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Transitioning To Writing About Writing: A Consideration Of The Metawriting Teaching Approach At The University Of Arkansas, Katie Michelle Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses case studies of six Teaching Assistants and Instructors to analyze the curricular and pedagogical shift from a writing-through-literature model to the Composition II course to a metawriting approach during the 2014 spring semester at the University of Arkansas. The administrative decision from the Program in Rhetoric and Composition to make this transition came in response to the 2007 article by Elizabeth Wardle and Douglas Downs in College Composition and Communication outlining a "Writing about Writing" approach to teaching composition.

Practical Work With Report, Brian Mac Namee

Assessment & Feedback Cases

Practical visualisation work and writing a short report.

Practical Work With Report, Brian Mac Namee

Assessment & Feedback Cases

A short piece of writing on a particular subject.

Using Games To Make Something: Of Our Students, Our Pedagogies, Our Field. A Review Essay Of Gee & Hayes (2011), Squire (2011), Steinkuehler Et Al (2012), And Thomas & Brown (2011), Carly Finseth

Carly Finseth

If there’s one thing that writing instructors are known for it’s innovation. Compositionists, because of our connection between academia and industry, the humanistic and the technical, the creative and the practical, are often some of the first to explore and adopt new technologies. In this review essay, I introduce how games and digital technologies can help our students “make” new thing. Understanding how games can link with literary practices, multimodal composition, creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and more can help researchers in rhetoric and composition make important contributions to our field: Make games with the knowledge of what actually works …

0800: Chris Greene Collection, 2000-2009, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The Chris Greene Collection includes essays submitted for the MLK, Jr. Symposium Essay Competition, the winners chosen for the competition in 2007, and the winning entries booklets for 2005-2007. This collection also includes information about the Marshall University and Appalachian Studies Association NEH Challenge Grant Application. Along with this, you will find newspaper clippings, letters and emails to and from Chris Greene, and notes taken by Greene.

Improving Academic Writing Skills Among Undergraduates At A Hispanic Serving University In South Texas With Cooperative Learning, Scaffolded Instruction, And Formative Feedback, Lori Wells

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Three teaching strategies: scaffolded instruction, cooperative learning, and formative feedback were analyzed to determine their effectiveness in improving academic writing skills among undergraduates at a Hispanic serving university in south Texas. Hispanic youth in the United States are graduating from high school and college at significantly lower rates than students from all other ethnic backgrounds. This mixed methods study was conducted during the spring semester of 2011. Forty-six students from two education classes participated. Data from a pre and post test survey, writing samples, and interviews were analyzed. Positive gains were seen in all areas of academic writing, but larger …

Engaging And Enacting Writing In First-Year Composition: Re-Imagining Student Self-Efficacy In Writing, Mary L. Tripp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to educational theory, learning to write necessitates self-belief that one is capable of performing required tasks. This belief is called self-efficacy, a component of human agency. Students who enter First-Year Composition (FYC), are often unaware of the writing challenges that lie ahead, and many educational psychologists posit that self-efficacy beliefs are the most important factor in meeting these writing challenges. While socio-cognitive theory shapes views of self-efficacy in education literature, to date, measures of self-efficacy in writing have focused only on the individual cognitive beliefs as they influence writing performance outcomes. However, current research in writing studies as well …

Towards The Creation Of Story Sharing Network Of Research Supervisors, Ibraheem Dooba

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The function of the supervisor is therefore significant in the entire research endeavour; and it has been argued that a major cause of failure to complete postgraduate degree is due to inadequate supervision (Welford, 2008). Recent investigations conducted in the USA by the Council of Graduate Schools revealed that mentoring/advising is the second highest (65%) factor contributing to respondents’ PhD completion; second only to financial support (80%) (Kirby, Sowell, Bell, & Naftel, 2009). The central role that supervisors play in students’ postgraduate expertise makes it necessary for supervisors to use their ability, knowledge, and the experiences of their colleagues to …

Straight Talk From Recent Grads: Grant Writing Tips For New Investigators, Joelle Powers, Danielle Swick

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

There is an increasing demand and critical importance for those in academic positions to be conducting high quality research in addition to teaching well and successfully obtaining grants is often necessary to fund such scientific inquiry (Shaw, 2002). Faculty members in academic or research positions are likely to be among those spending the most time on such efforts as successful grant writing to support both research and scholarly productivity is compulsory for flourishing in these jobs (Hasche, Perron & Proctor, 2009). In fact, most job announcements in the Chronicle of Higher Education list the ability to acquire external funding as …

The Hbcu Versus The Pwi Write On Site: Considering Faculty Outcomes, Dannielle Davis, Lawanda Edwards

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

The phrase “publish or perish” has become a mantra in research oriented academic settings, reflecting a form of academic Darwinism for tenure and promotion decisions heavily influenced by publication records. This is compounded by the fact that some new academics view the three primary components of faculty work: teaching, research and service, singularly and in isolation as opposed to integrated tasks (Boice, 2000). Writing groups may offer a strategy for faculty developers and other administrators interested in ameliorating these potential challenges via programs geared toward increasing faculty writing productivity. The following reviews literature related to faculty writing groups and describes …

