45 Appendix C

Observation #2

Time: 11:00 AM, Date: 3/7/12 Setting: Conference room in the Academic Transfer office, Southeast Community College. (Same location as observation #1.) Near one spot on the table sit a black Pearson canvas bag, a Diet Pepsi, a coffee cup, and a Blackberry. In the middle are a big bag of pretzels and a Save the Date: SCC Adjunct Dinner flyer. A student, Randy (pseudonym), walks in. He is male, mid-forties, white, dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. He is followed by the teacher, midthirties, white female; and another student, Kelly (pseudonym), a white woman in her early twenties, also dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. When the class begins, there is only the teacher and two students. Randy: What happened to our class? Its just me and her? What happened to our buddy? I dont know why youd get this far and not finish. Teacher (to me): Today was our final assessment. Only five showed up. Randy: I aint gonna lie to you. I was here at 8:15. I wanted to try as hard as I could. I missed math class. Im about way throughone of those self-help classes. When I go to welding class, I might take another class. They want $15 to take it again. If I have to take another class, I will. The students begin reflecting on why so many students have stopped coming to class. The class is Language Skills, the first level of developmental writing at Southeast Community College. The class meets in the classroom once a week and in the conference room in smaller groups once a week. The small group is typically four students. Today is the last day of their small-group sessions. The teacher informed me that today is showcase day, the day the students read their best work.

The teacher is equally disturbed about the lack of students finishing the course. The student is discussing his end of the quarter struggles. He is not likely going to finish his math class, but he doesnt want to pay $15 to re-take the Compass test and test into the next level, which could potentially save him money in the long run. He says it would be better to just take another math class.

46 Teacher: Do you know what you want to read? Randy: The last one. Teacher: I want you to think about why you want to read it. Why would you want to showcase? Randy: When you ask me that, Im not so sure the other one was at the beginning of the classlots of mistakes. Teacher: You want to go with the final one. Kelly, do you know which one you want to read? Randy: Maybe I will read something else. I have a feeling this is one of your traps. Teacher: You can read another one. No traps. Randy: Actually, I have so many great stories I can tell her about Bonnie and Clydeor my uncle in World War II. Kelly: Can we read one were working on? Teacher: Consider why you want to read it. I dont know what it is that makes you want to shareprocess, what you learned,-Kelly: Can it be like one of our reflections? Teacher: Anything you want. Can we make copies so we all see? Randy: Why dont we read the one about Bonnie and Clyde? I had trouble typing. Put a typewriter in front, and well be here all day. Wheres the other girl at? Kelly: I dont know. She only came to one of them. Were going to get points deducted if we dont show. The student decides on an essay, but brings up an issue he has had with the class: typing. He also refers back to the missing students. The student now admits his fear that he might be choosing the wrong essay. The teacher reassures him. The teacher changes the subject, beginning the official purpose of the class, which is to share essays. The teacher wants the student to think about why he has chosen the essaynot to just read a random assignment. The student is suspicious of the teachers intentions. He is trying to choose the right essay.

The student shows concern for the relationship between attendance and grade. She conforms to the requirements.

47 Randy: They never show up. Marvin (pseudonym) is usually here. Maybe he had better things to do. Maybe he won the lottery. Kelly: The one Im going to read is the one that you said was perfect. Teacher: Read it out loud, then talk about it, why you liked it, what it says about your writing. Kelly: (Reads) Teacher: Why did this make the cut? Kelly: I put a lot of what I learned the semester, and put it in here. Teacher: Your use of supporting examples is really strong here. You give the names of the journal entriesFrankfurt, Kentucky, Its very clear what you learned. Randy: It sounded very nice, better than what I could do. Teacher: Strengths? Randy: She uses a lot of examples. I dont see any run-ons. (Randy coughs) Teacher: Do you need water? The one thing Id point out is your example is not a run-on. Your comma and is finebut nice edityou found a way to make it stronger. (Kelly laughs) Teacher: What clicked for you? What made it clearer for you? Kelly: When Randy asked the questionmost of my other reflections didnt give examples. The teacher shows concern for the student and then compliments and corrects the other student at the same time. The student was actually incorrect in her statement, but the teacher finds a way to make it a positive example. The student refers to language used in the class: run-ons The teacher guides the student into discussing what she learned from the essay. Continued concern for missing students. The student jokes.

The student chooses an essay that has met with prior approval of the teacher. The teacher gives directions about the process.

The teacher gives positive feedback.

