Co-ordinators:

• Rob Ostrom, rostrom@citytech.cuny.edu
• Rebecca Mazumdar, rmazumdar@citytech.cuny.edu
• Carrie Hall, chall@citytech.cuny.edu

Sign up for workshops using this Google Form 

THE PROBLEM:

As we all know, last semester was extremely difficult. There was unprecedented attrition CUNY-wide (and nation-wide!)  City Tech is now a part of a state grant to improve retention. We are offering workshops to all faculty to help improve retention and engagement.

Statement from Provost Pamela Brown about the grant and these workshops:

English Composition plays such a critical role in the education of our students. It is the only course required of every single student at the college. It is typically taken in the first semester of college, when students are likely to have the most self-doubt about their ability to succeed as college students and the need to “ramp up” to the rigors of college are the greatest. The reading, writing, listening and learning skills mastered in this course advantage students in all of their courses and beyond. Your role in our students’ education is so important!

Your commitment to learning and utilizing “Utility Value Interventions” – writing exercises in which students explore their values and goals and how these can help them overcome obstacles to graduation – and assess outcomes, are sure to have an impact on your students’ futures, as will a greater appreciation of the value of reading and strategies to increase comprehension and retain knowledge.

THE (INITIAL) PLAN:

We’ll be holding workshops to help foster community and improve retention in our classrooms. We would like as many full and part-time faculty as possible to sign up for these workshops. They will involve about 2.5 hours of online discussion and reading followed by a 1.5 zoom meeting. Adjuncts will be paid 4 hours at their non-teaching rate for completing the workshop.

A major component of the workshops is an in-class writing exercise in which students reflect upon the obstacles they may face in college and how they might overcome these obstacles. This exercise will be followed up by an in-class discussion of resources available to students.

We will also be using the workshops to talk with and learn from each other to help solve some of the problems we’ve been facing with attendance and engagement.

GETTING STARTED:

• Please sign up using this google form. When you do so, you will be given two additional links:
• Info for Perusall, an online reading site. (see below). All asynchronous work will take place here.
• You will also be given a link and time for a 1.5 hour zoom meeting. Choose the time that’s most convenient for you.

ASYNCHRONOUS SESSIONS:

All participants will take part in an online forum, which includes readings, videos and responses. This will take place on Perusall, an online reading site. Once you’re signed up for the retention workshop, you’ll get info about how to enroll in Perusall (it’s free and easy!) You can start the asynchronous portion of the workshop just as soon as you sign up!  For details on signing into Perusall and the asynch session assignments, click here.

SYNCHRONOUS SESSIONS:

The zoom sessions are meant to be a time for us to discuss the in-class writing exercise, but mostly for us to learn from one another–  What didn’t work well for you last semester? What are you hoping to try going forward? What are your colleagues already doing in the classroom that’s increasing attendance and engagement?  You can find more details on the synchronous sessions here

PROMOTING RETENTION THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER:

Anyone who does the retention workshops should ask their students to do the beginning-of-term writing exercise*. This isn’t meant to assess student or professor in any way, but to get some idea of what students feel might obstruct their learning and how we might help them overcome these obstacles. What follows is a tentative schedule of other suggested activities to improve retention throughout the semester. These are not required, but are strongly encouraged. We will discuss all of these activities in the retention workshops.

• Week 1-2 show ” City Tech Tips for College Success”   
• Week 2-3 in-class writing and follow-up discussion (Utility-Value Intervention). Required*
• Week 4-5 (approx) in-class conferences  
• Week 7-8 mid-semester check-in 
• Week 9-10 mid-semester (UVI) reflection 
• End-of-term final reflection, which asks students to consider obstacles they have faced and how they have dealt with them.

Please see this page on utility-value interventions you can use throughout the semester

FURTHER WORKSHOPS:

The Office of First Year Writing will also be holding a number of paid workshops this semester relating to issues of retention.  These will include workshops on trauma-informed pedagogy, teaching digital composition, and checking in with students mid-semester about their mental and academic health.