English 108: Freshman Composition I: Stretch I
English 108: Freshman Composition I: Stretch I
Rhetoric and Composition
Common Course ID: ENGL 100
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait
Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in an English course for undergraduate students by Nancy Armstrong, M.A., at California State University, Dominguez Hills. The open textbook provides an overview of higher order and lower order tasks essential to the composing process. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to offer affordable and accessible materials to students. Most students accessed the open textbook as PDF's on their electronic devices.
Reviews: The book has been reviewed by a faculty member of CCC, one from CSU, and one from UC of the California higher education systems. There is also an Accessibility Evaluation.
About the Textbook
Description: This book was designed for use as a textbook in first-year college composition programs, written as a practical guide for students struggling to bring their writing up to the level expected of them by their professors and instructors. The open textbook provides an overview of higher order and lower order tasks essential to the composition process. The book offers clear organization and many helpful "External Links" that allow the students to expand and deepen their inquiry. There are especially strong contributions dedicated to drafting, reviewing and revising.
Authors:
- Wiki Book with multiple authors.
Formats:
The book is available for free online, by PDF, and as a printable version.
Supplemental resources:
The book also has a Teacher's Handbook that includes advice on teaching as well as Assignment Sheet Database, Handout Database, and Lesson Plan Database.
Peer reviews:
The book has been reviewed by a faculty member of CCC, one from CSU, and one from UC of the California higher education systems. There is also an Accessibility Evaluation.
Cost savings:
I previously used Touchstones by Chris Juzwiak which retails for $82. Since I teach about 300 students each year, the equivalent cost savings is $24,600.
License:
Rhetoric and Composition is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. This means you are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
About the Course
ENG 108: Freshman 
Composition I: Stretch 1
Description:
Basic Writing Skills emphasizing exposition and textual analysis. First part of two-term sequence.
This class is designed for those who would benefit from a slower pace–having two semesters instead of just one to meet the first-semester freshman composition objectives. This is a cohorted, two-semester class.
Prerequisites: A grade of CR in ENG 088 (or its equivalent), or an EPT score from 141-146, inclusive.
GE credit: 3 units
Learning outcomes:
Students will:
- Plan and order paragraphs to form a coherent composition
- Follow the standards of writing mechanics by using appropriate marks of punctuation to convey meaning;
- Follow the standards of English usage of verb forms, pronouns and referents, subject and verb agreement, and correct spelling
- Compose complete sentences that adequately convey a complete idea
- Employ a variety of sentences in which the structure matches the writer’s purpose
- Organize and order sentences into effective and coherent paragraphs.
Curricular changes:
This text was chosen as part of a whole-scale course redesign that blended open source materials with the High Impact Practices of Collaborative Assignments and Projects and Diversity/Global Learning and the fundamental principles of Team-Based Learning.
Teaching and learning impacts:
Collaborate more with other faculty: No
Use wider range of teaching materials: No
Student learning improved: Yes
Student retention improved: Unsure
Any unexpected results: No
Since the students had the textbook at their fingertips (via their personal electronic devices), I could more easily move them in and out of the book and keep the class focused on a given lesson. With traditional hardcover books, it is very likely that a few students occasionally may not have their books on hand for class. As such, the open access textbook allowed me to access more learning opportunities and foster greater depth with the students than I am able to accomplish with the limitations of traditional hardcover books.
Sample assignment and syllabus:
Sample Assignment
This is a literature analysis assignment I used for the class.
Syllabus
This is the syllabus I used for Fall 2015.
Textbook Adoption
OER Adoption Process
My main motivation for adopting the open textbook was to save students money while exploring better opportunities to customize materials for my students.
Lectures, films, and presentations were carefully chosen for their ability to demonstrate differing world views and belief systems. Discussions were designed to provide students with avenues to examine their own beliefs, challenge their assumptions, foster new understandings, and make connections.
Student access:
At the start of the semester, the students were provided the link for the textbook and asked to download it on their given devices. As the semester progressed, the students were asked to call up the material, either at-home (homework, research, etc.) or in-class (class activities, group projects, etc.).
Student feedback or participation:
The students reported a high degree of satisfaction with this textbook choice. They were pleased to not have a book fee and they were impressed with the user-friendliness of being able to easily access their materials on their personal devices.
During class lectures, I regularly checked in with the students regarding their experiences with the book (both user-friendliness and overall content) and found them to be very appreciative of their access to the PDF.
Nancy M. Armstrong, M.A.
I am an English and Anthropology Instructor at CSU, Dominguez Hills. I teach Developmental Reading, Basic Writing Workshop, Freshman Composition-Stretch I & II, Freshman Composition I & II, Advanced Composition, Historical and Cultural Perspectives of Disability Studies, and Language and Culture.
I am interested in and fascinated by the sheer variety of learning styles and cognitive processes that students frequently demonstrate. To this end, I attempt to layer every course with lectures, activities, projects, exams, etc. that target a variety of learning styles. Further, I endeavor constantly to achieve a learning environment that is reflective of my firm commitment to cultural pluralism and social justice for all.
My current research interests include scholarship centered on the field of Disability Studies synthesized with my involvement in the fields of English and Linguistics. Additionally, I have been engaging in research that explores the discourse systems of “digital natives.”