copying me on the email, plus the students submitted to Turnitin.com their final draft.

Dear XXXXXXXXXX: Thank you for your submission to the Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research. I received your article. A member of the editorial team will review your article and contact you concerning its status. You should expect to be contacted sometime during the summer. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Best wishes, Jill Burk ***************************************************************** Jill K. Burk, Ph.D. Instructor, Communication Arts & Sciences Penn State University, Berks Editor, Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research Phone: 610.396.6094 Office: Franco 144 Office Hours: By appointment

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: XXXXXXXXXXXXX To: jkb20@psu.edu Cc: "Dean Ramser" <DeanRamser@msn.com> Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2015 8:53:13 PM Jill K. Burk, Ph.D.

Instructor, Communication Arts & Sciences

Penn State University, Berks

Editor, Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community Based

Research

RE: Community based Research Article

Dear Editor Dr. Burk,

My English professor Dean Ramser at California State University Dominguez Hills

suggested that I submit my Community based research essay entitled How Beneficial are

Tutoring Progams to Penn State University’s Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning

and CommunityBased Research.

My project examines tutoring programs, a subject that deserves more attention and

scholarship.

Attached please find my paper.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

ENG 11152

California State University Dominguez Hills

1000 E. Victoria Street, Carson, CA 90747

RESULTS- student opinionsThese journals aren't pieces of writing that you could only give information in. In these journals, you have to include personal opinions and express your thoughts about certain situations. I believe that it has opened my eyes to not be afraid of expressingmy opinions in writing, when I am able to do so.

It helped me extract more information to make my writing more credible

HIP/SLICE taught me to be flexible and try something new because you never know, it might actually be better. Prior to this journal assignment, I had never truly thought for myself. Now that I am more able to do so, I am more willing to try new strategies to grow academically.

I want to learn about more social issues because of the SLICE journals. There are so many issues that as a student I have heardabout, but lack true understanding and knowledge of.

Overall, I am applying the methods I'm using

At first, I was skeptical of engaging in the process of learning new HIP/SLICE strategies. It is a very different and unique way oflearning. I am not thinking of learning a new subject because of HIP/SLICE but I do apply its strategies to my other subjects.

When writing the SLICE journals, I found it easier to plan out beforehand the topics I wanted to write about and the structure I wanted to write it in, if possible.

I was able to get started right away

I feel that as a result of the HIP/SLICE I am more able to start a project by myself. The HIP/SLICE gave me that experience of making my own observations and drawing my own conclusions afterward.

RESULTS- student opinionsFor now, I haven't been able to actually been to apply what I have written in my journals in another course, but the constant writing and planning of the SLICE journals has come in handy.

It has helped me to gather evidence and not jump into conclusions

I have been able to think for myself. From the HIP/SLICE writing, I have learned to challenge popular beliefs and assert myself into the learning process. By just standing around and receiving information, you are not truly learning. The learning process begins when you take that first step to immerse yourself into the subject.

SLICE has helped me develop my curiosity of social issues, because although the events we are writing about was in the past, you could make a connection with present issues. History repeats itself, and it's important to see what happened then and what is happening now.

I now know things that I didn't know before

One of the topics I focused on with HIP/SLICE was the nursing shortage. Upon beginning this assignment, I believed that this issue was affecting only the United States. After doing research and interviewing nurses and hospital volunteers, I realized that so much of the world is being impacted by this shortage. HIP/SLICE taught me to think about issues outside of myself.

In the media there are groups of people who advocate certain issues that I feel strongly about, such as feminism or social injustice, and I feel that spreading the word about it and making the issues known to anyone who is ignorant help me be a part of a fight.

Yes there has been a meeting about the topic of police brutality

After my HIP/SLICE journal experience, I have been involved in a Peer Mentoring program. Upon entering this program, I received training and had to take a course titled Special Topics (UNV 395). Both the training sessions and course discussions focused on global issues, such as diversity, social justice, collaboration, and equity. My journal experience was just the beginning. The mentoring experience I am currently going through is also becoming such a huge part of my education. This just goes to show that being actively involved in your community helps one gain knowledge.

