ED477909 2002-10-00 Building an

Instructional Framework for Effective

Community College Developmental

Education. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Development Team

www.eric.ed.gov

Table of Contents

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Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community College

Developmental Education. ERIC Digest..................................2

STRUCTURING FOR SUCCESS: PROGRAM LEADERSHIP AND

COORDINATION..........................................................2

BUILDING A COMMITTED FACULTY...................................... 3

PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT THROUGH SYSTEMATIC

EVALUATION.............................................................. 4

CONCLUSION.................................................................. 5

REFERENCES.................................................................. 5

ERIC Identifier: ED477909

Publication Date: 2002-10-00

Author: Sheldon, Caroline Q.

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges Los Angeles CA.

Building an Instructional Framework for

Effective Community College Developmental

ED477909 2002-10-00 Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community

College Developmental Education. ERIC Digest.

Page 1 of 7
Education. ERIC Digest.

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT

ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

Research reveals that exemplary developmental education programs operate within

established instructional environments where value and high expectations for positive

student outcomes take precedence (Boylan, 2002; Roueche & Roueche, 1999). In spite

of these findings, the majority of community colleges offer fragmented developmental

education programs (Shults, 2000). In order to flourish, community college

developmental education, defined in this context as "courses or services provided for

the purpose of helping underprepared college students attain their academic goals,"

(Boylan, 2002, p. 3) requires college presidents, trustees, and chief academic officers to

play a central role in creating the instructional framework conducive to successful

developmental education outcomes. These high-level administrators foster a culture of

success by insisting that faculty, staff, and students endeavor to meet institutional

expectations in developmental education. In their studies of exemplary practices, both

Boylan (2002) and Roueche and Roueche (1999) concluded that positive student

outcomes were more likely to be achieved when institutional leaders established high

standards for success, expected everyone involved in the developmental education

effort to strive toward achieving program goals, as well as created the opportunity for

success by crafting the instructional framework most beneficial to student outcomes.

An effective developmental education instructional framework necessitates that

community colleges adopt a philosophy of practice shared by institutional stakeholders

across instructional boundaries. Research by Grubb (2001) supports the idea of

directed, coordinated developmental education programs rather than reliance on

"individual and idiosyncratic efforts" to achieve institutional outcomes (p. 2). This digest

offers community college academic leaders a synopsis of the key components

necessary for building an instructional framework advantageous to a successful

developmental education effort. Specific emphasis is placed on program structure,

faculty, and program improvement. Although vital, the consideration of the full range of

programs, services, and approaches impacting student outcomes in developmental

education, including assessment and placement of students, "bridge" courses linking

developmental course content with college level subjects, limitations on developmental

student credit hour loads, counseling, and instructional support services is beyond the

scope of this digest.

STRUCTURING FOR SUCCESS: PROGRAM

LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION

Although centralization of developmental education under one academic unit has been

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Page 2 of 7 ED477909 2002-10-00 Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community

College Developmental Education. ERIC Digest.
identified as a feature of most exemplary developmental education programs, it is not a

prerequisite to success (Boylan, 2002). The benefits of a centralized program can still

be achieved within the decentralized developmental education structure that

characterizes the majority of community colleges as long as there is a shared, "coherent

philosophy" of teaching developmental education (Grubb, 2001, p.2). Critical to the

establishment of a coherent philosophy of teaching and the effectiveness of the

decentralized structure is "coordination of developmental courses and services by an

administrator with primary responsibility for campus-wide developmental education"

(Boylan, 2002, p. 11). For the decentralized model to be effective, someone must be

sanctioned to coordinate the program across instructional boundaries in accordance

with teaching philosophy and institutional expectations. Without an effective and

accountable leader, a decentralized program is likely to have a mediocre impact. Boylan

(2002) identifies the following additional traits particular to successful, highly

coordinated developmental education programs:

* regular meetings of all those involved in the delivery of developmental courses and

services,

* articulation of common goals and objectives for all developmental courses and

services, and

* integration of developmental courses and academic support services.

BUILDING A COMMITTED FACULTY

First and foremost, exemplary community college developmental education programs

utilize faculty with a demonstrated commitment to the value of developmental education

in general and developmental students in particular. In High Stakes High Performance:

Making Remedial Education Work (1999), John and Suanne Roueche argue that the

success of developmental students is predicated upon "faculty attitude and

competence" (p. 26). Research by Boylan (2002) and Cooke (1998) also associates

negative attitudes of faculty toward developmental education and students with poor

developmental program outcomes. For community college developmental education to

be successful, it is critical that faculty have a clear understanding and commitment to

the philosophy and objectives of developmental education championed by the

institution. Best practice institutions assign faculty to developmental education courses

after they have been oriented to the institutional philosophy of teaching developmental

education and institutional expectations for student outcomes such as successful

completion of courses, progression through the developmental curriculum, and the

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ED477909 2002-10-00 Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community

College Developmental Education. ERIC Digest.

Page 3 of 7
achievement of individual student academic goals (Boylan, 2002).

The strength of developmental education teaching has also been identified as essential

to improved student outcomes in developmental education programs. However, only a

minority of community colleges require their developmental education faculty, part-time

or full-time, to have training specific to teaching developmental education prior to

instructing developmental students (Shults, 2000). Indeed, the prerequisite for teaching

in most community colleges is a master's degree in an academic discipline (Cohen &

Brawer, 2002).