The student gives positive feedback, while putting his own work down.

The student credits the other student for his help.

48 Randy: If you told me to write em, I would have wrote em. Seriously, I would have wrote em. I aint here for my health. I didnt even think about it. Teacher: So if I said, written reflection, that would have made sense. Randy: When I looked at the box and saw reflection, I looked at it and thought about it, put it all together instead of off to the side. What the hell is she talking about? I wont take your class again, so it dont matter. Kelly: When you have a journal, give an example of the essay. Randy: Got my chance. Teacher: Anything else you want to say? Is this just a hoop to jump through or will it be useful for another class? Kelly: Early childhood ed. Randy: Youre probably going to do a lot of writing, so youll really benefit, me, I dont see benefit. Im not going to set on an i-beam wanting to write a story. Theyd ask, What the hells wrong with him? Teacher: You harassed me every step of the way. Randy: End of the season, it burst my bubble to tell me I had to type everything again. Tell me, what is the reason everything has to be typed? Teacher: Most classes require you to type workits an academic environment. Randy: It aint what he told me down there. Teacher: For welding, but you still need to take other gen ed courses. The student sees the purpose of the class for other students, but he is still amused that he, someone who wants to be a welder, needs to write stories. The teacher is referring to the class as a whole. She is eliciting feedback. The student has missed a major part of the course, the writing of reflections. He didnt understand he was supposed to write a reflectionhe just thought he could reflect in his mind.

The student is slightly upset that he misunderstood the requirement, but he is still looking ahead to a time when he doesnt have to worry about requirements like this.

The teacher jokes with the student. Use of the word season shows unfamiliarity with academic life and language. The student is still questioning the typing requirement. The teacher answers straightforwardly.

The student doesnt believe he will have to type in any other class, and he doesnt believe he will have to take other classes besides welding.

49 Randy: Just protocol. I thought it was just because some peoples handwriting is so bad. I understand that in a lot of fields you probably have to type. Teacher: I dont know your field, but how do you think you might use this reflection skill? I imagine you have to do something like that in early ed. Kelly: We have to do philosophy papers. I could use commas in a series. Teacher: How about your use of examples? Randy: Id have to look at that, I havent even started yet. Teacher: (to Kelly, after she gives her the paper) Thanks, Ill use this as an example for future students. This is a former students reflection. Alright, tell us about Bonnie and Clyde. Randy: (Readsthis is an excerptClyde and Bonnie are bunnies) Then our mother got up to let Clyde out of his cage for a while. My dad yelled at her not to let him out but it was to late. Clyde hit the ground running right for Bonny and started to have sexual intercourse with her. After he finished, he ran off. Apparently, he liked it so much he went back for seconds. After a third time of this horrifying act, Clyde ran about twenty feet and died from the heat. Everyone laughs. Teacher: What was so horrifying about it? Randy: When we were it kids, it was like, what the hells going on around here? Teacher: Why this one? The teacher gets back to the main question of the session. The teacher questions the term horrifying protocollanguage of business

The teacher admits she doesnt know about welding, but tries to apply the skills learned in the class outside of class.

The student is using language learned in the class about commas.

The student is not necessarily understanding what the teacher is asking. The teacher compliments the student by saying she will use the paper in the future.

50 Randy: It brings back memories. Then we ended up with so many we didnt know what to do with them. My dad had to butcher them Assignments were really tough. I congratulate you on your teaching. Before this class Id write it down on a piece of paper, a conglomerate of crap. I never had to write anything down. Teacher: Its important to connect. If youre writing about a story, you can connect. You brought a lot of humor to everything you wrote. Randy: (to Kelly) I know what youre going to say. Kelly: Its good! You showed what Bonnie and Clyde looked like, you went into good details with eyes, ears, nose. Teacher: Good job with transitions. How did he organize it? Kelly: By time, once, in the evening, Teacher: What would you add? Randy: I probably could have added more aftereffects. Teacher: If we say who cares? whats the answer? What does it say about humans, childhood, family? Randy: I could have told a worse one. Teacher: But you chose this one. Randy: Clyde was quite a hustler. He did a lot of terrible things. He got sick one time. Teacher: You obviously have fond memories. Randy: I have a sister whos 73 years old, old enough to be your mother, I dont know how old you are. Kelly: 29. The story reminds the student of other memories. The student still questions the teachers motives. He wonders if the topic was good enough. The teacher wants him to focus on the one they are discussing now. The student tells more of the story. Then he compliments the teacher. He gives his own impression of his writing before the class.

