Erica Wnek joined Norton in 2013 as an editorial assistant. She’s also served as a college sales representative in Baltimore and media editor on composition books.

We sat down with Erica Wnek, editor of composition and rhetoric and the editorial leader of Norton’s dual enrollment working group, to learn more about The Norton Guide to Teaching in Dual Enrollment Contexts and the many ways Norton is supporting the dual enrollment community.

How does supporting dual enrollment teachers and students fit into Norton’s editorial philosophy? 

Norton’s educational publishing philosophy places a high value on authorship—the vision and experience that our authors bring to resources for students and instructors—and on collaboration with the wider academic community.  That emphasis on collaboration and listening is at the heart of our ongoing work to support dual enrollment courses.   

Our editorial process involves frequent consultation with instructors—through reviews of our materials, campus visits, meetings at conferences—to make sure Norton books and media are as effective as possible for the audiences they serve.  The message regarding dual enrollment is clear: Instructors tell us that as these programs grow, their needs and their students’ needs are evolving as well. So, with our authors, we have set to work exploring how a publisher can help address these growing needs in both discipline-specific ways and with resources that can be used across disciplines, like a brief teaching guide.  

How did The Norton Guide to Teaching in Dual Enrollment Contexts come to be? 

The world of dual enrollment is vast, involving high school teachers, college instructors, dual enrollment coordinators, college and university administrators, and more. To give teachers the help they need to make dual enrollment courses as effective as possible, we needed to go to an expert, someone who had worn many hats in the dual enrollment space. We teamed up with Deborah Bertsch, a renowned professor of English and composition at Columbus State Community College and a former dual enrollment coordinator, to create The Norton Guide to Teaching in Dual Enrollment Contexts. The strategies in the guide emerge from Deb’s extensive experience in the dual enrollment classroom and are informed by feedback and insights from dual enrollment teachers across the country.  

Who is The Guide for? 

For high school teachers. A dedicated portion of The Guide speaks to common challenges that high school teachers face when delivering college courses to high school students, from understanding the college curriculum to distinguishing the course as college-level. A section on “taking advantage of college-level course materials” explains the resources and tools that those assigning Norton materials can depend on, too.  

For college instructors. While many college instructors report making few, if any, adjustments to their college courses that enroll DE students, the guide provides a brief overview of simple, easy considerations that can help high school students in a college course succeed. Strategies for bolstering student self-confidence and creating a welcoming environment help college instructors support these students. 

For dual enrollment program coordinators. Leaders tasked with supporting dual enrollment teachers can share or distribute The Guide and use it as a tool to spark conversation about shared goals and common challenges in a professional development setting. Which of the “student challenges” listed in The Guide do teachers often face in your program? What strategies have experienced dual enrollment teachers found effective? You might pick one of the “teacher challenges” covered and come up with shared resources for overcoming it together. The Guide can be a helpful resource for creating a shared understanding and open dialogue around the challenges and strategies for success across a local program. If you have an in-person PD event, consider asking teachers to read The Guide in advance and come with notes on which challenges they anticipate facing and which strategies they plan to try out. The Guide is brief and conscious of packed teacher workloads; it can be read in one sitting. 

How can I get The Guide for myself?  

Sign up here! You’ll receive immediate access to the free PDF, and a link will also be sent to your email. We hope you’ll share it with other dual enrollment teachers who you think will find it helpful.  

How else is Norton supporting dual enrollment programs? 

Norton is uniquely positioned to support the needs of dual enrollment programs. We know the administrative challenges of operating a seamless dual enrollment program can be daunting. That’s why we have a close-knit college and high school sales team that work together to support unique dual enrollment program needs at the local level. Our college and high school representatives help facilitate communication and work with teachers and districts on fulfillment solutions, course material needs, and resource setups.  

The reliable, expertly crafted learning materials Norton publishes can also help ensure a standard of rigor across multifaceted dual enrollment programs. Norton’s high-quality content is designed to support course goals in dual enrollment teaching and learning environments. Our reputation rests on partnering with the great scholars and teachers who author our textbooks and digital media and on expertly developing these materials through sustained collaboration between instructors, teachers—including dual enrollment teachers—and Norton editors.  

Norton course materials work to help all students succeed, through current pedagogy and flexible learning pathways informed by proven teaching strategies. Personalized digital learning tools address individual student needs and meet the highest accessibility standards. And The Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching offers a research-based framework of practices that promote conditions in which all students – particularly historically underserved students—can have an equal chance of success. 

Sign up here to request The Guide today! You’ll receive immediate access to the free PDF, and a link will also be sent to your email.

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