PLATO & Basic Skills

Prior to the Title V grant, a comprehensive institutional analysis conducted at Midland College identified that an overwhelming majority of students who were exempt from the TASP/THEA test were beginning their college career without being assessed for basic skills prior to enrollment. The majority of these students were coming to college severely deficient in basic skills.

To address these shortcomings, the Title V program has developed and implemented a basic skills assessment and remediation program across Occupational/Technical and Developmental Education curricula using PLATO Pathways courseware. PLATO provides computer-based instruction in a variety of academic areas and is designed to deliver basic skills assessment and remediation to students in a lab setting.

Under the direction of Title V-Basic Skills Specialist, Mike Makowsky, PLATO was first used on the Midland College main campus in Spring 2002 with students enrolled in Business Math and Business Communications courses. The primary goal of this pilot was to deliver customized basic skills assessment and remediation in support of students' regular coursework with the resulting outcome being that students successfully complete that coursework with a grade of “C” or better. Working directly with the instructors of these courses, Makowsky developed customized assignments in PLATO specifically tailored to meet the learning objectives of each course. This initial pilot included 24 students, all of whom successfully completed their coursework with a grade of “C” or better.

As PLATO's effectiveness became more and more evident, additional Occupational/Technical courses, as well as the Health Sciences, College Level ESL, and Adult Basic Education programs integrated the program into their curriculums. PLATO's potential in assisting degree-seeking students pass the TASP/THEA test and be successful in regular college courses has also been recognized. It has been integrated into each of the college's Developmental programs (Writing, Reading, Math).

· Since the original pilot of 24 students, PLATO has expanded rapidly and now serves over 800 students each semester. To date, over 2500 students have used PLATO at Midland College. PLATO has been integrated into over 60 distinct courses and programs, and is available in 18 different labs, including labs at the Ft. Stockton WRTTC campus, the Cogdell Learning Center, and the College's Advanced Technology Center.

· The PLATO system at Midland College has been recognized by PLATO Learning Inc. as one of the largest applications of the program at a community college in North America.

· The Basic Skills Specialist is the lead PLATO administrator and supervises all PLATO related activities at the main campus, Cogdell, Ft. Stockton, and ATC.

· Analysis of student grades and PLATO performance at Midland College shows a positive correlation between performance and final course grades.

· Research also shows a positive correlation between PLATO performance and test scores (e.g. THEA, NET, GED, Nelson Denny). Test preparation on PLATO equates to higher test scores.

· Over 88% of students using PLATO have successfully completed their coursework with a grade of “C” or better.

· When surveyed whether they think PLATO will make them more successful in college, 80% of students responded “Yes.”

Student Comments:

“Plato has helped me tremendously, and I recommend it to all other students who need help in math.”

“It is a very good program that helps perfect grammar skills, and how to talk or write correctly. I moved to Midland from New Mexico, and I would say Texas is lucky to have this wonderful program.”

“Its' been a long time since I have taken a writing course, and Plato has helped me come a long way. This is a good program that helps students understand the fundamentals of writing.”

“I rate it as an excellent program because it is easy to understand and is helpful. It gives you the chance to learn the basics of math and refresh your memory.”

· When surveyed whether they think PLATO will make their students more successful in college, 98% of faculty responded “Yes.”

Faculty Comments:

“Plato is a great package to supplement classroom instruction. It handles the details that

many textbooks or instructor–created handouts do not address, with ease and competency.”

“Plato continues drills and sequences until the concept is mastered. It is helpful in reviewing grammar long forgotten or ignored. Plato certainly helps with the THEA!”

“I just think it's a great review program or teaching tool for our pre-nursing students.”

“I like the way the students can work at their own pace. I have students tell me they like that because it's less pressure & if they get something wrong they can go to a tutorial for help & this usually answers any problems they were having.”

“A great learning tool for all students. The Plato program helped all students learn. The assessment tests in each module help to find where students are weak & then begins to strengthen their skills. A few students who thought they were experts were surprised to find weak points that they improved.”