The teacher tries to show him what he can do well. The student doesnt really listen to her, but is worried about what the other student will say. The student works to use language of the class: details

The teacher elicits more details from the student. The student responds with more details.

51 Teacher: I shall not divulge. Randy: My dads 93, blind, cant see nothing. He still lives at home. Everyone stops to check on him. I probably could of did a lot better on these papers. Man, I should have did more work. Teacher: Where would you change? Randy: I probably would have went into more memories. If you say it has to be 230-300 words, I see that dealy on the computer, and I kept thinking about the numbers, and its not really about the numbers. Teacher: Thats the most beautiful thing Ive heard you say. Randy: Its about getting into the story. It matters that you give your best effort. I understand you have to put a number. They might write a couple paragraphs. Its a good thing to have 250-300 on the paper so we know. Teacher: It doesnt necessarily mean---like, you could have stopped before the example, and you could have stopped right after the bunny description. Randy: I would have made it longer if I had more time. Teacher: You have the whole autobiography in your head. Randy: The only trouble I had was the one about the fruit. I ran out of things to say. What did you write about (to Kelly)? Kelly: An apple. The student tries to put himself in the best light. The student mentions one concern with the assignmentsword countand one technical issue that holds him back, the word count on the computer. Even though the teacher is likely younger than the student, she acts as if she must be too old to say her age. The student continues his memories, but again worries that he could have worked harder in the class.

Compliments student.

The student discusses the real purpose of the writing, but also compliments the teacher for helping guide the writing.

The teacher compliments students story-telling ability. The students discuss a previous assignment that they both found difficult.

52 Randy: I wrote about an asparagus. I would have written about 25 words about an apple sweet, has a core Teacher: That was a good one. Randy: Theyre really hard to grow. Kelly: Mine was two paragraphs. Teacher: How about the wild card journals? Kelly: It kind of gave us a break from writing about what you wanted us to say. If we wanted to say something about the class or personal life. Teacher: What did you thinkhave you grown as writers? Randy: Mine was all thrown together. I have learned something, you know what is hard about it? Change. Everything is set. You know in the Big Bang Theory, that guy has his seatone person is in his seat, and it throws his world off. A lot of people like that. Teacher: Rarely in this course is a student who is not new to college. Randy: In my math class, a guy in a wheel chair, taking the class three times. I said, Thats tough, it mustve been a long time. The he says he just out of school but he says it aint nothing like school. In school, if you come, you can probably pass the class. I dont think people know what theyre getting into. I been too technical. Teacher: Learn by doing. Randy: But in a class like yours, its all you. Youre not losing sleep over Marvin being gone. Teacher: Youd be surprised. The student mentions one difference between high school and collegecollege teachers often dont care whether or not the students come. The teacher asserts that she does care. The student compares going back to school to a scene from a TV show. He illustrates how hard it is for people to change. The teacher asks about another assignment. The student says what was positive about the assignment.

The student gives an example of another student who is struggling, who says that college is very different from high school. In high school, anyone who came to class would pass.

53 Randy: Its like Trading Places, Duke and Duke, you get paid either way. If I show up or not, you get paid. I dont understand why youd sign up Kelly: As students, its our responsibility to show upinstead of failing a class you paid for. Randy: Like my math class, Im failing, but Im still showing up. Its like going to work. I had a boss who said if you dont come, you need to call. Id call and say, My dogs in jail, Im not coming in today. I dont know. I guess Im raised different. Me, I got pell grants. Kelly: Im on financial aid. I got my son. Teacher: If you figure it out, tell me. Randy: To me, it dont make no sense. Im sitting here. If I dont pass, I dont pass. If thats the way it is. I thought Marvin was doing well. Kelly: He was doing good the first few weeks, then he disappeared with the rest of the class. Randy: At least make the effort. Teacher: These are the questions I struggle with. Randy: To me, I wonder why theyd waste all the time and then not come at the end. Kelly: I missed one classmy son had strep. Teacher: Next week Randy: Yeah, what do you want us to do for next week? Teacher: Look at the study guide I gave you, look at the quizzes. What did you struggle with? If you have As and Bs except fragments, then focus on fragments. The student shows her responsibility. The teacher reigns in the discussion to discuss practical matters. The student compares school life to work life. Even though he is showing irresponsibility for making up an excuse not to come to work, he is showing responsibility for calling. The student gives another comparison, illustrating that the teacher gets paid no matter what. He is still concerned about missing students.