Community colleges can build a faculty committed to developmental education through

hiring practices and on-the-job training opportunities for new and existing faculty. When

able to hire new instructors, community colleges committed to developmental education

place a high priority on hiring faculty with specific training and experience in

developmental instruction (Boylan, 2002). Because many of the faculty who teach

developmental education are part-time instructors (Shults, 2000), it is critical that hiring

practices, for both part-time and full-time faculty, reflect the institution's commitment to

developmental education (Roueche & Roueche, 1999). Exemplary developmental

education programs in the community college emphasize "significant classroom

experience and a broad repertoire of teaching techniques" when hiring faculty to teach

developmental education (Roueche & Roueche, 1999, p. 26).

Professional development for faculty is one way colleges not in a position to hire new

faculty, or unable to find faculty with significant classroom developmental education

experience, can achieve parity with colleges employing more experienced

developmental education instructors. Based on his review of the research, Boylan

(2002) states that professional development should include training designed to provide

experience with and exposure to a variety of developmental education teaching

strategies, such as mastery learning, collaborative learning, small group work, and

classroom assessment techniques. A study conducted by the Massachusetts

Community College Developmental Education Committee identified continuous training

opportunities for faculty as a program characteristic correlated with student success

(Lizotte, 1998). Faculty at exemplary institutions are also encouraged to (1) join

professional organizations specifically dealing with the instruction of developmental

education students and (2) share teaching techniques, strategies, and classroom

assessment practices (Roueche & Roueche, 1999). Boylan (2002) states that in best

practice institutions, in-service training is provided to all faculty, including part-timers, so

that they can meet institutional expectations for developmental education. And,

exemplary developmental education programs are dedicated to the discipline of

instruction within the context of developmental education and support instruction as a

profession.

PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT THROUGH

SYSTEMATIC EVALUATION

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Page 4 of 7 ED477909 2002-10-00 Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community

College Developmental Education. ERIC Digest.
Faculty and staff at exemplary developmental education programs not only keep

informed regarding the latest research-based best practices in developmental

education, but manage program improvement through comprehensive, systematic

program evaluation that includes both formative evaluation measures designed to

improve program quality and summative evaluation measures aimed at assessing

program impact and outcomes (Boylan, 2002; Roueche & Roueche, 1999). Previous

research indicates that formative evaluation is an essential part of the evaluation

process in community college developmental education because it represents faculty

and staff commitment to a continuous quality improvement effort (Boylan, 2002).

Maximally effective developmental education programs regularly schedule program

evaluation activities that include measurements of program effort, such as the number

of courses offered, short-term outcomes, such as successful course completion rates,

and long-term outcomes, such as graduation rates and grade point averages (Boylan,

Bonham, White, & George, 2000).

CONCLUSION

The open access mission of community colleges guarantees that community colleges

will serve more developmental students in future years. How well community colleges

serve these students and achieve improved institutional outcomes in developmental

education will depend upon the instructional framework within which community

colleges offer developmental education programs and services. Based upon a review of

the literature concerning exemplary practices in developmental education programs, it

seems important that community college leaders dedicate resources to creating the

environment and authority to coordinate decentralized programs; assemble, train, and

develop a cadre of dedicated faculty; and evaluate and continuously improve the

developmental education effort. Such a directed effort is likely to result in greater

progress toward improving outcomes for students, programs, and ultimately, institutions.

REFERENCES

Boylan, H. (2002). What works: Research-based best practices in developmental

education. Boone: NC. Continuous Quality Improvement Network. National Center for

Developmental Education.

Boylan, H., Bonham, B., White, R., & George, A. (2000). Evaluation of college reading

and study strategies programs. In R. Flippo & D. Caverly (Eds.), Handbook of college

reading and study strategy research (pp. 365-402). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum &

Associates.

Cohen, A. & Brawer, F. (2002). The American community college. (4th ed.). San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cooke, C. (1998). Changing state policy in Texas for remedial/developmental

education. Austin: TX. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. (ERIC Document

Reproduction Number ED 415 945).

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED477909 2002-10-00 Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community

College Developmental Education. ERIC Digest.

Page 5 of 7
Grubb, W. N. (2001, February). From black box to pandora's box: Evaluating

remedial/developmental education. Community College Research Center Brief. (ERIC

Document Reproduction Number ED 455 865).

Lizotte, R. (1998). Access and quality: Improving the performance of community college

developmental education programs. Boston: MA. Massachusetts Community College

Developmental Education Committee. (ERIC Document Reproduction Number ED 428

785).

McCabe, R. (2001, February). Developmental education: A policy primer. Leadership

Abstracts, 14(1). The League for Innovation in the Community College.

Roueche, J. & Roueche, S. (1999). High stakes, high performance: Making remedial

education work. Washington, D.C. Community College Press. (ERIC Document

Reproduction Number ED 454 939).

Shults, C. (2000). Remedial education: Practices and policies in community colleges.

Washington, D.C. American Association of Community Colleges Research Brief. (ERIC

Document Reproduction Number ED 448 811).

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This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S.

Department of Education under contract number ED-99-CO-0010. The content of this

publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of

Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations

imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. ERIC Digests are in the public domain and

may be freely reproduced.

University of California, Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall P.O. Box 951521 Los Angeles,

CA 90095.

Title: Building an Instructional Framework for Effective Community College

Developmental Education. ERIC Digest.

Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)

(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);

Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. University of California

at Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, P.O. Box 951521, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524. Tel:

310-825-3931. For full text: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/ERIC/eric.html.

Descriptors: College Role, Community Colleges, Curriculum Design, Developmental

Studies Programs, Program Implementation, Remedial Instruction, Remedial Programs,

Remedial Teachers, Two Year Colleges

Identifiers: ERIC Digests

###

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