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ANALYSIS REPORT: COLLEGE COMPOSTION I RESEARCH UNIT LESSONS

by
Megan M. Heiman
M.F.A. Spalding University, 2008






Analysis Report Assignment
Submitted to Dr. Yun Jeong Park
of
St. Cloud State University
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for IM 634 Instructional Design II



St. Cloud, Minnesota
February, 2014









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Introduction
All students who enroll in a degree program at Vermilion Community College are
required to take ENGL 1511, a college-level freshman writing class. Learning outcomes
for the course are determined by the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC), a
collective effort by thirty-one Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (referred to as
the MnSCU system) to help students transfer their work in general education courses.
One of the learning outcomes for the course is Goal 1, Communication: Students will be
able to locate, evaluate, and synthesize in a responsible manner material from diverse
sources and points of view.
To demonstrate achievement of this learning outcome, ENGL 1511 students at
Vermilion are required to write an essay analyzing two or more essays taking different
positions on an issue. Their purpose is to analyze the essays to understand their authors
main points of agreement and disagreement, summarize the authors viewpoints
including how the authors support their viewpoints, and use MLA style format to cite
their sources.
This report analyzes the learners, contexts, needs, and tasks that will guide the
instructional designer on this project.
Learner Analysis
Target audience
The target audience for this instruction is adult students enrolled in a freshman-level
college composition class; the majority of students are traditional college-aged freshmen
(ages 18-19) from the Midwest. Learners are of both genders; seventy percent are male;
thirty percent are female. English is their primary language. Because ENGL 1511 is a
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required course and few students who take the course are majoring in English, motivation
to learn the material in the course tends to be low as is evident in their responses to
Reflection papers, which were the cross-sectional surveys used to assess muddy points,
learner attitudes, and learner characteristics for this analysis. Motivation dips even further
during the research unit. The research unit also tends to be cause anxiety in the majority
of students, most who have limited or no experience with writing a research-based essay.
The majority of students are not yet proficient at a college reading level. About
one-fifth of the students in ENGL 1511 are taking the course for the second (or third)
time. Approximately thirty percent of the students are first generation college students
and/or low income or underserved. Typically the timing of instruction is half way through
the course at a point when learners have established relationships with their peers and
instructor.
Because of their background, education, and maturity level, the target audience
for this instruction will be learners dependent on the instructor for guidance and feedback
who would benefit from learner-centered, self-paced tutorials to be viewed outside the
classroom to allow for more interaction with the instructor during classroom time;
therefore, a flipped teaching method will be employed for these three lessons.
Prerequisites and/or recommended entry skills/knowledge
Accuplacer placement as a college-ready writer or successful completion (grade
C) of English 92.
Learners using this instruction will have experience using Microsoft Word; they
will have knowledge how to navigate the course management system Desire2Learn
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(D2L) to access learning materials. They may not have experience accessing Vermilion
librarys online databases.

Context Analysis
Needs assessment
Needs assessment was conducted by surveying members of the target audience
using a Reflection paper as the tool at the end of the unit. (See Figure 1.)
ENGL 1511
Unit 4 Reflection

Now that you have read and discussed several common ground essays and written one of your
own, take some time to think critically and write about what you have learned. To think
critically means to use all of your new genre knowledgeacquired from the information in
this unit, your own writing, the writing of other students, and class lecturesto reflect deeply
on your work for this assignment.

Critical thinking is sustained by analysisa thoughtful, patient survey of all of the materials
you have read and produced during your work in this chapter. The benefit is proven and
important: You will remember longer what you have learned, ensuring that you will be able to
put it to good use well beyond this writing course.

Reflect what you have learned in writing your common ground essay. Choose among the
following prompts and activities that seem most productive for you. Write a 500-word essay
response.

Discuss what you learned about yourself as a writer and a student in the process of
writing this essay. What part of the process did you find most challenging? Explain
how some of the activities such as learning how to explore VCCs online databases,
using an annotation chart/creating an outline, writing a draft, using MLA style format,
and managing your time as you worked on your common ground essay.

If you were to give advice to a friend who was going to write a common ground essay
in this course, what would you say?

If you were to give to advice to your instructor about this unit, what would you say?

Discuss your experience writing about a topic without expressing your own opinion;
discuss the challenges you may have experienced writing a fair and impartial analysis
of a controversial topic.
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Figure 1


Summary of learner responses to the Reflection paper prompts:

Research/Using
Online
Database
Outline/
Annotations
Chart
MLA
Style
Format
Writing
w/out
Expressing
Opinion
Time
Management
% of students
who reported
difficulty with
the task
33% 15% 79% 68% 73%

