Integrated Reading and Writing

For installation in a Learning Management System (LMS), this course integrates and compresses the standard developmental English curriculum—reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary building, grammar, punctuation, and usage skills—enabling learners to make predictions about their reading, analyze rhetorical structures, build vocabulary, and improve writing mechanics.

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With media-rich presentations, comprehension exercises, and the My Journal feature, NROC English supports students through a variety of instructional approaches that engage and enhance a wide range of learning styles.

“As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the curriculum piece we were missing.”
Deborah Butler, Curriculum and Design Instruction Specialist, Victoria College (Texas)
“I've been teaching English for a very long time . . . and it's the first thing I've ever found that was truly comprehensive."
Taffy Graham, Director of Developmental English, Stanly Community College (North Carolina)
“NROC Developmental English was a clear choice for us because its learning objectives and content require students to read, engage with, and respond to informational texts in a number of ways."
Mollee Shannon, Director of the Donald F. Andrews Reading and Writing Center, Chattanooga State (Tennessee)

Pedagogical Approach

Course Description

NROC Developmental English is designed to help students meet basic college entrance requirements.  Combining highly sophisticated software with fundamental pedagogy, this online program integrates and reinforces the standard developmental English curriculum—reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary building, and grammar skills—to fully prepare students for credit-bearing courses.

Designed for use in any learning environment, NROC Developmental English provides an integrated curriculum that allows students to practice strategies for reading and writing effectively. Media-rich presentations, comprehension exercises, and the My Journal feature support students through a variety of instructional approaches that engage and enhance a wide range
of learning styles.

Developed and written by a team of subject matter experts utilizing state-of-the-art technology to deliver crucial pedagogical supports, NROC Developmental English will help enhance and improve student performance and results.

Course Components

Each instructional unit follows a sequence of integrated reading and writing experiences.

  • Unit Introduction: A short, multimedia presentation that introduces the unit themes and content overview.
  • Foundations: Text-based lessons present the unit’s core concepts: reading, writing, and grammar, and punctuation and usage, replacing the need for a separate handbook.
  • Pre-Reading Presentation: A multimedia presentation that models effective pre-reading strategies.
  • Active Reader: Enhances reading skills with self-assessment and supporting pedagogy, including audio narration, vocabulary in context, and grammar lessons.
  • Post-Reading Presentation: A multimedia presentation that models post-reading strategies
    with comprehension exercises, creating a strong bridge from reading to writing.
  • Pre-Writing Presentation: Introduces the specific writing assignment for the unit and models effective pre-writing strategies.
  • Writing Center: An online writing workspace that supports the steps in the writing process with scaffolding, tips, and
    reviewing features.
  • My Journal: This innovative feature allows learners to build a portfolio of writing in each unit by capturing all annotations to unit reading selections and all responses to comprehension and writing exercises. Thus, a portfolio of writing is waiting for the learners when they are ready to apply it to a specific assignment in the Writing Center. No one starts with a “blank page.”
  • Assessments: Include an initial diagnostic, mid-unit reviews, unit assessments, and a final summative assessment.

Accessibility

The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a document which evaluates how accessible a particular product is according to the Section 508 Standards. It is a self-disclosing document produced by the vendor which details each aspect of the Section 508 requirements and how the product supports each criterion.

Contributors

The NROC Project Team

  • Gary Lopez, Ph.D., Executive Director
  • Bob Simons, President and CFO
  • Nancy Cook, Director of Operations
  • Brian Rowlett, Director of Technology
  • Phil Cross, Senior Software Engineer
  • Jessica Everton, Director of Editorial Development
  • Lynn Skorniak, Editorial Project Manager
  • Renae Bent, Editorial Project Manager

Subject Matter Expert (SME) Team

Lead Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

  • Leta Deithloff, Ph.D. University of Texas, Austin
  • Peter Lindstrom, MFA Colorado Community College System

Supporting SMEs – Content Development

  • Emily Anderson Mountain Heights Academy
  • Lawrence Barkley, MA Mt. San Jacinto College
  • Ted Blake, MA Mt. San Jacinto College
  • Jacqui Cain, MA Humboldt State University
  • Jane S. Conzett, MA (ELL Specialist) Xavier University
  • Jenny Dawman, MA Mountain Heights Academy
  • Brooks Doherty, MA Rasmussen College, Dean of Education
  • Diana Eidson, Ph.D. Auburn University
  • Andrea Jachman, MA True North Education Consultants
  • Sarah Lyons Mountain Heights Academy
  • Marcea Seible, Ph.D. Hawkeye Community College
  • Kelly Zepp, MS Community College of Denver

Production Team

Product Development

Assessment Development

Writers / Editors

  • Carey Boyzuck
  • Jennifer Hogler, Ph.D.
  • Sarah Meitner
  • Alexis Walker, MA
  • Kristen Woodburn

