A Pedagogy of Preparation: Helping Underprepared Students Succeed in College-Level Coursework in Community Colleges

Innov High Educ. 2021;46(2):153-170. doi: 10.1007/s10755-020-09531-9. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Abstract

This paper presents an overall educational philosophy of working with students underprepared for college-level work, which we term "a pedagogy of preparation." We consider how instructors scaffolded instruction to foster college readiness in students who were now able to enroll in college-level work regardless of academic preparation after state-level legislation (SB 1720) that dramatically altered the delivery of developmental education in the Florida College System (FCS). We also consider how collaboration increased among campus personnel after the legislation to foster college readiness in students underprepared for college-level work.

Keywords: Collaboration; Community colleges; Developmental education; Instruction; Pedagogy; Scaffolding.