University of West Alabama
Course Title: Written English
Contact: Tim Edwards
The University of West Alabama (UWA) plans to redesign Written English, the first course in the freshman composition sequence. The course enrolls ~475 students annually in 19 sections of 25 students each. The course is traditionally taught as a modes-based writing course, emphasizing a variety of basic rhetorical strategies such as description, narration, comparison/contrast and process.
The course suffers numerous academic problems. Students typically do not bring college-level writing skills. Teaching grammar and basic skills must be done at the expense of writing and critical-thinking activities. With classes filled to capacity, it is difficult for instructors to provide one-on-one instruction or assistance. Significant weight must be given to in-class writing, sometimes under timed conditions, to ensure academic honesty rather than the desired “writing as a process” approach. The structure of the course is dated, especially in its under-utilization of technology. There is a pattern of consistently high failure rates: 36% in 2004-2005 and 37% in the two subsequent academic years.
The course will be redesigned using the Replacement Model with an emphasis on activities outside of the traditional classroom. Quality circles will be implemented, modeled on those developed at Florida International University . Section size will increase from 25 to 30 students. Each section will be divided into three learning teams on the first day of class. Each team will meet with the instructor once a week for mini-lectures and to go over workshop drafts. Each team will be assigned to a supervised computer lab for two hours to work on a variety of participatory, technology-centered activities such as grammar and mechanics exercises, research, drafting and peer reviewing. An adjunct or lab assistant will supervise the lab sessions, assisting the students as needed. A peer tutoring system will be initiated in Year 2 of the redesign using English Language Arts majors.
The quality of the student learning experience will be enhanced by engaging students in participatory, interactive learning activities and increased interaction with the instructor. The small, intensive classroom sessions will enable the instructor to give more individual attention to students than was possible in the traditional 25-student sections. Moving grammar and mechanics exercises online will allow students to work on drafts in class. Instructors will serve as facilitators of the learning process, as tutors and writing consultants rather than as lecturers. Plagiarism and cheating will be eliminated.
UWA’s assessment plan will compare student performance in parallel sections, two traditional and two redesigned, during fall 2008. Common topics will be assigned for their diagnostic and final essays. The quality of their writing will be compared over the course of the semester. Specific outcomes including DFW rates, class attendance, and grade distribution will also be compared, and a student survey will be administered. Students will then be tracked through the second composition course offered in spring 2009.
UWA will reduce costs by changing the mix of personnel teaching the course. The number of full-time professors will be reduced from five to two, and the number of lecturers will be increased from five to seven. Section size will grow from 25 to 30, and the number of sections will decrease from 19 to 16. The cost-per-student will be reduced by 16%, from $248 to $209. The savings will be used to move faculty resources to program building, particularly in the graduate program.
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