Hold on tight!

Hold on tight!

Tone:  I want to convey a sense of urgency while still sounding encouraging and helpful

Purpose: Persuade students to carefully consider their time availability to do well

Audience: Students who have registered for an eight-week accelerated hybrid ENG102 course.  I’ll also use similar information for next semester for ENG101.

Context: I was talking with Jackie Wietzke about the mortality rate in my ENG101 eight-week accelerated hybrid.  Students didn’t realize how much writing they would be doing in a short amount of time, and about half withdrew in the first week.  We were brainstorming the “if only they knew” ideas that might help them think about whether this class is a fit for them at this time.

Good morning,  You’re registered for ENG102, and I look forward to seeing you in just a few weeks.  You’ve successfully passed ENG101, and I know you want to do well in ENG102.  

Do you know that you’ve signed up for a hybrid?  I don’t want there to be any surprises. 

Here are some tips to help you prepare to be successful in our eight-week accelerated hybrid course format:

  • Review your work and personal schedule to ensure that you can attend ALL classes.  Students who miss class don’t catch up easily.
  • Identify thirty minutes a day EVERY DAY that you’ll be able to access Canvas and Google docs to read instructions, get feedback, and make a plan for your workload.
  • Be sure that you’re comfortable with the Notifications, Calendar, and other aspects of Canvas that help you stay organized.
  • Identify two hours FOUR TIMES a week that you’ll be able to work on rough drafts.
  • Identify thirty minutes a day FIVE TIMES a week that you’ll be able to work on short assignments.
  • You’re writing a research paper, and most students need an hour EVERY DAY to keep up gathering information.
  • Identify two hours EACH WEEK that you’ll be able to revise and edit your final papers.  These are worth 50% of your grade.

To learn more, consider visiting one of my accelerated classes sometime in the next few weeks.  We meet in HT2 157 from 12:00 – 3:15 p.m. You can talk to current GCC students who have figured out their own time management strategies for success.  

Many students decide not to do an eight-week format because they don’t realize how intense the writing requirements can be.  If that’s you, please withdraw ASAP as I currently have a waiting list of students who want to attend.

 

2 thoughts on “Hold on tight!”

  1. I’m fascinated by this approach, Lori. It’s a great idea and I would really love to hear how it works out. I am particularly curious as to whether you get any feedback from the students you send this to, and I’m burningly curious to see if anyone actually visits an active accelerated class to see what it’s about and get advice from other students who’ve stayed enrolled. As great as I think that invitation is, I’m wondering if there is a way to make it easier for a student to follow up. I imagine myself as a student receiving this invitation and I think, if I were still pretty new to college or to GCC, I might be too intimidated to just walk in and interrupt a class in progress. My mind is churning on what might make this feel more do-able. Let me know if you want to kick this around together sometime. Or of course, just ask your students – they’ll probably know!

     
  2. Thanks, Cheryl. This was actually crafted with input from Jackie and current ENG students. I’ll let you know how the process goes! Talk to you soon!

     

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