Holly McGowan-Romero

Reflection:

The design process went well for me when I was thinking about active learning in general and
what promotes student engagement. This first assignment gave me the opportunity to really
think about the learners in my course and the characteristics that make them unique. I felt that
it was beneficial to really consider and write down the needs of learners in my courses.

I appreciated the concrete ideas for use in my class. In interacting with a small group to create a
project in my own class, I was able to see how I might be able to utilize a similar strategy for my
own class. The exposure to new technologies was also helpful. For example, Flipgrid was not
something I have used prior to this class, but I think that I could easily include a discussion with
it in my courses and that my students would love it.

The most difficult assignment for me was the last assignment on active learning strategies,
partly because I wasn’t sure if I was designing one activity or a full course. Ultimately, I went
with one major change that I think would significantly impact the whole of the course by having
student groups taking over a major element of the class (the writing process) and focusing on
peer to peer learning for that aspect.

I plan to start with adding some of these elements into my existing courses and building in
more ideas as both the students and I become more familiar with options in the online learning
environment.

Describe the course as completely as possible

This course is an English Composition and Rhetoric course designed for first year
undergraduate students. The course focus is the study and practice of writing processes
through phases of invention, research, drafting, revising, and editing. The course includes
emphasis on rhetorical choices in relation to audience, purpose, and style, as well as
concerns of research source documentation. Upon successful completion of the course,
students will demonstrate knowledge of individual writing processes, develop ideas with
appropriate support and attribution, and write in a style appropriate to audience and
purpose.

When given an academic essay prompt, students who have completed Composition and
Rhetoric I will be able to select a writing style and format appropriate to the intended
audience and purpose and complete an essay with sufficient research and support that
Holly McGowan-Romero

includes attribution and documentation.

Learner Analysis: Who are your targeted learners?

The learners entering this English Composition and Rhetoric course are largely first-time in
college students of widely varying ages (high school to senior citizen). They are not familiar with
the collegiate environment and may need help learning “how to be in college.” Their entry
behaviors may include a lack of awareness of the importance of time management and firmness
of due dates. These behaviors influence the design of the course by making it advisable to
incorporate flexibility, sufficient support, and safety nets into the course design.

Learners will generally have some prior knowledge and experience with writing; however, it
may be insufficient or outdated. Attitudes toward the course can be negative. It is a required
course for most degrees, and many students see it as a class they must take rather than a class
they want to take. Many also have a fear of writing or already believe that they are not good
writers.

Most learners are excited about the course being offered online and want to take the course via
that delivery method. There will be some learners who are nervous about taking online courses,
and this may be their first course taken online. Learners are more motived by active learning.
Future usefulness of the course information is highly important to most students taking this
course. Learners flourish when they know the objectives and have a measure of control in the
course.

In this course, learners have very diverse education and ability levels. Some learners may be high
school students taking a college class, while others will be experienced professionals returning to
begin a degree. Some students hold degrees from other countries or are working on writing in
English as a second language. Most of the learners in this class prefer to learn visually. Learners
generally have positive attitudes toward other class members and enjoy working in groups.

While the group will be very diverse in age, experience, and preparation, they largely value the
usefulness of the course in a future professional setting. Many of the learners are the first to go to
college in their families and finances and future earnings are of utmost importance. The group
will include twenty-five students.

Data used for this information comes from personal experience and impressions of teaching this
course for a specific community college. The implications for design are that the
instructor/designer should expect the course content and delivery method to be relatively new to
students. Futhermore, it should be expected that the collegiate academic environment may be
unfamiliar as well. The course design should be introductory.

Describe the targeted learning environment

This course will be delivered as a fully online course. It is an existing course that is the first in a
series of two required English Composition and Rhetoric courses. This course is offered in both a
Holly McGowan-Romero

sixteen week and eight week format. For the purposes of this plan, I am focusing on the eight-
week course. For most students, it is part of their common core requirements. There are no
potential barriers to the development of the course, but there may be potential technological
barriers for some students in taking the course, which could create implementation concerns.
Online course development is well supported, and resources are provided in terms of technology
and technical support from the college, including trainings in blackboard and professional
development courses in best practices for online teaching.

