The past 10 years have seen a major shift in English and English as a Second Language (ESL) placement and pedagogy in California's Community Colleges (CCC), driven by a developmental education reform movement known as acceleration. Popularized by the faculty-led California Acceleration Project (CAP), the acceleration movement focused on reducing…

Instructors expect students to read before class to engage them in using higher-order thinking skills that are critical to performing in group work and engaging in discussions. As many instructors are aware, however, for various reasons many students don't read the assigned textbook. In this study, science news articles were used as prereadings to…

Research indicates that there has been a decline in college reading over the past decades, yet few studies have been conducted at community colleges. The aim of this exploratory study was to gain a broad view of what reading across the curriculum looks like at one urban community college from the perspectives of students and faculty. A survey was…

Across disciplines, faculty members face a common challenge of finding methods to get their students to complete assigned course readings. It becomes an even larger task to develop strategies whereby students are also engaging in deep reading that promotes critical thinking. Reading positively impacts students on a number of variables, and when…

If teachers are to be informed, aware actors in today's labyrinthine policy environment, they need to be knowledgeable about the issues and interests that so extensively impact their work lives. One skill needed to construct such a knowledge base is the ability to read strategically. This article is an account of an attempt to make learning…

This research tested and evaluated how one method--Competency Points (CPs)--increased student success by enhancing engagement and motivation in community college English composition students. In 2005 I introduced Competency Points in my English Composition 1 classes, and began tracking how engaged and motivated students were to succeed as revealed…

Explores the advantages of using whole books in teaching basic English courses at Bergen Community College rather than workbooks and readers, using examples from student journals to illustrate students' reactions to their reading. Argues that longer works provide a context for critical thinking and reading exercises and a familiarity of character…

This article reports the results of a factorial experiment that investigated the reactions of male and female students to a hypothetical English course offered at the community college level. The participants (N=136) consisted of students enrolled in English 101 courses at four community colleges in a southeastern state. The independent variables…

Describes the rationale for implementing a book club or a book discussion in college developmental reading classes in order to offer both the instructor and the students a chance to interact with the text and peers. Gives instructions on how one can implement a book club including details about the entire process. (Contains 18 references and 2…

This article is an exploration of how the new early American cultural history can be employed in the first half of the standard American history survey. The author discovered that the New Cultural History can be an outstanding tool by which to introduce a highly culturally diverse student population to the multiracial, multicultural, and…

Argues that each basic skills course taught at the City University of New York should incorporate complete historical texts. Lists conditions that would increase students' volume of reading, including the sharing of information with faculty, students, and the community. Urges community college presidents and faculty to take action on citywide…

Describes a study in which one group of community college students expected to be questioned orally and at random in class about a reading assignment, whereas another group expected to volunteer answers. The students expecting questions read more pages and had higher quiz scores. Discusses lack of preparation for lecture classes. (DMM)