Independence Community College’s Bridget Carson presented an approach to helping students strengthen their writing and independent learning skills at the 2026 Kansas Corequisite Symposium, held Oct. 23 at Barton Community College in Great Bend.
Carson and Heather Mydosh attended the statewide event, which brought together faculty, support staff and administrators to share research, innovations and successes in supporting students in English and mathematics courses.
Carson’s presentation, “Writing Process as Project Management,” explored how teaching the writing process can also help students develop practical skills for managing their time and balancing commitments.
“Writing Process as Project Management focused on empowering students' capability and confidence to do independent work,” Carson said.
Her approach teaches students to plan their work outside of class, evaluate how well they followed their plans and make adjustments based on their experiences. The goal is to help students build the skills and confidence to organize and complete work independently.
According to Carson, data from the previous semester showed that students who completed all project management plans and reflections earned higher grades in the Mechanics Corequisite course and were more than twice as likely to pass Composition I with a C or better than students who did not complete those activities.
The symposium focused on supporting colleges as they transition from prerequisite developmental courses to a corequisite model, which provides additional support while students take college-level courses such as Composition I, College Algebra, Contemporary Math and Statistics.
“It's energizing to see colleges across Kansas adapting to meet student needs,” Carson said. “It's even more energizing seeing that our work at ICC in corequisite education, across the board, integrates the thoughtful labor of support staff, faculty, and administration finding the synergy of rigor and student-centeredness at the cutting edge of this movement.”
Reflecting on the experience, Carson added, “I came away from this symposium, not just knowing, but feeling that we're doing right by our students.”