One Best
Example of Drawback/
Reason for Communicating Strategy for This Explanation of Why This
Communication Limitations of Implementing
Communication With: Course and This Strategy Would Work
for Your Course this Strategy
Audience

1. Information I need to share One person Email This is direct communication It may not be timely depending
the course of information. The student is on student’s attention to
assignment list likely to see it. checking email frequently.
and due dates
with the class. Small group Post to the small This method shares The students may not be familiar
group boards in information efficiently within a with how to access their small
Blackboard small group and provides group information early in the
ability to return to it course if they do not have much
frequently. experience with online classes.

Class Post as a main This method shares the Since it is not personal or direct,
content area in the information with all students, the student may not open it and
course LMS. and students always have the review the information.
information in the course
shell.

World/someone Information is This allows anyone It may be overlooked in the

not enrolled in linked to the online considering enrolling in the online course schedule or
the course course registration course the ability to preview potential students may not
schedule. the basic course setup. realize that they can open it.

4. Answers to I need to clarify a One person Email Email is a quick way to The student may not be able to
simple questions point of answer questions that an follow the written explanation if
about the course confusion individual student may have. they have more questions come
or assignments regarding an up while reading the provided
essay. answer.
assignment.
Small group Discussion Board Students can post questions Students will have to specifically
FAQs to the discussion to be go into this discussion to see
answered by the instructor questions and answers. They
while also allowing others may not realize the answer to
with the same question to their question is there.
follow along or comment.

Class Post as a main Posting an overview of Students may not have

content area in the common simple questions encountered these questions
course LMS and answers for the whole yet, which could result in
class can provide clarity early confusion when reading the
in the course content. document.
Holly McGowan-Romero

5. Answers to I need to provide One person Blackboard Video chat can offer real time The student may not know how
complex an in-depth Collaborate Chat questions and answer period to use Collaborate. The
questions about explanation to an for the student. instructor and student must be
the course or assignment that available at the same time.
assignments students are
having trouble Small group Microsoft Teams Small group chat can allow Time constraints—the small
understanding. questions and answers in real group members and instructor
time from several students. must be available at the same
time.

Class YouTube A YouTube video can be Not conversational—it does not

viewed at any time and can provide the opportunity for real
be embedded in the course time questions and answers.
LMS.

6. Discussion I need to discuss One person Journal Journaling about the Asynchronous—Requires the
about content of the first essay assignment allows one on student to return to the journal to
the course assignment one with the instructor to review feedback.
requirements. check for any confusion on
assignment.

Small group Student Allows students to help Unmonitored discussion could

Discussion Board explain the assignment lead to incorrect explanations.
requirements to one another.

Class Class LMS content Provides same assignment May be missed by some
area requirements to whole class. students if no additional methods
are used.

World/someone N/A N/A N/A

not enrolled in
the course

9. Provide I need to provide One person Course LMS Individual and specific Several “clicks” into course.
feedback to feedback and gradebook feedback to the student’s Students may not realize the
students about comments on paper is provided. feedback is there or how to
their progress in the first essay access it.
the course assignment.
Small group Small Group Wiki Allows small group to all see Requires students to check back
in LMS the same feedback for a to the Wiki frequently.
group writing assignment as
well as add comments or
questions for further
explanation.

Class Course LMS Can provide an overview of Not as helpful for writing
Announcement general strengths and assignments as specific
weaknesses for the whole feedback.
class.

Short description of your course and learners for your peer reviewers:
This course is an online freshman English Composition credit course that is focused on the
writing process through invention, drafting, review, and revision. Upon successful completion of
the course, students will demonstrate knowledge of individual writing processes, develop ideas
with appropriate support and attribution, and write in a style appropriate to audience and
purpose.
The course is currently offered with Blackboard as the LMS. Students are generally first time in
college students in wide range of ages (high school to senior citizen). Learners will generally
have some prior knowledge and experience with writing; however, it may be insufficient or
outdated. Learners will take the course exclusively online and expect to complete all elements of
the course online. Learners are community college students who may live far from campus. They
do not generally access the on-campus facilities; they have access to their own computers and
internet access but should not be expected to have access to additional technology.
Holly McGowan-Romero

Directions for this assignment:

