Progress 07/01/07 to 06/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: A three-semester, content-based English for agriculture majors curriculum was created (144 hours of instruction). This curriculum is appropriate for use with ESL agriculture students in any institution of higher education, specifically in Hispanic-serving Institutions. All materials for the three-semester curriculum are available for download on the project blog at http://usdaenglish.wordpress.com. A ten-hour teacher training seminar was developed and implemented. Educators from various settings (elementary, secondary, and post-secondary, public and private schools) and disciplines (English, math, science, social science) were trained about teaching ESL students, performing needs analysis, and developing their students' technological literacies. Materials used for the training seminar can be found at http://www.esltraining.wordpress.com. A computerized classroom was created. The 32 laptop computers locked in the laptop cart, the overhead projector mounted to the ceiling, the excellent sound system, and the electronic whiteboard created an environment where students are learning about not only agriculture and English, but also about technology. Research team members (including graduate and undergraduate students) presented at the following conferences: Puerto Rico TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages), 2007; National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), 2008; X Congreso Puertorriqueno de Investigacion en la Educacion, 2009; Western Puerto Rico TESOL Conference, 2009; TESOL Conference, 2010; NACTA/SERD poster presentation, 2010. The presentation to the board of directors of the College of Agricultural Sciences and to the faculty of agriculture have both been featured in the university paper "La Gaceta Colegial", Nov 2008 Year 9 Vol. 7 and September - October Year 9 Vol. 6 respectively. The project has also been featured on the homepage of the UPRM website, http://www.uprm.edu. In addition a website was created with the purpose of providing the outside community as well as participants of the program and professionals with general information such as staff, goals, purpose and progress of the program, http://academic.uprm.edu/usdaenglish. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Catherine M. Mazak (P.I.): Led weekly meetings through the project's duration, taught two of the three semesters of English for agriculture curriculum and co-taught the other semester, collaborated to develop three semesters of English for agriculture majors curriculum and materials. Supervised graduate and undergraduate researchers. Presented project results at professional conferences. Rosita L. Rivera (Co-P.I.): Participated in weekly meetings through the project's duration, co-taught one semester of English for agriculture majors curriculum, collaborated to develop three semesters of English for agriculture majors curriculum and materials. Presented project results at professional conferences. Sandra L. Soto and Zaira Arvelo (Graduate Research Assistants): Worked as a teaching assistant in the English for agriculture classrooms for three semesters, co-taught Pre-basic summer institute in 2009, collaborated to develop three semesters of English for agriculture majors curriculum and materials. Collected evaluation data on the classroom implementation. Presented project results at professional conferences. Kimberly Santiago (Undergraduate Research Assistant): Worked as a teaching assistant in the English for agriculture classrooms for three semesters, co-taught Pre-basic summer institute in 2009, collaborated to develop three semesters of English for agriculture majors curriculum and materials. Managed collected data. Roberto Esquilin (Undergraduate Research Assistant): Maintained computerized classroom and assisted with technology in the three semesters of the English for agriculture majors class. Managed collected data. Guillermo Ortiz-Colon, Assistant Professor of Animal Science (Non-formal collaborator): Advised P.I. on English for agriculture curriculum. Delivered guest lectures. Training and professional development: A ten-hour teacher training seminar was developed and implemented. Educators from various settings (elementary, secondary, and post-secondary, public and private schools) and disciplines (English, math, science, social science) were trained about teaching ESL students, performing needs analysis, and developing their students' technological literacies. Materials used for the training seminar can be found at http://www.esltraining.wordpress.com. Four graduate and one undergraduate teaching assistant were trained in ESL tutoring and gained professional experience by assisting during the Pre-Basic Institute. The undergraduate researcher was accepted into the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Master of Arts in English Education program beginning August 2009. Two of the graduate researchers have been accepted into Ph.D. programs in part because of the strength of their research skills and experience. TARGET AUDIENCES: 30 Hispanic agriculture majors received 144 hours of instruction. 37 Hispanic undergraduates received 45 hours of instruction. 20 Hispanic teachers received 10 hours of professional development. 22 Hispanic Undergraduates received stipends to participate in NRCS summer internships. More than 1400 Hispanic undergraduates every year benefit from the curricular change that was the major impact of this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The project had the budget to offer the pre-basic summer institute for two summers (instead of one as in the original proposal) and to fund additional agriculture students to take a similar summer institute in 2008, when the original summer institute section was full to capacity. The project failed to hold a one day symposium for interested parties from other institutions to report the results of the pilot and the discuss the implementation of a similar program in their home institutions. Instead, project researchers presented at conferences throughout Puerto Rico (in San Juan, Rio Piedras, and Mayaguez). In addition, we maintain the blogs and webpage active for anyone who wants to download and adapt materials created by the project.
