Moving Forward with Innovation in Dev Ed at Lane!

Lane's Academic Learning Skills Department (ALS) has achieved some noteworthy success with students. For instance, of students in Lane's Achieving the Dream cohort who placed 1-3 levels below program level writing, 43% completed their program level writing whereas only 33% of students who placed directly into program level did indeed complete that program level writing within three years. Furthermore, 48% of students who placed 1-2 levels below completed program level writing -- 15% more than those who placed directly at program level. Students who placed into developmental writing were more likely to achieve success in program level writing, particularly if they needed only one or two dev writing classes!

Building on this current success with students, the department has developed a plan to redesign the developmental writing sequence, reducing coursework to a maximum of two quarters. On December 4, 2013, LCC's Curriculum Committee approved ALS' two new courses: WR087 and WR097 for this initiative. While Lane currently has a three term, 13-credit developmental writing sequence, the new sequence will allow students to accelerate through preparatory writing in two terms or less with 9 developmental writing credits and a co-requisite course providing 3 college transfer level credits. The new courses will integrate grammar, critical reading, writing, and basic information literacy skills to help prepare students for WR115 and beyond.

Faculty are moving forward with this exciting new project! Curriculum development is already underway with no less than sixteen faculty members collaboratively developing sample units and modules for the new courses. Undoubtedly, resources shared through the DIG Co-Lab faculty fellowship will prove invaluable to this innovation as well.

"Change,"  image by Wiertz Sebastién