Preview (Advisor) Schools

Advisory Board

  • Sandy Cook (System Director, Distance Learning) Kentucky Community and Technical College System
  • Bob Currie (Executive Director) Montana Digital Academy (MTDA)
  • Brooks Doherty (Dean of Education) Rasmussen College
  • Robert (Butch) Gemin Evergreen Education Group
  • Francisco Hernandez, Ph.D. University of Hawaii System
  • Brent Kendrick, Ph.D. Lord Fairfax Community College
  • Daniel Lewis (Director of Educational Programs) Virginia Community College System
  • Joan Lord (Director of Education Policy) Southern Regional Education Board
  • Kathy Short, Ph.D. University of Arizona
  • John Watson Evergreen Education Group

Planning Team

Faculty and Administrator Focus Group and Roundtable Participants

  • Jennifer Boland, Aims Community College
  • Claudia Morell, Aims Community College
  • Colleen Weeks, Arapahoe Community College
  • Jeffrey Leptak-Moreau, Brown Mackie College
  • Velma Honer, Butler Community College
  • Debbie Foster, Central Arizona College
  • Carol Armbrust, Clark State Community College
  • Amy Davis, Cleveland Community College
  • Jane Marlowe, Clinton Community College
  • Debbie Green, College of Alameda
  • Bitsy Cohn, Colorado Community College System
  • Peter Lindstrom, Colorado Community College System
  • Sheila Harper, Colorado Northwestern Community College
  • Ashley Moorshead, Community College of Aurora
  • Angele Davenport, Community College of Aurora
  • Marie Hannan-Mandel, Corning Community College
  • Ruth Silon, Cuyahoga Community College
  • Susan Wickham, Des Moines Area Community College
  • Jeremiah Schwennen, Des Moines Public Schools
  • Ruthann Gallagher, Eastern Iowa Community College
  • Eileen Thompson, Edison Community College
  • Jan Nemes, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
  • Cynthia Ortega, Glendale Community College of Arizona
  • Fran McVeigh, Great Prairie Area Education Agency
  • Laura Meyers, Hawkeye Community College
  • Marcea Seible, Hawkeye Community College
  • Barb Shutt, Heartland AEA 11
  • Janis Innis, Houston Community College System
  • Donna Gordon, Houston Community College System
  • Heather Feuerhelm, Iowa AEA K12 Online
  • Deb Hindman, Iowa Department of Education
  • Deborah Clark, Iowa Lakes Community College
  • Glenda Rogers, Iowa Lakes Community College
  • Mark Myers, Iowa Western Community College
  • JamesEtta Goodloe, Jefferson Community and Technical College
  • Bev Berns, Keystone Area Education Agency
  • Kyndra Campbell, Montana State University-Gallatin College
  • Karla Schorzman, Morgan Community College
  • Jacob Krapfl, Northeast Iowa Community College
  • Wanda Crawford, Northern Kentucky University
  • Troy Greiner, Okoboji Community School District
  • RuAnn Keith, Otero Junior College
  • Danen Jobe, Pikes Peak Community College
  • Jill Sundblad, Prairie Lakes AEA 8
  • Brenda Tuberville, Rogers State University
  • Lisa Cook, Sinclair Community College
  • Lisa Mahle-Grisez, Sinclair Community College
  • Heather Neal, Sinclair Community College
  • Sally Struthers, Sinclair Community College
  • Barbara Gilbert, Sinclair Community College
  • Erin Olsen, Sioux Central Community School District
  • Christine Karstens, Southwestern Community College, IA
  • Steve Goerdt, University of Dubuque
  • Carol Case, University of South Alabama
  • Shawn Hyer, Van Meter Community School District
  • Becky Amant, Zane State College

Planning and Prototyping – Advisors and Reviewers

  • Anne Benedict, MS (Reading Education) Erie Community College
  • Nancy J. Cook, MA (English) California Community Colleges Success Network
  • Brooks Doherty (Dean of Education) Rasmussen College
  • Larry Giddings, MA (Writing Center Director) Pikes Peak Community College
  • Laura Meyers, MA (Reading Education) Hawkeye Community College
  • Marcea Seible, Ph.D. (English Studies) Hawkeye Community College
  • Kirsten Wiley, M.Ed. (Developmental Studies) Blue Grass Community andTechnical College

Scope and Sequence Reviewers

  • Kelly Black, M.Ed. College of Lake County
  • Malkiel A. Choseed, Ph.D. Onondaga Community College
  • Brian Dickson (Program Chair, College Composition & Reading) Community College of Denver
  • Brent L. Kendrick, Ph.D. Lord Fairfax Community College
  • Daniel Lewis (Director of Educational Programs) Virginia Community College System
  • Kristin Oostra Idaho Digital Learning Academy

Funding provided by

  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • NROC members

Performance

NROC Service Status page: https://status.nroc.org/