Impacts
Thirty agricultural science freshman improved their English language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through an interdisciplinary and technology based approach to language learning during a three-semester pilot curriculum (three 3-credit courses, 144 hours of training total). The project had a retention rate of 80 percent, 6 percent better than the average retention rate of the College of Agriculture from 1997-2007, which is 74 percent. Four graduate and one undergraduate teaching assistant were trained in ESL tutoring and gained professional experience by assisting during the Pre-Basic Institute. The undergraduate researcher was accepted into the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Master of Arts in English Education program beginning August 2009. Two of the graduate researchers have been accepted into Ph.D. programs in part because of the strength of their research skills and experience. The Pre-basic Summer Institute was offered again in summer 2009. Sixteen out of twenty students passed (scored 65 percent or higher on the final exam), shortening their time to completion of their basic English requirement by one semester. 17 agriculture majors received tuition paid for participating in non-grant sections of Pre-Basic English in the summer. Twenty educators from various settings (elementary, secondary, and post-secondary, public and private schools) and disciplines (English, math, science, social science) were trained for 6 hours about teaching ESL students, performing needs analysis, and developing their students' technological literacies. 22 Undergraduate NRCS Summer Interns Received $1000 to help offset travel expenses to internship site. Empirical data gathered from this project has provided evidence and a justification for a permanent curricular change in the English department's required basic courses which is being proposed this year. The change allows students to choose discipline-related courses in English at the basic level, affecting approximately 1400 students each academic year. The project's work with the NRCS Summer Interns has facilitated contact between the P.I. and NRCS. This contact has led to the inclusion of NRCS interns in proposals for additional externally funded projects.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/01/08 to 06/30/09
Outputs
Thirty agricultural science freshman improved their English language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through an interdisciplinary and technology based approach to language learning during a three-semester pilot curriculum (three 3-credit courses, 144 hours of training total). After 55 hours of training, students were able to ask and respond to questions in pairs. The performance of 90 percent of the students was rated satisfactory (3 out of 5 in the Oral Proficiency Scoring Categories Scale (Brown, 2001.) All 30 students successfully presented research findings to the class. They gave a ten-minute presentation in their field of study (the results of a food preferences survey) after being provided with examples and instructions. Performance was considered satisfactory if they scored 2-3 based on Brown's (2001) Oral Presentation Checklist. Ninety-five percent of students were able to infer meaning from context; to identify and understand the main idea and supporting details of a text; to identify and understand different genres such as academic reading, job related readings, and personal readings; to interpret statistical graphics and tables and to provide a written description of the data. Students were asked to perform these tasks on in-class exams. Performance was considered satisfactory if students scored intermediate-advanced on the American Council for Teaching Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines for Reading. After 144 hours of training, 73 percent of students were able to listen to and understand a lecture and take notes based on this lecture. Performance was considered satisfactory if the students scored 20 to 30 on the Scoring System for Lecturing Notes (Brown, 2001). After 144 hours of training, 88 percent of students were able to write a thesis statement, to use appropriate details to support a thesis, and to summarize and critically respond to readings in different genres. Students were asked to perform these tasks on take-home writing assignments on an assigned topic. Performance was considered satisfactory if students scored intermediate-advanced on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines for Writing. A teacher training program which trained instructors to teach English to science and agriculture students was delivered. A six-hour workshop was delivered, with an optional extension of four hours. For the extension, participants observed the Pre-basic Intensive Program, wrote an observation report, and participated in a follow-up focus group. We had enough funds to offer the Pre-basic Summer Institute again in June 2009. Twenty agricultural science freshman improved their English language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through an interdisciplinary and technology based approach to language learning (55 hours of instruction). Challenges: The project failed to hold a one day symposium for interested parties from other institutions to report the results of the pilot and the discuss the implementation