RESULTS- student opinions

I have not been able to adapt because of SLICE, yet.

I believe that I have become more adaptable as a result of HIP/SLICE. None of my other English courses have given me an experience similar to the one that the journal writing offered me. I find that this experience has given me an advantage overother students.

It has helped me in my observations. Wherever I am, or whatever I am doing, I try to think of how I could use my observations and experiences for my writing.

I’m now confident in doing another

HIP/SLICE helped me with short term assignments by showing me that those short term assignments really do help in the long run. With this experience, we have to write two journals (15 pgs ea.) and then use those entries to write a final paper. I realized that without those short term assignments, I would never have been able to complete my long term assignment.

This has helped to push me to actually go and meet people in order to get a different perspective and just get an end result for my paper.

I’m feeling confident

HIP/SLICE helped me to realize that those boring final semester papers or projects actually have some meaning. They are meant to engage you in the material. Although I dreaded doing these, the journal writing taught me to just try it and find some part of it that interests you.

CONCLUSIONS

HIP/SLICE Journal to Article English Composition activity engages students in higher order learning opportunities - learning by analyzing, synthesizing, and creating new ideas and concepts of what they learn in and out of the classroom

HIP/SLICE Journal to Article English Composition activity engages students in a range of activities in which they interact with faculty and peers, experience diversity, focus on reflection and feedback, and participate in real-world applications.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS...

The current HIP/SLICE Journal is a twenty page journal of independent interviews, observations, and/or volunteer or intern work, submitted once at midterm (10 pages) and again at the end (10 pages).

The SLICE Journal begins with a tour of CSUDH’s Watt’s Rebellion Photo Exhibit, and the journal will end with your reflections about #BlackLivesMatter.

Current HIP/SLICE research topicsMy topic I'm going to talk about is Black lives matter involved with police brutality. I would like to talk about how misinformed the Hispanic community is and how about racism not being addressed.

Discrimination on African Americans I would like to write about the consequences of racial profiling in law enforcement officers I would like to write about how police brutality influenced racial profiling and harassment.

The topic that i would like to talk about is how police brutality makes all of the cops look like as a whole and how bad police brutality is in LA and the change we need to do. I would like to write about the Watts Rebellion the

impact on youngsters and the relationship between the BlackLivesMatter movement. I would like to start my topic about the history of racial profiling. The topic i would like to write about is police harassment and brutality. And how racial discrimination

affected how the police treated people back then and now. A topic I would like to write about is on how the citizens view the law enforcement and how the riots began. I would like to write about racial profiling and policing.

I would like to talk about the tragedies of police profiling and police brutality. I would like to talk about the police brutality and racial discrimination.

I would like to further go into the topic of discrimination by describing incidents that relate the past, the present, and how the future will be if it continues this way. I would like to write about the role of photography and the meaning of photography in history.

I would like to learn about the violence in America that ties in to racism in America and the way in affects the brain and the development of young kids perspectives about themselves.

I want to learn more about the roots of racial discrimination along with socioeconomic status keeping people separated specifically among African Americans/blacks. I would like to write about police brutality and the statistics behind it.

I would like to write about the role media plays in social movements, such as the Watts Rebellion and the Black Lives Matter movement. I would like to talk about the types of people that get involved in supporting the outbreaks or riots of certain situations.

Also, I want to talk about the advancement of technology in today's society and how it effects how events in society are viewed. I would like to write about how the problems from society are affected by gender roles. If they even have a sort of impact in the way that people

are divided, how they are grown into specific roles whether they are male or female, and how their surrounding or culture affects them in the way they think. Does the outcome lead the people to fight for what they believe in and if they don't get the justice they think they deserve will it lead to revolutions or riots?

The chain reaction in younger generations caused by police brutality and the lack of discussion in the Hispanic community and how they relate to the Watts rebellion and the Black Lives Matter movement.

I would like to know more about pollution within different racial and environmental groups. For my SLICE journal, I want to know what resulted from the Watts rebellion

For my slice journal I would like to write about discrimination through racial profiling in America.

Current HIP/SLICE research topicsI would like to learn more about how the founding of CSUDH has helped better the racial and social issues in our community of Los Angeles since the Watts Rebellion.

