Rockland Community College’s Developmental Model Reform Initiative through the Implementation of a Digital Companion Course: Creating Reflective Practioners and Engaged Students

Abstract

ePortfolio, a tested educational technology shown to increase student reflection skills and motivation, will be used to enhance a model of developmental course reform for increased student completion and achievement. There is a need for proven models to increase student retention and completion, especially for those students who test into remedial courses. The ePortfolio platform in conjunction with an accelerated course model for under-prepared students (those students testing at remedial levels) will help new develop a model of instruction geared towards teacher effectiveness and positive student completion and achievement outcomes. A pilot of the project was implemented in the Fall 2013 semester with 40 students with expansion planned for the Spring 2014 for further testing and complete roll out in the Fall 2014 with model development and potential SUNY wide replication.

RCC’s approach of an accelerated course with digital tool companion course is aligned with identified best practices for remedial education reform in that additional academic support should be integrated with gateway college-level course content. There is no known research on the impacts of utilizing digital tools such as ePortfolio in an accelerated learning environment for under-prepared students. RCC is confident that the inclusion of ePortfolios within an accelerated writing course will yield increase student learning as indicated by preliminary results from the pilot conducted this year with RCC students.

With initial positive results from our Fall 2013 pilot, we are seeking to expand the pilot to other area community colleges looking to reform their approach to developmental studies. RCC is submitting a proposal to the SUNY IITG to scale up and replicate the approach.