An informal survey of learner needs by the instructor also indicates a need for self-paced
activities since students experiences with research vary widely. The instructor, who also
serves as the SME and designer on this project, will design supplementary materials.
Description of the learning environment
The learning context for this instruction is Vermilion Community College, a small
residential community college in northeastern Minnesota. Vermilion serves a total of
about 700 students 600 on campus and the rest online or at other sites. Its student body
is made up of about 68 % male and 32 % female, with most of our students attending full
time. The majority of Vermilions students are from the Midwest, yet Vermilion has
international students as well. Vermilion faculty, staff, and administrators are passionate
about the their mission to educate people from all walks of life to become well-rounded,
ethical citizens prepared to work, live, and learn in a changing world, especially the
natural world that surrounds us (Vermilion Community College, 2014).
Vermilion is one of thirty-one state college and universities that make up the
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Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system.
Vermilion students have access to computers in three computer labs; in addition,
students living on campus have access to a computer provided by the college in their
dorm rooms. The class size for this instruction is capped at twenty-seven. Learners are
accustomed to being passive learners and have limited experience with group work.
The instructor who will be using these instructional materials is also the
instructional designer for the project. The instructional materials may also be used by
other English faculty for both on-site and online classes made available through the
Desire2Learn (D2L) course management system. The expertise and skills (technology
skills) required for the instructors to use this design for their lessons in the future is
minimal. Instructors need simply basic knowledge of D2L including skills in uploading
and retrieving documents from the system.
Task Analysis
Research
Objective: Given access to VCC librarys online databases, ENGL 1511 students will
explore a controversial topic of their interest and choose four potential articles that
represent diverse viewpoints on the topic
Note: All videos will be access via D2L content or Weebly site. Test Your
Understanding Survey/Quiz will be available via D2L Quiz tool or Weebly Survey
option.
1. Access and view Access VCC Librarys Online Databases video (3:38)
2. Take 3-question Test Your Understanding via Survey (Weebly) or Quiz (D2L).
3. Access and view Introduction to EBSCOhost video (6:25).
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4. Take 3-question Test Your Understanding via Survey (Weebly) or Quiz (D2L).
5. Access and view EBSCOhost Basic Search (2:25).
6. Take 3-question Test Your Understanding Survey (Weebly) or Quiz (D2L).
7. Access and view Points of View Reference Center video (3:13).
8. Access and view Reading an Article on EBSCOhost video (2:43).
9. Choose four articles that seem like good fits for research paper, using the checklist
questions as a guide: Is the topic of the article controversial? Am I interested in the topic?
Do I like the article? (Is the writing engaging? Is the writers position interesting?) Do I
understand the writers position and the points he or she uses to support his or her
position? (Yes replies indicate good choice.)
10. Use the Lesson 1 Checklist (D2L and Weebly) before moving on to Lesson 2.
11. Send instructor an email (via Contact Weebly, or Classlist D2L) with comments,
if necessary, to let him or her know your progress.
Annotated Bibliography
Objective: Given four articles that represent diverse viewpoints on a controversial topic
of their choosing, an online lesson on "The Process of Writing an Annotated
Bibliography," two examples of annotated bibliographies, and an annotated bibliography
grading rubric, ENGL 1511 students will write an annotated bibliography with four
references meeting the ten criteria of the grading rubric
1. Access and view Annotated Bibliography video (2:23).
2. Access and view The Process of Writing an Annotated Bibliography videos:
a. Part 1 Choosing an Article (5:15)
b. Part 2 Reading and Annotating (7:35)
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c. Part 3 Pulling Information (14:55)
d. Part 4 Writing a Draft (22:35)
3. Study examples of annotated bibliographies (via Weebly and D2L Content).
4. Note six components of an annotated bibliography in each example.
5. Review the grading rubric for Annotated Bibliography assignment.
6. Initial each criterion on the rubric as completed in annotated bibliography.
7. Ask instructor to review annotated bibliography draft and use initial beside each
criterion on rubric.
8. Complete Lesson 2 Checklist.
9. Send instructor an email (via Contact Weebly, or Classlist D2L) with comments, if
necessary, to let him or her know your progress.
Annotations Chart
Given two articles that represent diverse viewpoints on a controversial topic of their
choosing, an online lesson on "Analyzing and Annotating an Article," an Annotations
Chart, and an example of a well-completed annotations chart, ENGL 1511 students will
complete an Annotations Chart meeting 13 of 15 criteria of the grading rubric.
1. Access and view Analyzing and Annotating an Article video.
2. Study an example of an annotations chart, successfully completed.
3. Download an Annotations Chart handout for assignment (Weebly or D2L Content).
4. Fill in Annotations Chart using information from two articles.
5. Review Annotations Chart rubric before sharing Annotations Chart assignment with
instructor.
6. Send instructor an email (via Contact Weebly, or Classlist D2L) to confirm
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readiness to review annotations chart before beginning essay.

References
Smith, P.L. & Ragan, T. J. (2005). Instructional design. New York: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Vermilion Community College. (2014). Student handbook. Retrieved from
http://www.vcc.edu/student-services/current-students/student-handbook/
















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Appendix A
(Title of article) (Title of article)


Who wrote it?

What are the authors
credentials?




In what paragraph does the
author introduce the
topic/issue?





What is the authors
position?




What
sentence(s)/paragraph #(s)
states that position?


What evidence does the
writer use to support his
position? (reference
sentences/paragraph #s)




Does the writer refute
opposing positions? If so,
how? Where? (paragraph
#)






Identify statistics/facts that
the author uses to support
his position.





Who is the authors
audience?




Is this topic important?
Where does the writer
stress its importance?