1. Review the materials in Module 2 by reading the provided reading materials and viewing
the videos.
2. Watch Chad’s video about this assignment and, if you don’t know what a lesson cycle is,
please watch that video as well.
3. Complete this template. List four ways that you could respect diversity and support
creativity and innovation in the lesson cycle for your specific course. Please cite at least
two sources you used for the ideas in your chart.
______________________________________________________________________________

Section 1. Instructional Strategy for the Module Introduction

 Describe the strategy that you will use in introducing your module (e.g., activating prior
knowledge, pre-assessment, engaging the learner).
Learners are asked to participate in a discussion where they share personal experience with
reading or writing. They are given some starting questions:
1. What childhood experience do you remember related to learning to read or write?
2. Did any special person help you to develop your reading or writing skills?
3. What challenges have your faced in reading or writing?
4. Is there a specific book or other piece of writing that influenced your attitude toward
reading and writing?
Learners are then asked to write a brief discussion post focused on one of these questions and
to respond to two other students.
 What is the academic outcome for this strategy? (What is the goal for student learning?)
The goal is for students to examine their attitudes toward writing and to have the opportunity
to begin engaging in writing early in the course by sharing a personal experience.
 Why would this strategy work?
Learners are more open to writing when they can write narratively, and this experience eases
their introduction into a writing course. Additionally, this assignment allows for the inclusion
of diverse experiences with literacy.
 What are potential problems with using this strategy and how would you solve these
problems?
Students may not feel comfortable sharing an experience with people that they have never
met, and they may not want to participate in the discussion. I could shift the discussion from
whole class to small groups to ease anxieties and allow for more personal connection.

Section 2. Instructional Strategy for Presenting the content of a module

 Describe the strategy that you will use to present the content of your module.
I will use an accessible video embedded in the lesson module explaining what a literacy
narrative is and what an essay based on a literacy narrative includes. The video would list the
Holly McGowan-Romero

key features of a literacy narrative. A print version of this information would also be
available, as would example literacy narrative essays. The example literacy narrative essays
would include selections from many different experiences including negative experiences
with literacy development.
 What is the academic outcome for this strategy? (What is the goal for student learning?)
The goal is for students to be able to explain the key features of a literacy narrative essay.
 Why would this strategy work?
This strategy provides students with both the opportunity to view and read the information,
allowing for different learning styles. It would also allow for students to hear and read
examples of literacy narratives. The examples would be inclusive of different types of
experiences.
 What are potential problems with using this strategy and how would you solve these
problems?
Students may have technical difficulty playing the video. I will make sure the video plays in
Blackboard without any outside technology needed and enlist help from instructional
technology to ensure that this can be accomplished.

Section 3. Instructional Strategy to facilitate students in working with/practicing

the skills in/engaging with the content in a module
 Describe the strategy that you will use to facilitate your students in working with/practicing
the skills in/engaging with the content in the module.
Learners will complete an outline template for the essay before moving on to a rough draft.
Rough drafts will include a thesis, three topic sentences, and one fully developed body
paragraph at a minimum. Rough drafts will be randomly assigned for peer review by another
student. Peer Review will include a series of ten preset questions that are the same for each
reviewer.
 What is the academic outcome for this strategy? (What is the goal for student learning?)
The goal is for students to practice parts of the process of writing and to apply the features
specific to literacy narratives in this writing.
 Why would this strategy work?
This strategy allows learners to practice writing in a low stakes assignments. The assignment
is formative rather than summative, and writers are scored only on completion. It encourages
students to focus on the content of their writing and provides peer interaction. Students are
also exposed to different narratives by reading a peer’s experience.
 What are potential problems with using this strategy and how would you solve these
problems?
As the assignment is not the final essay grade, learners may not fully engage with completing
the outline and rough draft. Learners may try to complete the final graded essay without first
completing these formative assignments. I will address this by requiring completion of the
outline and rough draft before accepting submission of the final essay assignment.
Holly McGowan-Romero

