[Factc] Collectively Creating an Equitable ENGL&101: What Happens When You Get a Bunch of English Faculty in the Same (Big) Room?

Mon Oct 15 17:56:45 PDT 2018

Find out when you attend . . . .

(de) Composing ENGL&101

Collectively Creating an Equitable ENGL&101 Course

A System-Level Leadership Group for English Faculty

Friday, November 9th, 2018

Clark College

Did You Know?
Last year, a group of English folks (deans, department chairs, faculty members), and me, Jen Whetham, found ourselves collectively (obsessively) wondering about the & in the highest enrolled course in the state, ENGL&101.

We wanted to know what that & meant, literally and figuratively, in this course that pretty much every student in the system has to take to earn a credential.

What did we have in common with other English folks across the state? How were other equally brilliant minds (she writes modestly) handling the intricacies and challenges of Pathways In, Pathways Out, and Pathways Through?

So we designed and hosted three state-wide meetings to explore these questions, and along our professional learning journey, we discovered a better question:

How can we work together, collectively, to ensure that ENGL&101 provides equitable learning opportunities for ALL students?

I DID NOT Know This! Tell Me More! (But Not Too Much . . .)
These three meetings-each attended by more than 30 English faculty from across the state-have scaffolded inquiry into state-wide enrollment in ENGL&101, state-wide outcomes, and opportunity gaps identified in research literature and in local practice.

We have already started to get results:

*       a draft set of WA outcomes based on a national framework

*       strategies for designing and implementing more inclusive curriculum.

Can I See What You've Done?
Yes. We have an Open Canvas Shell<http://bit.ly/2t1EO2a> with all of the "Results Stuff" inside.
What is this Group Up to Next?
In the coming year, we will continue to explore strategies for designing equitable ENGL&101 classrooms.

I Want. How Do I Get Involved?
We have space for two representatives from each of the 34 CTCs. SBCTC will fund all costs for the event, and we ask that institutions cover travel for participants.
Fall Convening Highlights

*       "Wait, You're Doing What?" Session: We want to provide you with equitable strategies around common problems of practice that you can use on Monday and share with colleagues in your department at your next meeting. This session will cover the practicalities of teaching students reading strategies with writing in mind.

*       "The Imperfect Art of Placement Assessment" Session: What do we talk about when we talk about "College Ready"? In addition to some pretty vigorous theoretical discussion, you'll leave with tools and resources created by Bridge to College help you and your colleagues approach placement reform at your institution with an equity mindset.

*       "The Dynamic Uses of Common Outcomes" Session: At the Winter 2018 meeting, we formed system level workgroup of faculty members who drafted common outcomes that can be used to discover what we have in common across our 34 CTCs and align our reform efforts. The larger group reviewed them and gave feedback at the Spring 2018 meeting. We'll continue to explore how a set of state-wide common outcomes could be used for good (and not for evil, obviously).

I Have (So Many!) Questions, Concerns, and General Comments
You know what I'm going to write: E-mail me, my friends! jwhetham at sbctc.edu<mailto:jwhetham at sbctc.edu> Or call me (206) 310 1291. I'm in Vietnam and when you're awake I'm usually sleeping, but you know I'll answer the phone. You could even text me.

Thanks for reading, and I really hope to see 68 faculty from 34 departments at this event!

Peace,

Jen

PS-My Favorite President, Bob Morhbacher, says in his fantastic session at the New Faculty Institute on professional identity for two year college faculty, that "Faculty is a Collective Noun." That's what this is all about, folks. It's not "my 101," or "my students." It's OUR 101 (that &, though) and these are OUR students. We can work together to serve them better. I'm not Oprah, not by a long shot, but this is one thing I know for sure.
________________________________

[Title: SBCTC logo - Description: Compass]Jennifer Whetham (pronouns: she/her/hers)
Assessment, Teaching, and Learning
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
jwhetham at sbctc.edu<mailto:jwhetham at sbctc.edu> * o: 360-704-4354 * c: 206-310-1291
Register Now for the 2018 New Faculty Institute<http://bit.ly/2kGygBt>

"I'm not interested in the exceptions, only the patterns. As a culture, we (the U.S.) focus too much on exceptions, often fooling ourselves into believing that because there are exceptions, the rule no longer exists or that it's easily broken by anyone with enough willpower or hutzpah."

[*]     Asao B. Inoue, Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies<http://bit.ly/2xvacY4>

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