2022 Spring CoReq Academy

• What do campuses across the USG view as best practices when it comes to Learning Support (LS) advising, new student communication regarding LS, and placement of LS holds. It would be great to have an open dialogue on what campuses have deemed as most impactful.
• Assessment and Placement practices in a test-optional environment.

• What have been your experiences teaching reading, and integrating reading into the Learning Support course, especially in online Learning Support.
• Differentiated Instruction – How are you addressing different ranges of preparation. Same course? Different sections? Different levels of intensity
• Connecting the Coreq Course and the Collegiate Course.
• How are faculty teaching reading, and integrating reading in to the LS course, especially in online LS.
• What motivation and mindset strategies seem to be most effective? What hasn’t worked as well?

• Who offers (MATH) co-requisite courses online? Asynchronous? What/how do you do it? Have students been successful?
• Many of us had to greatly change our methods of teaching mathematics when Covid-19 hit in March of 2020. Have you seen lasting changes in your teaching or testing methods?
• Success/outcomes for STEM students placed in CoReq Math 1001/1101
• Alignment/effectiveness of CoReq and Collegiate courses (esp MATH 0998/MATH 1101)
• Differentiated Instruction – how to address different ranges of preparation. Same course? Different sections? Different levels of intensity
• What motivation and mindset strategies seem to be most effective? What hasn’t worked as well?

Rapport Building through Creating Learning Communities on Mindset Pedagogy

Ren Denton, East Georgia State College

EGSC links the English 099 learning support to the same English Composition I so that students have the same professor and cohorts in both courses. Last semester, my learning support students were first-semester freshmen who graduated from high school during the pandemic, so they spent the last 18 months of their high school experience online or Zoom. The impact of their virtual education became obvious when students could not or would not answer basic questions in class. Early in the semester, I grew frustrated with their lack of participation and exclaimed, "Help me understand! Why are you not participating?" After an awkward silence, one student volunteered the truth: "Honestly, Dr. Denton," he says, "We have spent the last two years cheating. We don't know anything." The other students confirmed this and admitted to distracting anxiety about performance and success. We had an open and honest discussion about anxiety and fixed mindset thinking as well as the personal costs of cheating, which motivated students to do their own work so they could have their best future. However, this meant I had to work harder to prepare them to do the work. I used metacognition, transparency, scaffolding, revision opportunities, and growth mindset language to minimize anxiety and keep the students focused. The students' learning curves were all daunting, even seemingly insurmountable for some, so growth mindset language and opportunities for revision became crucial elements to keep students motivated. I believe students opened up to me about their learning experience because they trusted me and were comfortable with each other since we spent two class periods together. I am still experiencing the impact of building a good rapport, as four of my seventeen students from that LS class are in my Composition II courses where they are showing academic growth even as they continue to communicate their struggles and needs. The purpose of my presentation is to show the benefits of linking 099 to the same English Composition I course, but I would like to engage the audience in brainstorming ideas for learning community models built on growth mindset pedagogies.

English

Reaching Beyond the Screen

Jennifer Randall, Dalton State College

If you feel that you and your students are just going through the motions and have begun to experience less satisfaction with course instruction and teaching online, consider adding a required virtual meeting and/or using free, online tools to increase engagement and interest. Various tips for free, online resources will be shared, as well as student feedback and thoughts.

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General Interest

Focus on Mindset: Corequisite in Learning Communities

Justin Jernigan, Georgia Gwinnett College

Georgia Gwinnett College offers first-year students Learning Communities (LCs) consisting of 3-4 linked courses with a focus on student mindset and integrative learning. Three key outcomes of the learning communities are:

1. Students enrolled in learning communities will demonstrate growth in productive academic mindset, including these elements: Growth mindset, Purpose and value, and Sense of belonging.
2. Students in the learning communities can explain specific ways in which their academic interests and career goals either align or do not align with their academic focus area.
3. Through reflection on an integrative learning experience, students in LCs show development in: Engaging new and diverse situations, expressing themselves flexibly, connecting knowledge and experience creatively, and deepening self-understanding.

In this discussion session, we'll explore the role of corequisite learning support courses in the first-year learning communities and explore innovative strategies for supporting, advising, and coaching students in these courses toward the three key outcomes noted above, with a particular focus on the first outcome related to Mindset. Please bring your ideas and best practices!

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General Interest

Building Mindset and Motivation -- Bring Your Tools!!

Candace Lynn and Julie Strickland, East Georgia State College

The East Georgia State College Learning Support Coordinators for math and English will briefly share some tools and resources that have helped improve student mindset and motivation. After reviewing these practical strategies for your teaching toolkit, the presenters will facilitate a group sharing time in which other session participants can contribute mindset and motivation tools that have worked for them.

General Interest

"Learn, Baby, Learn: Motivation, Martin, and Mindset

Patricia Ann West, Savannah State University

"If you want to earn , baby earn, you've got to learn, baby, learn!" Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. spoke these inspirational words to a youthful audience in 1967, yet we can still quote from that speech to set purpose for today's students in need of temporary learning support. This presentation will share strategies for "serious fun" (Dr. Dan Rea), multi-modal teaching, and the use of bargain store realia to grab attention in the English classroom. Drawing from the constructivist philosophy of teaching, I plan to share successful quick write topics and other starters designed to grab attention, stimulate classroom conversation, and build community.

