Inspiring Collaborations: NOVA Faculty Partner with Ac. Affairs to Support Students in Math and English

Great things happen when departments come together toward a common goal. Today, we share two updates on programs focused on supporting students’ preparation for English and Math. These initiatives are only possible due to the great efforts of our teaching faculty working in partnership with deans and Academic Affairs.

Ramp Up for Math:
NOVA has developed “Ramp Up for Math,” free summer workshops by NOVA math faculty to help students prepare for their upcoming math course. First offered in the summer of 2021 in response to the coming direct enrollment changes, they have been offered each summer since. These free workshops focused on the fundamental prerequisite skills students need to be successful. Four different workshops have been offered: Ramp Up for MTH-154 (Quantitative Reasoning), Ramp Up for Precalculus, Ramp Up for Statistics and Ramp Up for Calculus. Students who participated in the workshops were more successful in their fall math course, when compared to all students in the same math course. In addition, students made a vital connection to math support staff and other students, they may have experienced decreased anxiety associated with taking a college-level math course, and they felt more prepared for their fall math course. For more information, please contact Dean Alison Thimblin (AThimblin@nvcc.edu) for more Ramp Up for Math workshops.

Writing Ourselves In:
“QEP-Writing Ourselves In” is a comprehensive college-wide program of professional development for faculty teaching ENG-111. It centers on three high-impact, equity-based teaching practices: Transparent Assignment Design (TAD), Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) and Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Used together, these three high-impact practices lead to authentic assessment and improved student outcomes. Preliminary data shows that “Writing Ourselves In” is already working. Students who have completed “Writing Ourselves In” successfully complete stand-alone ENG-111 by 68%. ENG-111 was chosen as the focus course for the first three years of “Writing Ourselves In.” The professional development opportunities have been made available to faculty in other disciplines. CST, ESL and ITE faculty have recently participated. For more information, please contact Professor Indigo Eriksen (IEriksen@nvcc.edu).

Submitted by:
Eun-Woo Chang, VP of Academic Affairs/CAO, EChang@nvcc.edu