We invited a group of members from across our network to gather in person for our 2022 Learning Network Convening (LNC). Attendees heard from educators, researchers and technical assistance providers about their experiences and work in the field. We shared SStF’s successes to date with a report from our evaluator, and brainstormed together about how to advance the work in the field.
Dr. Laura Rendón addressed developmental education reform’s promising results, along with mixed findings about their efficacy, especially for racially minoritized students and students with low incomes. Inspiring a way forward in our work, she addressed gaps in reform practices, offering ways to understand and transform cultural narratives that have worked against equity and justice, as well as methods to support the challenges faced by first-generation students and students with low incomes.
Download PresentationParticipants attended one of four sessions designed to dive more deeply into different topics.
Momentum and SustainabilityFacilitators: Mike Leach and Aisha Lowe
Subject: How two early SStF Scaling Sites — California Community Colleges and Arkansas Department of Higher Education — have created momentum and maintained sustainable developmental education reform.
Facilitators: Rebecca Hartzler and Maxine Roberts
Subject: Eight equity principles that can be applied to developmental education reform; how to apply one or more of the principles to system-level reform efforts; and the challenges that can arise when addressing racial and socioeconomic equity.
Racial Equity and Developmental Education ReformFacilitators: Elena Quiroz-Livanis and Tara Parker
Subject: The history of developmental education; the effects of race-neutral policymaking; the promise of equity-minded reform; and the role of developmental education in improving, or worsening, institutional and state outcomes for racially minoritized students.
Showcasing of Sites: Core Principles in Action – A Culmination BriefFacilitators: Sharmila Mann and Emily Warren
Subject: The successes and challenges of the site-based work, including trends across 13 Strong Start to Finish sites; key lessons from our work; and considerations for state, system and institutional leaders seeking to engage in similar efforts.
Speakers: Jessica Brathwaite and Bruce Vandal
This presentation captured valuable lessons and insights that can inform state and system efforts to design, implement and scale developmental education reforms. During this session, participants had the opportunity to learn key findings; further understand how the successes and challenges of this work might impact reforms through a broader lens; and engage in conversation about implementation efforts.
Read the EvaluationParticipants had the opportunity to attend two breakout sessions to learn from a range of experts in different areas of developmental education reform.
Applying Research to Practice: Improving Equity Through Corequisite SupportFacilitators: Andrea Burridge, Susana Hernández and Amy E. Harris Tan
Subject: Findings from a multi-year, mixed-methods research study of the corequisite model at Houston Community College (HCC), one of the nation’s largest and most racially/ethnically diverse community college systems.
Broader Campus Supports: Success and Equity Through Quality InstructionFacilitators: Bacari Brown and Jonathan Gyurko
Subject: The holistic transformation necessary to engage faculty in developmental education reform and how to use the SStF toolkit to lead change in states and systems.
Improving College Success for Students in Corequisite ReadingFacilitator: Florence Xiaotao Ran
Subject: Findings of a study that examined outcomes of students who were placed into corequisite reading, and how delivery structures were associated with student outcomes.
Learning Mindsets Matter: Implications for Developmental Education Reform Models and EquityFacilitator: Yoi Tibbetts
Subject: Recent findings that highlight the connection between students’ learning mindsets and their environment, with implications for critical academic outcomes (e.g., grades, persistence).
Seeing Is Believing: Activities to Visualize and Understand Student Success and Dev Ed ReformFacilitator: Brandon Protas
Subject: This session focused on the types of activities that participants could use during professional development sessions at their sites when making the case for student success and developmental education reform/corequisite support.
Our bank of resources includes a number of valuable reports and toolkits developed by members of the Strong Start to Finish network, many of whom presented at the 2022 Learning Network Convening. These resources take a deep dive into developmental education reform and corequisite supports. In addition, we share links to articles that address racial equity in theory and practice. We hope you take some time to explore these resources.
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