The miseducation in our education system.

What influence does social media have on the BlackLivesMatter movement and police brutality? I would like to write about the culture appropriation of black culture by opposing races within the last 10 years within music and fashion.

My topic is the constant police brutality specifically in "ghetto" communities. Are tourists interested in the area where the Watts Rebellion was taken place?

If tourism is encouraged in Watts, what locations are the most visited? I would think tourists who visit Watts would mostly be those who listen to rap music and are interested in being where lyrics of their favorite famous rappers were influenced from. Also those rappers who raised in these riots as well.

My topic is the constant police brutality specifically in "ghetto" communities. I would like to write about the influence of the Watts Rebellion had/has on art.

How the efforts of change effect the surrounding communities where the demonstrations take place.

I would like to talk about gun violence and how it affects the society as a whole and at the same time to tie back to police officers who do have abused their rights with guns.

The topic I would like to write about is feminism and black women. Black lives matter movement/ black women matter.

I would like to write about how perspectives changed overtime (if there are any differing perspectives) from the Watts Rebellion to the current Black Lives Matter.

What roles did women had during WWII? The Topic that i would like to write about is how police brutality began to become noticed and how it connects to Black Lives Matter.

The change of role for African American women and men from the Watts Rebellion to the LA Riots.

I want to focus on how police brutality played a role in the Black Lives matter movement and riots in the urban communities. How Social media has helped empower the Black Lives Matter movement

Struggles have expanded beyond discrimination in race, but now has touched on the identity we identify as, and religion.

The topic I would like to write about is discrimination in the 1900's against not just African Americans but other minorities as well in Los Angeles and how this racial injustice affected their education.

I really want to write about how mainstream media and music influences how not only black lives go about their lives but also how the police react to that.

How much the role of the housing and gentrification has has changed throughout Los Angeles? The topic I would like to talk about is either poverty or police brutality.

The topic I chose to write about is Perceptive because I feel like a plays a huge role in why things have happened. My main focus is to show the audience on two perspectives on what went on through that time period. it’s like looking at football game through the eyes of someone in the side line and someone in the middle of everything.

The violence used by authorities and by the majorities toward minorities. Women discrimination in the workplace

I would like to write about the gentrification and police abuse. I want to research/write about race and discrimination.

I will write about the the social norms of men and feminism and would this affect or change the way we see society in black lives matter and rebellion times and now on gender.

I will write about the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense movement. In my paper I will describe the reasons and conditions for the up-rising of the party, why they sought the need to use weaponry and military tactics to project their message across the community, how they sought to better the community, and the infiltration that lead to their demise.

Current HIP/SLICE research topicsCollege students in wheelchairs having problems with accessibility in campuses. College students in wheelchairs having problems with accessibility in campuses.

Special accommodation made for college students with invisible disabilities I will be talking about intellectual disabilities in college students.

I would like to write about students on campus with disabilities and their necessary resources.

I am interested in learning about student with disabilities here at CSUDH. I am concern about this topic, because of how many disabled students go to CSUDH.Also, how the disabled get to their classes since CSUDH is an old college with old technology for disabilities

I would like my topic be about different disabilities and what they struggle with here on campus. College students with disabilities and not many handicapped equipment for them to move around.

Problems that students with disabilities go through at college universities and how schools can address those issues to accommodate their needs.

I would like to write about the challenges disabled students have trouble in universities. i am interested in the students with physical or mental disabilities, here at CSUDH I am concerned about this topic.

The thing I would like to write about is the accommodations for students in college with disability.

I would like to write about students that are physically disabled here at CSUDH and why we don't have more accessibility

I am interested in writing about handicap people, mental illnesses, and students with disabilities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to the students who involved themselves in their committee, reflected on their observations, and researched the topic.

Many thanks to the High Impact Practices Faculty Learning Committee

And many, many thanks to colleagues in the HIP Faculty Learning Committee:

Christopher Potts, lead

Karen Coley

Cheryl Fantuzzi

Chance Fraser

John Hsiao

Rhea Lewitzki

Amy Rust