The committee revised the curriculum for a developmental writing course with the goal of better preparing students for college-level composition. They analyzed assignments, readings, and student learning outcomes to identify areas for improvement. The revised curriculum emphasizes conceptual thinking, analysis, and engaging with ideas rather than just reporting plot details. New assignments encourage students to dialogue with texts and develop their own interpretations. The committee also aligned learning objectives between course levels to provide a clearer path for students. The hopes are that this updated approach will increase retention and the number of students passing into college-level English courses.

1. SYLLABUS REVISION:
PROCESS AND
PRACTICE
N.J.EDGE CONFERENCE,
SETON HALL UNIVERSITY,
MARCH 2010
Kelly E. Bender, Passaic County Community
College

2. Introduction:
 In the spring of 2009 the Developmental Studies Committee
shifted its focus to the curriculum of the EN004, Writing Skills
II course. The committee began the process of revisiting the
structure, course objectives, themes, assignment designs,
and methods of assessment.
 One of the main objectives of this curriculum review and
revision was to create a more forward thinking
developmental writing course that would serve as a bridge
between developmental English and college level
composition. To do this, the committee brought to the table
reflections and recollections of daily classroom experiences
that included a variety of underlying personal assumptions
about what we teach and how to teach it. From there, the
committee was able to identify common threads within
seemingly diverse pedagogical pathways.

3. Materials and Methods
 The committee addressed current syllabi
and texts used in developmental courses.
 Assignments and readings were studied to
see how closely they reflected the Student
Learning Outcomes.

4. Results:
 The committees ongoing collaboration eventually produced the
shift in course materials. This new design in curriculum was
created to move students from a literal, plot identified way of
reading, writing and thinking about texts to a more conceptual,
abstract and analytical way of instilling them. The assignments
challenge students to write and speak about ideas and values
rather than to merely report on “what happens next” in any given
text.
 One of the primary goals of constructing the new curriculum in this
way was to emphasize that revision is not editing and that invention
is valued.
 Hence, the committee created materials that invite students to
engage in a dialogue with the text, each other, and even
themselves. The scaffolded writing assignments gently nudge
students beyond providing summary and endless discussion of
minor details, prompting them, instead, to engage textual messages
and inferences.

5. Sample Assignments and Tools:
 Assignments and tools created were done so with
the curriculum in mind. Scoring rubrics for writing
were created that placed value and focus on a
meaningful response to the assignment and
demonstrating engagement with the assignment.
Also, significance was given to the number of
drafts a student submitted.
 Overall, assignments were viewed as more than
just their own sum total, they were regarded as
vital parts of the whole. With this thinking in mind,
assignments were scanned across the curriculum
to ensure bridges were created where there were
once gaps; this was done to aid in a seamless
transition from level to level.

6. Conclusions and Future Work
 While there are no simple and immediate conclusions to this project., the
hopes were that we could increase our retention rates and increase the
number of students that we pass into college level English courses.
 Lastly, comparing and contrasting the Student Learning Objectives between
the different levels of our remedial English courses, the committee worked
to ensure that the objectives linked one course to the next. And, just as
importantly, that these links, or connections were clear to the student's as
well.
 The results of this committees work was the creation of the following
Student Learning Outcomes for our second level remedial English course:
 Upon completion of this course the student, using the writing process, will
be able to:
• Construct a thesis statement in an organized introductory paragraph
• Support a topic sentence accurately and effectively in a five paragraph
detailed body using Standard English and appropriate transition words
• End the essay with a concluding paragraph
• Apply the use of a rhetorical method for varied styles of writing

7. Questions:
Thank you.
This presentation is available on SlideShare.Net
at
http://www.slideshare.net/KellyPatrickBender/syll
abus-revision-njedge-conference
Or you may email me at: kbender@pccc.edu