of a similar program in their home institutions. This objective will be met during this academic year, facilitated by the no cost extension of time granted. PRODUCTS: A three-semester, content-based English for agriculture majors curriculum. The essential goals and objectives of the English Basic Track curriculum remain the same in the new curriculum, with additional objectives added that pertain particularly to agricultural science majors and which respond to the needs indicated by the College of Agriculture in our meeting with all the agriculture department chairs (including delivering presentations in English, writing a scientific report, and more practice speaking). The new curriculum more fully integrates listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary, whereas the standard curriculum is weak in the areas of listening and speaking. This curriculum is appropriate for use with ESL agriculture students in any institution of higher education, specifically in Hispanic-serving Institutions. All materials for the three-semester curriculum are available for download on the project blog at http://usdaenglish.wordpress.com. OUTCOMES: Twenty-eight out of 30 students enrolled in the Fall Semester INGL 3101 Basic English for Agriculture class passed. The two students who did not pass dropped out of the university. The class average was 85 percent. Students scored an average of 83 percent on three partial exams that tested integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary. Students scored an average of 80 percent on the final exam that tested integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary. 26 of the 28 students eligible to enroll in the second semester of basic English did so. Of two students who did not enroll, one changed majors and the other dropped out of the university. Of the 26 students who enrolled in the Spring Semester INGL 3102 Basic English for Agriculture class, 23 passed. Of the three students who failed, one changed majors and one dropped out of the university. The class average was 82 percent. Students scored an average of 74 percent on three partial exams that tested integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary. Students scored an average of 84 percent on the final exam that tested integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary. The project had a retention rate of 80 percent, 6 percent better than the average retention rate of the College of Agriculture from 1997-2007, which is 74 percent. 23 students participated in a field trip activity to the Agricultural Experimental Station in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. They participated in 4 hours of training delivered by Agro. Carlos Flores about the role of the Experimental Station and current research projects, including a hands-on tour of the experimental station. A student from our project who learned how to create a blog during our program, created and is maintaining a blog for the Horticulture Student Group, http://aehort.wordpress.com. Sixteen out of twenty students passed (scored 65 percent or higher on the final exam) the Pre-basic Summer 2009 Institute, shortening their time to completion of their basic English requirement by one semester. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The P.I. delivered a presentation about the use of technology in the content-based classroom at the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) conference in San Antonio, TX in November 2008. The P.I. and Co-P.I. reported preliminary research findings at the "X Congreso Puertorriqueno de Investigacion en la Educacion" in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, in March 2009. The P.I., Co-P.I., and the undergraduate research assistant submitted an abstract to present at the international TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference to be held in Boston, March, 2010. The P.I. and Co-P.I. presented the curriculum developed with the grant funds at the Western Puerto Rico TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference in March 2009. All materials developed for the three-semester course sequence were published and are available for download at http://usdaenglish.wordpress.com. The P.I. and Co-P.I. submitted an article titled, "Eso Ahora Va a Ser Algo: Content, Language, Strategy, and Technology Learning in a University-level ESL Classroom" to the peer-reviewed journal, "Cuaderno de Investigacion en la Educacion." The article is currently under review. The research team was accepted to deliver a poster presentation at the NACTA/SERD conference in June 2010. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The research team has drafted an article reporting the results of the study. We plan to submit the article to a peer-reviewed journal for publication during this academic year. The P.I. and Co-P.I. were awarded a 2009 HSI/CSREES Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grant which will facilitate the continued tracking of the participants through their academic trajectory. The project, titled English for Academic and Career Success in Agriculture: A Needs-based Curriculum, will allow researchers to observe participants' English language use in their agriculture classes. It will also facilitate the collection of further data on retention of the participants and career placement after graduation.