Section 4. Instructional Strategy for assessing students’ knowledge in a module

 Describe the strategy that you will use for assessing students’ knowledge in your module.
Students will complete a final draft of their literacy narrative essay for submission to the
instructor. The final essay will be scored using the same rubric for the whole class. The
rubric will include points for exploration of content/critical thinking, as well as the
mechanics, organization, and clarity of the writing.
 What is the academic outcome for this strategy? (What is the goal for student learning?)
The goal is for students to effectively apply to the process of invention, drafting, revising,
and editing to a literacy narrative style essay.
 Why would this strategy work?
This strategy would work because students have had the benefit of going through a process
of development, feedback, and revision to produce a final essay draft. Learners in a
composition course expect the course to be writing intensive and completing the essay offers
a sense of accomplishment.
 What are potential problems with using this strategy and how would you solve these
problems?
Writing is subjective, and students may focus on the emotion of their writing and lose sight
of the technical requirements. I will address this by making the rubric and grading criteria
clear prior to the assignment submission.

Bibliography:
Please cite at least two sources you used for the ideas in your chart. Use APA formatting.

Bullock, R., Goggin, M., & Weinberg, F. (2013). The Norton field guide to writing, with

handbook (5th ed.). W.W. Norton.

Griffin, J., & Minter, D. (2013). The Rise of the Online Writing Classroom: Reflecting on the

Material Conditions of College Composition Teaching. College Composition and

Communication,65(1), 140-161. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/43490811

Yu-Chu Yeh. (2010). Analyzing Online Behaviors, Roles, and Learning Communities via Online

Discussions. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 13(1), 140-151. Retrieved

June 16, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.13.1.140

Holly McGowan-Romero

Design Description
1. Course Name: English Composition and Rhetoric I

2. Course level (undergraduate, graduate, professional development, etc.):

Undergraduate, first-year

3. Briefly describe the course, the context, and the learners.

This course is an English Composition and Rhetoric course designed for first year
undergraduate students. The eight-week course focus is the study and practice of
writing processes through phases of invention, research, drafting, revising, and editing.
The course includes emphasis on rhetorical choices in relation to audience, purpose, and
style, as well as concerns of research source documentation. Upon successful
completion of the course, students will demonstrate knowledge of individual writing
processes, develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution, and write in a style
appropriate to audience and purpose. This course will be delivered as a fully online
course. It is an existing course that is the first in a series of two required English
Composition and Rhetoric courses.

The audience (Learners):

Are undergraduate community college students
Are likely to be first time in college students
Have access to a personal computer
Have access to Blackboard
Have a basic understanding of online course access
Are familiar with email communication

4. Describe at least THREE key learning objectives of the course. In other words, by the end
of the course what are three skills that the learners be able to perform?

Upon successful completion of the course, students will demonstrate knowledge of

individual writing processes, develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution,
and write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose.

5. Describe ONE way you can design your online course to incorporate ACTIVE LEARNING
strategies into the class. When describing the strategy, think about what you will do as
the course instructor and what you expect the students will do in the course.
Holly McGowan-Romero

When discussing the writing process, I will redesign the course to incorporate
cooperative learning with small groups to prepare demonstrations on elements of the
writing process. I will list the elements of the writing process that will become group
topics. Student may join the group for the topic of their choosing. Small groups will work
together to research and discuss their part of the writing process (i.e. generating ideas,
outlining, revision, documentation, etc.), and then prepare a ten minute demonstration
for the class explaining how to complete that part of the writing process.

6. Describe ONE learning outcome that will be enhanced or improved through the course
design.

Student will gain a better understanding of individual writing processes, including

documentation, by breaking those processes down with their group members and
learning from their peers’ demonstrations.

7. Describe ONE course assessments (e.g. assignments, exams, projects, problem sets, etc.)
as a result of the course design.

I will assess understanding of writing processes by using a puzzle style assignment and
rough draft essays. Hints in the puzzle will come from small group demonstrations.
Students will need to view and use all of the group demonstrations in order to
complete the puzzle. Learners will then submit the puzzle assignment with their own
written explanations of how these processes will apply in the rough draft of their essay.

8. Describe ONE way that the impact on student learning will be measured. Please
elaborate on the specific measurement.

The impact on student learning will be measured with a survey on student satisfaction. I
will include a voluntary survey at the end of the course with questions specific to active
learning strategies. I will ask students to draw comparisons between the strategies used
in the course and more “traditional” strategies they have experienced. Students will
then be asked if they felt they learned more or less using the active learning strategies.