English

Motivating MATH 999 students with Mindset Interventions

Laura Lynch and Cailin Noble, College of Coastal Georgia

In several sections of MATH 0999 and MATH 0998, we have implemented a series of assignments targeting ways to help students improve their academic mindsets and motivation for learning mathematics. These assignments, in the form of surveys with automated feedback based on responses, dropbox assignments, and discussion prompts, all begin with self-reflection and are reinforced with peer feedback that further builds students sense of belonging. Specific topics include relating personal values.

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Mathematics

LS Modality Round Table

Amanda Shoemake and Melanie Jordan, University of West Georgia

Area of Inquiry: Modality in Learning Support; A Hybrid Course Model We welcome input from our fellow coreq faculty on the preferred modality of LS sections (specifically in writing).

After discussion, UWG finds that the Learning Support should be composed of mostly, if not entirely, practical application of skills learned in the core or lecture class. The content should be different from the core course, or supplemental, additional to core course activities, and centered on differentiation and individual student needs. Practical applications could look like the following:

• Workshopping individual student writing--using the whiteboard or notes to physically work with elements of writing
• Peer editing and review
• Reading comprehension and retaining information activities (getting a head start or providing supplemental context or activities related to texts covered in the 1101 course)
• Metacognitive reflection--allowing students to lead discussions or activities based on feedback from other assignments
• Group or collaborative writing activities

Other considerations:
SI leaders and hours--have SI leaders specifically for LS-connected class. Apparent increased institutional investment in the SI program leads us to wonder whether the LS and SI programs could “join forces” to create more integrated support programs

This session is a round table discussion on the various modalities and options for accomplishing a practical approach to the LS course. UWG faculty will outline a range of options welcoming input and suggestions, and forming a foundation for a discussion on this topic.

English

“What’s Up? Bridging the Gap, Connecting Digital Media to critical Writing”

Sharee Seal, Savannah State University

The influence of digital media on young learners has rapidly changed how students adapt to reading, writing, speaking, and listening in college classrooms. This change has also impacted how college instructors support student learning through engagement, critical thinking, and collaboration. Digital media provides an opportunity for students and instructors to explore and make connections with the world around them. This study aims to analyze the effects of several digital platforms, such as TikTok, Padlet, and Quizizz, to build critical writing skills for first-year college students. Furthermore, addressing the significance of utilizing digital media to improve engagement performance and produce college-level critical writers.

English

Using Perusall for Asynchronous Collaborative Editing

Michelle Abbott, Georgia Highlands College

After seeing the impact of Perusall on student success in online literature survey courses, it seemed logical to expand its use into composition instruction, including Learning Support courses. While it is a somewhat unwieldy tool for peer review, it is an excellent tool for asynchronous, collaborative editing and discussion of sample essays, allowing writing skills such as organization, thesis statements, and a variety of grammar concepts to be taught "hands-on" with concrete examples. While Perusall could be used to supplement work done in a traditional section of ENGL 0999, it's greatest impact is in hybrid and online sections. In this session, we will review GHC's Perusall Lib Guide (open access resource) and walk through how to use Perusall as a collaborative editing tool.

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English

Acceleration and Intervention in Corequisite Courses

Kate Wise, Hawkes Learning

Actively engage students in corequisite courses with mastery-based learning, incorporation of study skills, and new worktexts. See how reporting & analytics can help instructors identify at-risk students and pinpoint commonly missed questions on assessments, allowing for more tailored classroom instruction and increased student motivation to learn. Attend and be entered to win one of three $25 Amazon Gift Cards!

Mathematics  English

The Writing Center’s Role in Corequisite Classes: Three Options for Increasing Student Success

Jennifer Gray and Stephanie Conner, College of Coastal Georgia
 

In this session, the College of Coastal Georgia’s Writing Center Director and a corequisite English instructor will describe how their partnership supports corequisite students as the students work through different types of writing assignments and situations. The strategies used by the writing coaches in the Writing Center are all in addition to the intensive one-on-one work completed by the corequisite instructor; however, there is a special bond that happens between the corequisite students and the fellow students who are their peer writing coaches. The coaches model how to talk about and respond to fellow students’ writings, and these activities become useful in the students’ corequisite classes as well as the partner ENGL 1101 class. The coaches talk through their own experiences of revising a paper and how this transformational act is necessary for readers. Finally, the coaches provide a safe space to practice new skills, such as citation conventions and advanced sentence structuring. Overall, the inclusion of writing coaches within the corequisite class can provide another avenue for support toward student success.

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English

Incorporating Learning Assistants into Math Courses

Stephanie Reikes, Georgia Institute of Technology

In this presentation, I will present on the new Learning Assistant Program at Georgia Tech and how I have incorporated them into my Math 1113: Pre-Calculus class. Learning Assistants (LAs) are students who are prepared to provide support for student learning in an interactive classroom environment. One of the biggest advantages of having an LA in the classroom is it provides another point of contact for the student. It decreases the student to teacher ratio, which can be valuable for larger lecture courses, as well as smaller courses with at-risk students. LAs are able to guide or coach students by sharing skills and knowledge they have already learned from taking the course. In addition, they can use their skills to identify and address student difficulties with course content.

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Mathematics

Peer Review: A Stepping Stone to Peer Success

Salvatore Talluto, Lanier Tech

Instructors know all too well the complaints of students about peers not giving adequate feedback on peer-review assignments. This complaint often persists no matter how many handouts we give or how many times we present the peer review criteria in class. This does not have to be the case. I have found some strategies that work for my students such as having them present their persuasive essays as elevator pitches or having them act out their essays. In addition, I often treat my peer review sessions like a train the trainer session so that the students learn what qualities they should be looking for in their partner's essay. I would like to have this open discussion where instructors can also share what has helped their students also,

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English