Impacts
Thirty incoming agriculture majors passed Summer Pre-Basic Institute, putting them on-track to degree completion. Twenty-three first-year agriculture majors completed their first-year English requirement, putting them on-track to degree completion. Empirical data gathered from the project has provided evidence and a justification for a permanent curricular change in the English department's required basic courses that has been accepted by the department and is being proposed at the College of Arts and Sciences level. The change allows students to choose discipline-related courses in English at the basic level, affecting approximately 1400 students each academic year. The project's work with the NRCS Summer Interns has facilitated contact between the P.I. and NRCS. This contact has led to the inclusion of NRCS interns in a successful proposal for a 2009 HSI/CSREES Education Grant. Two graduate and two undergraduate research assistants were trained in qualitative research methods. As a result, one of the two undergraduate researchers has decided to pursue graduate study. That student was accepted in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez Master of Arts in English Education program beginning August 2009. Both of the graduate researchers have been accepted into Ph.D. programs in part because of the strength of their research skills and experience.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/01/07 to 06/30/08
Outputs
The following objectives were met: Thirty agricultural science freshman improved their English language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through an interdisciplinary and technology based approach to language learning during a three-semester pilot curriculum (three 3-credit courses, 144 hours of training total). After 144 hours of training, students were able to ask and respond to questions in pairs. The performance of 90% of the students was rated satisfactory ( they scored at least 3 out of 5 in the Oral Proficiency Scoring Categories Scale (Brown, 2001); the categories included in the scoring scale are: grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and pronunciation.) All 30 students successfully presented research findings to the class. They gave a ten-minute presentation in their field of study (the results of a food preferences survey) after being provided with examples and instructions. Performance was considered satisfactory if they scored 2-3 based on Brown's (2001) Oral Presentation Checklist. The categories that are part of this checklist are: content and delivery. 95% of students were able to infer meaning from context; to identify and understand the main idea and supporting details of a text; to identify and understand different genres such as academic reading, job related readings, and personal readings; to interpret statistical graphics and tables and to provide a written description of the data. Students were asked to perform these tasks on in-class exams. Performance was considered satisfactory if students scored intermediate-advanced on the American Council for Teaching Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines for Reading. All additional objectives listed in the beginning of the project will be met during the second year. Challenges: In the first year, we were not able to develop a week long teacher training program (20 hours of instruction) to provide instructors with the tools to address the issues that low proficiency level students experience as well as to train instructors to teach English to science and agriculture students. A six-hour workshop was delivered, with an optional extension of four hours. For the extension, participants observed the Pre-basic Intensive Program, wrote an observation report, and participated in a follow-up focus group. We had not anticipated such a great demand for the Pre-basic Summer Institute and found that we had to turn away approximately twenty students. To compensate, we used money that had been originally allocated for Research Assistants to pay the tuition of the 17 agriculture majors not accepted into the special program to take a parallel intensive course that was not designed specifically for agriculture majors. We had the additional funds because for the first semester of the project our research assistants worked only half-time because they had made other employment commitments by the time we hired them in September of 2007. Of the seventeen funded students, 13 passed and are on track to degree completion. PRODUCTS: The most visible product of the grant project is the computerized classroom. The 32 laptop computers locked in the laptop cart, the overhead projector mounted to the ceiling, the excellent sound system, and the electronic whiteboard create an environment where students are learning about not only agriculture and English, but also about technology. Students created PowerPoint presentations (some for the first time in their lives), learned how to make conceptual maps and tables in Microsoft Word, and mastered using the publically-available Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Instead of a course pack or textbook, students access online texts about agriculture and have the resource of the online dictionary at their fingertips. Students have created their own blogs and have learned to send email attachments (both were new skills for many students, as indicated in a student technology needs survey). An additional product is a new, content-based English for agriculture majors curriculum. The essential goals and objectives of the English Basic Track curriculum remain the same in the new curriculum, with additional objectives added that pertain particularly to science majors and which respond to the needs indicated by the College of Agriculture in our meeting with all the agriculture department chairs (including delivering presentations in English, writing a scientific report, and more practice speaking). The new curriculum more fully integrates listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary, whereas the standard curriculum is weak in the areas of listening and speaking. This curriculum is appropriate for use with ESL agriculture students in any institution of higher education, specifically in Hispanic-serving Institutions. A ten-hour teacher training seminar was developed and implemented. Educators from various settings (elementary, secondary, and post-secondary, public and private schools) and disciplines (English, math, science, social science) were trained about teaching ESL students, performing needs analysis, and developing their students' technological literacies. OUTCOMES: Thirty summer internship participants passed (scored 65% or higher on the final exam) the Pre-basic Summer Institute, shortening their time to completion of their basic English requirement by one semester. After participation in the Summer Institute, thirty agriculture freshman who could not pass into basic English improved their English skills enough to pass (scored 65% or higher on the final exam) into basic English. 