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Acceleration Spotlight: Chaffey College
Piloting Acceleration on a Large Scale
In=20 Spring 2011, Chaffey College launched its =E2=80=9CFast Track=E2=80=9D = initiative with 52=20 sections of accelerated courses, including not only English and Math, = but also=20 ESL, Spanish, Biology, and Astronomy.
The initiative began in Chaffey=E2=80=99s Enrollment and Success =
Management=20
Committee. Members of the group read and discussed Hern and =
Snell=E2=80=99s article
Chaffey=E2=80=99s Fast Track initiative focuses on shortening the = time-frame for=20 students to complete requirements and eliminating the exit points = between=20 courses in their sequences. This currently involves three different = models of=20 acceleration.
Compressed = Courses
Separate=20 courses are packaged together in a single semester, taught by the same=20 instructor, with students enrolling in both courses at the same time. = The=20 structure eliminates the exit point between classes, where students who = pass one=20 level often do not enroll in the next. Chaffey=E2=80=99s first = round of compressed=20 courses included:
- Two 3-unit English courses offered as a 6-unit package (2 levels = of=20 developmental English combined, 1 level below combined with English = 1A, and=20 English 1A combined with English 1B);
- Two 4-unit Spanish classes (1A, 1B) offered as an 8-unit = package;
- A =E2=80=9Cfour-pack=E2=80=9D of science and math (total of 18 = units) that enables many=20 non-math/science majors to complete their requirements in one = semester:=20 Biology (4 units), Biology Lab (3 units), Astronomy (3 units), = Intermediate=20 Algebra (4 units), and College Algebra (4 units).
Short-Term, Intensive=20 Courses
This=20 model involves 8-week intensive classes that give students more flexible = starting points within the 18-week semester. The increase in class time = each=20 week also expands the relationship-building among students, and between = students=20 and teachers, over what is typical in the full-length semester. Disciplines=20 offering courses in this format include Accounting, Anthropology, Child=20 Development, English, ESL, Computer Science, Spanish, Psychology, and=20 Sociology.
Avoidance Model in = Developmental=20 Math, Combined with Short-Term Intensive Course
Students=20 who place into arithmetic (4 levels below transfer Math) can enroll in = an=20 intensive 3-week review course and then re-take the placement test. Of = the=20 approximately 400 students who have participated to date, 80% of the = students=20 who complete the class have been able to re-test directly into = Intermediate=20 Algebra after three weeks, avoiding three classes in the sequence. = Students can=20 then enroll in a late-start intensive section of that course. If = successful,=20 they complete their developmental Math requirements in one semester, = rather than=20 the four required under the traditional sequence.
Despite the initial caution of some faculty, many of those teaching = in the=20 new models have discovered the benefits cited by faculty in other = accelerated=20 programs. Melissa Utsler, English instructor, noted that she = =E2=80=9Chas never loved=20 teaching so much.=E2=80=9D Emily Avila, Biology instructor, taught = an accelerated=20 version and a traditional version of Biology 1 during Spring 2011. = The=20 accelerated class not only increased success by 20 percentage points, = but Avila=20 found students were more cohesive and engaged than in her traditional = class,=20 developing a strong bond and becoming =E2=80=9Cmore supportive of each = other than [she]=20 had ever seen before.=E2=80=9D
During a series of panels this semester, the first round of = accelerated=20 faculty have shared their experiences with the faculty who will teach=20 accelerated sections in the fall. Among their observations from the = early=20 accelerated courses: a higher level of student focus, greater retention = and=20 success among students who would have been at risk in the standard = format, a=20 greater sense of community in the classroom, and increased help-seeking = behavior=20 among students.
So far, student retention and success have been notably stronger in = the=20 accelerated courses than in non-accelerated sections of the same course: = 90.3%=20 of students were retained in these courses, compared to 83.1% in the = traditional=20 model; 67.4% of accelerated students passed their courses, compared with = a 57%=20 in non-accelerated sections. (Accelerated data from 23 sections with = reported=20 grades to date, comparison data from F 2007-F 2010.)
Dean Laura Hope reports that in 2011-12, the college plans to offer = 70=20 accelerated sections each semester in a range of disciplines, and these = will be=20 highlighted in a special =E2=80=9CFast Track=E2=80=9D section of the = course schedule. Chaffey=20 will also explore the use of Supplemental Instruction leaders in = accelerated=20 classes. Over the next 18 months, she says, the college will study the = outcomes=20 of their accelerated offerings closely, tracking not only success and = retention=20 within a single semester but students=E2=80=99 sequence completion rates = over time.
=E2=80=9CAt the end of several semesters of experimentation and = dialogue,=E2=80=9D Hope says,=20 =E2=80=9Cwe=E2=80=99re going to know a lot better about what works for = us.=E2=80=9D
As Chaffey moves into Phase Three of Implementation: Refining and = Expanding=20 Accelerated Approaches, Hope expects that the college will build upon = its=20 current models and consider approaches that involve curricular redesign, = such as=20 models using =E2=80=9Cbackwards design=E2=80=9D to ensure that all of = the content covered inside=20 existing developmental sequences directly aligns with the most essential = learning goals of college-level courses.
For=20 more information, contact Laura Hope, Dean of Instructional Support, = Chaffey=20 College, Laura.Hope@chaffey.edu
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