The student shows the importance for her to come to college. The teacher shows that its not an easy problem to fix. The students wonder about a group classmate. They dont understand why he has stopped coming.

54 Randy: I didnt do good on anything. Id a done better without everything else going on dealing with police. Thats the other thing you got to deal witha lot of different classes. Some say three different things, that aint nothing. Next semester, all welding, all in welding class, that dont matter. Teacher: Thats good for you to know. Some people like variety. Randy: I think I screwed up. I never been a fulltime student. It was the welding instructor who threw me into all these classes. Teacher: After the exam, well go through the essays you turned in today, talk about your future classes. Kelly: How much is our portfolio worth? Teacher: 25%--but youve earned part of that grade already. The student points out other difficulties hes faced this quarter. He has been overwhelmed with personal issues and trying to keep three very different classes straight.

The teacher puts a positive spin on this.

The student blames his advisor, to some extent.

The teacher brings the discussion back to classroom issues. The student is concerned with practical matters as well.

55 Randy: So weve already gotthe essays already graded. Teacher: Grading is based on the rubric. Randy: What else do you need from me today? Im here. I know I was one short. I ran out of time. I need to go to that freezer160 below anything for money. The student wants to know what else to do before going back to work.

56 Teacher: (points at cookies) Eat cookies. Randy: My brotherd eat emyou know those Hershey bars, yay big, hed eat it over 2 days. Students look at the clock and leave. No one takes any cookies. The teacher has brought cookies in a friendly last-day-of group gesture. The student jokes about someone else who might take advantage of such treats, but he doesnt take any cookies.

57 Reflections: The students and teacher had a friendly relationship by this point in the quarter. The students, especially Randy, were comfortable joking with her and straying off the topic of the class. Randy expressed many worries. When deciding on an essay to share, he worried about choosing the right topic, even though the teacher repeatedly told him it was his choicejust that he needed a reason for the choice. He was worried that he was not likely going to pass math (he had already dropped reading) and that he might not even pass the writing class. Still, he thought it important to come to class and participate. Both students wondered about why so many other students did not finish the class. The class started with 16, but ended with 5. Their small group, which started with 4, ended with 2. One student had come to every session but the last two. Another had only come to one or two. Kelly expressed attitudes of a committed student. She had only missed one class because of a sick son. Throughout the session, she remained focused on the topic at hand, except when they were all discussing why students drop out of school. When responding to questions, Kelly answered using the terms learned in the course, such as specific details and commas. When choosing an essay to share, she chose the one that her teacher had said was perfect. Randy, though, took a questioning stance through much of the session. He questioned the objectives of sharing the writing, the necessity to rewrite essays already written, the necessity of typing, and the requirement that he had to take a writing class in the first place. At the same time, he remained respectful of the instructor, complimenting her on her teaching. In the end, he knew what was expected of him. He was upset that he hadnt done as well as he could have. Part of him still wanted to tell a good story, and he did want to go beyond just getting enough words. The teacher remained respectful of the students throughout, guiding them to stay focused, but also letting the conversation stray naturally at times. She clearly wanted to hear what they thought about the missing students, and she wanted feedback about the specific assignments. At the same time, there were often moments that were disconnected. The students often did not understand what she was asking, but they tried to respond appropriately. The session gives a picture of two very different types of students, but both persisted in the course until the end. What they had in common was that both students had a specific degree goal. Kelly wanted to be an early childhood teacher. Randy wanted to be a welder. Neither was unsure of his/her goal. Though Kelly was older than 18 and had a child, she still was young enough to display student behaviors. She waited until asked questions before responding, and most of the time, she was focused on the goals of the class. Randy, who has spent many years working in hands-on jobs, has had a more difficult time with the transition to college. Issues with police and the transition to college itself made it difficult for him to concentrate on his schoolwork. He was also very concerned about doing the right thing in the class,

58 but he was often overwhelmed by requirements that seemed foreign to him. For a student not far from high school age, a reflection might have an obvious meaning. For someone working outside for the past 25 years, reflection might be a mysterious word. Kelly, in asking about the worth of the portfolio, had enough background to understand how grades were calculated. Randy, however, did not have a clear sense of his grade or how it might be calculated. He had attended class throughout the quarter and had completed assignments, but in the end, he did not know whether or not he was passing the course. He seemed to think it was something the instructor decided that he had little control over. In repeating that he could have done better, he admitted his own role in the process, but he didnt understand how grades were calculated or how each assignment counted.