99% of Summer Institute Participants reported that they improved their English in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Thirty agriculture students improved their presentation skills by creating PowerPoint presentations in English. Comparing pre- and post- surveys of their technology abilities, there was an increase in the number of students reporting that they had the following skills: create a presentation (10% increase), add text (10% increase), add graphics (37% increase), use transitions (27% increase), use appropriate fonts (10% increase), and correctly use colors (13% increase). Thirty agriculture students learned how to create and use blogs. Upon completion of the summer institute, all students reported that they knew what a blog was (an increase of 87% from pre- to post- survey data), that they had their own blog (an increase of 99%), that they had accessed a blog (an increase of 87%), and that they knew how to write in a blog (an increase of 99%). A presentation titled Assessing Speaking Skills after an Immersion Experience: A Study of Performance and Self-assessment was delivered at the Puerto Rican Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (PR TESOL) Conference in San Juan, in November 2007. Through this presentation, local English teaching community learned the results of our research with the NRCS Summer Interns. Based on this presentation, an article of the same title was submitted to a special issue on assessment of the peer-reviewed journal, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Quarterly. Though it was rejected, the we will revise and resubmit to another journal. The P.I. and Co-P.I. have been accepted to deliver a presentation about the use of technology in the content-based classroom at the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) conference in San Antonio, TX in November 2008. Twenty educators from various settings (elementary, secondary, and post-secondary, public and private schools) and disciplines (English, math, science, social science) were trained for 6 hours about teaching ESL students, performing needs analysis, and developing their students' technological literacies. 17 agriculture majors received tuition paid for participating in non-grant sections of Pre-Basic English in the summer. 22 Undergraduate NRCS Summer Interns Received $1000 to help offset travel expenses to internship site. Four graduate and one undergraduate teaching assistant were trained in ESL tutoring and gained professional experience by assisting during the Pre-Basic Institute. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: A presentation titled Assessing Speaking Skills after an Immersion Experience: A Study of Performance and Self-assessment was delivered at the Puerto Rican Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (PR TESOL) Conference in San Juan, in November 2007. Through this presentation, local English teaching community learned the results of our research with the NRCS Summer Interns. Based on this presentation, an article of the same title was submitted to a special issue on assessment of the peer-reviewed journal, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Quarterly. Though it was rejected, the we will revise and resubmit to another journal by December 2008. The P.I. and Co-P.I. have been accepted to deliver a presentation about the use of technology in the content-based classroom at the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) conference in San Antonio, TX in November 2008. The Project has led way to the creation of two blogs: one based on the course that was offered in summer, which includes materials, presentations, questions and writing, http://usdaenglish.wordpress.com and the other for participants of the teacher training program http://www.esltraining.wordpress.com. The presentation to the board of directors of the College of Agricultural Sciences and to the faculty of agriculture have both been featured in the university paper "La Gaceta Colegial", Nov 2008 Year 9 Vol. 7 and September - October Year 9 Vol. 6 respectively. The project has also been featured on the homepage of the UPRM website, http://www.uprm.edu. In addition a website was created with the purpose of providing the outside community as well as participants of the program and professionals with general information such as staff, goals, purpose and progress of the program, http://academic.uprm.edu/usdaenglish. FUTURE INITIATIVES: Plans are currently underway to offer the Pre-basic Summer Institute with the Fall 2009 class of incoming agriculture majors. The same technology-enhanced, content-based curriculum will be used. Students will be required to pay a minimal tuition of $125 in order to make the program self-sufficient. This program will be self-sufficient (will not require external nor university funds). So much data has been generated as a result of this project that the authors are planning to write a book about content-based instruction, as well as submitting academic articles based on project findings. The success of the project has led to an application for a follow-up project, also through the USDA/CSREES HSI Grant Program. The project, entitled "English for Academic and Career Success in Agriculture: A Needs-based Curriculum," builds on the work completed in the current project.
Impacts
30 incoming agriculture majors passed Summer Pre-Basic Institute, putting them on-track to degree completion. Empirical data gathered from the project has provided evidence and a justification for a permanent curricular change in the English department's required basic courses which is being proposed this year. The change allows students to choose discipline-related courses in English at the basic level, affecting approximately 1400 students each academic year. The project's work with the NRCS Summer Interns has facilitated contact between the P.I. and NRCS. This contact has led to the inclusion of NRCS interns in proposals for additional externally funded projects. Two graduate and two undergraduate research assistants were trained in qualitative research methods. As a result, one of the two undergraduate researchers has decided to pursue graduate study. Both of the graduate researchers have been accepted Ph.D. programs in part because of the strength of their research skills and experience.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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