Grambling, LA –Connie Walton, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Catherine Bonner, a lecturer in the Department of English, facilitated a group discussion about a development English pilot program implemented at Grambling State University in an effort to increase the academic success of freshman students who are underprepared for college-level English during the annual Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) meeting on Dec. 5 in Houston.

The discussion, entitled “Utilization of a ‘Speak Student’ Approach for Teaching English Composition to Underprepared Freshman Students,” showcased the successes of a developmental education pilot program implemented at Grambling State University during the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters, which was sponsored by the Louisiana Board of Regents.

The educators provided an overview of how contextualized and strategic instruction were used to facilitate student learning as demonstrated by student performance in the pilot, as well as their performance in the second sequence English course during the following semester.

The group discussion focused on how the developmental English pilot program was modified during the spring 2014 semester. Students were placed into groups by gender. The instructor met with each group on different days to address freshman-level English Composition content. A surprisingly significant result of that modification was that the male group took ownership of their class.

Attendees of the group discussion facilitated by Walton and Bonner represented universities in Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The attendees included directors of Quality Enhancement Plans (QEP), English faculty, the director of a writing center and a dean of a College of Education.

Walton said that the attendees were interested in learning about a teaching strategy that was successful in addressing student remediation needs.

“The group discussion participants were actively engaged and indicated that they would take some of the strategies discussed back to their universities and recommend implementation,” Walton said.

This is the fourth consecutive year that GSU faculty members have presented at a SACSCOC annual meeting, specifically highlighting the innovative work being done by faculty at Grambling State University.

“Dr. Walton spearheaded this endeavor from inception to completion,” Bonner said. “For me, affirmation that we had presented useful information came when a director of a university’s writing center said, ‘This was great.’”

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