Education Commons^™

Improving Metacognitive Skills, Jim Stewart, Mike Greiner, Cassandra Cook

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: Can a short, weekly email reflection from students in introductory physics courses be structured to improve students’ thinking about their own thinking?

Method: By analyzing student responses we will refine the writing prompt and scoring guidelines so that, starting fall 2008, we can begin a longitudinal study in which we follow individual students through at least two quarters of the introductory physics course.

People, Places And Ideas: A Year-Long Conversation With Rural Alaskan Students, Lauren Mcclanahan, Andrea Gabler

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: How can developing strong writing prompts elicit strong student responses concerning the evidence of climate change in a rural Alaskan fishing village?

Method: For this case study, my pre-service secondary teacher education students were paired (via e-mail) with middle school students in rural southwestern Alaska. The Alaskan students were from the small fishing village of Eek, which has a population of approximately 280. Through a process of continual refinement, my secondary education students drafted and revised writing prompts that encouraged the Alaskan students to think in terms of how climate change is changing their way of life.

Blogging As A Way Of Thinking, Julia Sapin, Robyn Rossmeisl

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: How can technology help to establish more open classrooms through writing, thereby affecting who is involved in discussion and how involvement takes place?

Method: Developed questionnaire for blog participants in a variety of Julia’s classes. We based our findings on the responses in those questionnaires, supplemented by secondary materials that helped us define terms and technology.

Making It Through: From Start To Finish… Faculty And Student Co-Authorship Process, Tara Perry, Brian Launius, Hayley Peterson

Writing Research Fellows

Research Questions: RQ1: What is the process of co-authoring a writing project between professors and students? RQ2: What are professor’s perceptions of co-authoring a writing project with college students? RQ3: What are student’s perceptions of co-authoring a writing project with a professor? RQ4: What communication processes are involved in student faculty co-authorship?

Method: The qualitative method of data collection was utilized for this study. The researchers conducted two focus groups and seven face to face interviews with different subjects, professors and students. This study was conducted at a university in the Pacific Northwest.

Integration Of Technical And Scientific Writing Into Surface-Water Hydrology (Geol 472/572), Robert J. Mitchell, Niki Thane

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: Do my practices improve students’ writing skills and their understanding of science?

Method: My primary goal is to help students develop their scientific thinking through writing. My hope is that as students advance from project-to-project, they will discover that learning the science is highly correlated to their ability to express their thinking in writing. Naturally, I also want students to learn the mechanical and style elements that define good scientific writing, such as writing concisely, using appropriate grammar, and developing proper figures and tables; conventions which are easier to learn and teach.

Journal Writing In The Classroom: Chore Or Delight?, Jennifer Karchmer, Anya Nakrokhina

Writing Research Fellows

Research Questions:

1. What are some attitudes and behavioral trends of students toward a journal writing assignment?
2. How effective is a journal writing assignment in the classroom?
3. How can a journal writing assignment be improved for both students and instructor?

Method:

Quantitative data based on 39 surveys administered during Fall 2007 quarter at WWU to COMM318 Professional Communication students. Also, this study included student journals (about 10-pages each) with qualitative comments.

Student Literacy And The Effect Of Digital Writing, Catherine Mcdonald, Amanda Hill

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question:

Our research question had three components:

• What is the effect of teaching the production of online texts?
• What is the effect of teaching the analysis of digital literacies?
• How do students assess the effect of studying self-sponsored digital literacies?

Method: Our methodology was a qualitative study using ethnographic techniques, or more specifically, ethnographic writing research. Wendy Bishop explains this research methodology (Bishop, 1999).While ethnography is a phenomenological method of participating in a culture and giving an account of it as experienced by native members, ethnographic writing research is a less intensive study of the literacy practices …

Using A Field Journal To Enhance Conceptual Understanding, Shelby L. Sheppard, Jennifer Baldwin, Gretchen Anderson

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: Is individual experience a significant factor in deepening conceptual understanding?

Method: A Field Journal Assignment was given to two classes (1 grad and 1 undergrad) each of three terms over the course of the academic year. Students in each course were provided with a seminal reading which articulated the merits of deepening conceptual understanding by means of analyzing one’s beliefs about a particular concept and one’s reasons for holding those beliefs. (Wilson, J. 1998, “Seriousness and the Foundations of Education”, Educational Theory Vol 48: #2)