The Total Immersion pilot began in March 2009 with 15 students. The students are highly motivated and have a strong technological background. Throughout the first quarter, the students typically learned two theory lessons per day, and they have now incorporated speedbuilding. Attendance remains at 100 percent for the live classes. The quarter ended on June 5, the students had a weeklong break, and classes resumed on June 15.
Here is the first report of the committee:
The concept of the Total Immersion pilot began in 2005 with research carried out by NCRA’s Reporter Education Commission, which gathered volumes of reporter training data through focus groups and individual discussions with students, reporters, and educators. The research findings led the Reporter Education Commission to form a task force to develop a skills-only training program that would allow NCRA to identify what role the machine time plays in a student’s success or failure. The goal was to test whether immersing students in <i>only</I> the theory and their steno machines would allow them to reach 225 words per minute in a year’s time.
In July 2008, the NCRA Board approved the requested funding for the Total Immersion pilot and directed the task force to move forward as planned. Robert McCormick, CRI, a retired professor from Alfred State College, was hired as the pilot instructor; a steno theory was written by the task force; an academic exam was written; and the TAIS Inventory (Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style) was selected as the desired aptitude screening test for pilot applicants. Ads were placed, and 198 prospective students submitted resumes, tested, and were interviewed. At the end of the process, 15 students were chosen to participate in the program. Equipment was purchased, the online course was set up using the Moodle course management software program, and the pilot was launched on March 16, 2009. The program is run under the auspices of the National Court Reporters Foundation.
All students entered the program with strong technology backgrounds. Each is visible in class at their work stations by videocam. The class meets twice per day, five days per week. Throughout the first quarter, the students typically learned two theory lessons per day and were given regular unit evaluations. There were four parts to each test – numbers, word lists, transcribing steno into English, and speedbuilding. Students who scored less than 90 percent were required to go back, review, and retake the test. Those who had difficulty grasping a theory principle were pulled out for remedial review and tutored until they were back on track. All students are expected to spend a minimum of eight hours per day in class or practice sessions.
Several working reporters have visited the class as guest speakers to give the students an extra boost of enthusiasm. The students are highly motivated, and attendance remains at 100 percent for the live classes. Additionally, the students began personal coaching sessions with NCRA’s Education Department staff toward the end of the first quarter.
The quarter ended on June 5, the students had a weeklong break, and classes resumed on June 15. The NCRA Total Immersion Task Force met to discuss the students’ progress against the established benchmarks and to determine if any adjustments were needed in either the curriculum or the timeline. As a result of the students’ success in Quarter 1, the second quarter began with no adjustments to second quarter activities, which will consist of a combination of theory review and speedbuilding.
The students uploaded their dictionaries on the first day back to class, have learned how to add, modify, and delete entries, and they are now performing daily dictionary maintenance. The students seem to have easily grasped the concept of hearing new words, writing them, and making entries by applying the theory principles they have learned. There’s added excitement, with the students now seeing their translation.
Students are submitting an average of 25 pages of practice per day. Through Realtime Coach and Stenograph University Online, they are responsible for completing weekly practice assignments, with a focus on accuracy and speedbuilding. The students are putting their newly acquired skills to use by writing e-mails, Word documents, and even the daily chat section of the classroom with their steno machines and outputting to their CaseCATalyst software. The second quarter will end on September 4, with a benchmark of 120 words per minute.