Reconciling Challenges And Opportunities In Academic Scientific Writing, Kamaruzaman Jusoff

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

To initiate the governmental strategy in Thrust 2 of the Ministry of Higher Education Strategic Plan Core Thrusts launched in 2007, and to nurture “First Class Mentality”, in the currently running Ninth Malaysia Plan (2005-2010); the need is vital for the educational sector to pick up the drive to manifest it. The second thrust emphasizes on the strategy to raise the capacity for knowledge and innovation. For that, it is apt that the academia contributes towards the effort to achieve excellence. In addition, its fourth thrust that is enhancement in teaching and learning; and the fifth thrust that is strengthening …

Trailblazing The E-Reader Revolution: Two Universities, Two Approaches, Joan Wines, Julius Bianchi, Harlan Stelmach, Gary Gorka, Michael Brint

Harlan Stelmach

Leadership As Imagery: Creating Your Picture Of The Future, Kerri Mckenna

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

After several years of bi weekly faculty meetings, I had had my fill of “School Leaders” dictating and telling us what needed to be done in order to meet state standards, raise test scores and improve student attendance. Each week we had a “new idea” tossed at us from above with the same fervor and enthusiasm that I shared with my students about writing. And, each week, my over loaded brain walked out of the faculty meeting criticizing the fact that I was being told what to do, but not why it was important that I did it. The constant …

Y Cant They Rite?: Integrating Writing Assessment Across The Undergraduate Political Science Major, Shala Mills, Bryan Bennett

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Historically, student assessment in the Political Science Department at Fort Hays State University was left to the individual faculty member to embed into his or her courses via exams and writing assignments. Our curriculum and learning objectives were based largely on faculty interest in particular courses and on broad perspectives of what substantive knowledge a political science major should demonstrate. Over the years, writing courses such as advanced research methods and upper division theory courses served as unofficial capstone experiences. As such, approaches and expectations varied depending upon who was delivering the course.

Mystic Inspiration Of Effective Habits?, Dennis Mcdougall, Rhonda S. Black, Garnett J. Smith, James Skouge

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Although numerous and diverse publications address professors’ writing and research productivity, exceedingly few empirical studies report findings for interventions designed and implemented to increase professors’ research productivity. This study used an innovative mixed methods design with a concurrent triangulation strategy and methods from two research traditions that investigators rarely integrate – quantitative single-case interventions and qualitative inquiry. Processes and findings from this study illustrate how researchers can combine these methods to illuminate the how and why of changes in performance in participant-interventionist studies. In this study, university professors used goal setting and behavioral self-management techniques to increase their daily research …

A Comparison Of Anonymous E-Peer Review Versus Identifiable E-Peer Review On College Student Writing Performance And Learning Satisfaction, Ruiling Lu

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of anonymous e-peer review with identifiable e-peer review on student writing performance and learning satisfaction. It also investigated whether anonymous e-peer review facilitated a greater amount of critical peer feedback.

Quasi-experimental design was used to test group differences on the dependent variables. Participants were 48 freshmen enrolled in two English Composition classes at Old Dominion University in the fall semester of 2003. The two intact classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to the anonymous e-peer review group and the identifiable e-peer review group.

The results showed that …

Working For The Clampdown? Being Crafty At Managed Universities, Joe Essid

English Faculty Publications

Last fall I found myself not only our school’s Writing Center Director but also its Writing Program Administrator. At the same time, a reminder of my wastrel youth appeared: the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the Clash’s London Calling.

The two events are connected. On the one hand, it is delightful to hear people again discuss the anthems of the punk-rock era. More than at any time since the 1970s, we need a little more defiance against authority, including the transformation of everything into a saleable commodity. On the other hand, the very way in which London Calling appeared, slickly packaged …

Exploring Four Modes Of Responding To Undergraduate Writing, Mary Gruis

Culminating Projects in English

A study exploring four modes of giving feedback to student writing in a first-year composition course. The focus discusses ways the different modes impact student writing and revision. It also examines one classroom where each of these modes were implemented, how these different modes were implemented, and the outcome of each mode on student attitudes toward the writing and revision process.

An Examination Of Relationships Of Reading And Writing Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Standardized Placement Test Scores, And Diverse Community College Students' Perceptions Of Those Relationships, Ann Woolford-Singh

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Social cognitive theory explains the role that one's level of confidence plays in the accomplishment of a specific task. According to Bandura (1982, 1995), self-efficacy beliefs should align with performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs and reading/writing standardized placement test scores of diverse community college freshmen. Additionally, this study sought to understand the sources of these students' reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs through the descriptions of experiences they feel have influenced those beliefs.

There were three major research questions: (1) What is the strength of the relationships among reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs and reading/writing …

Writing Intensive Courses In Theatre, Alisa Roost

Publications and Research

Most professors believe writing matters. Through writing our students are better able to synthesize ideas, communicate those ideas, and make connections across fields. While it can take significant time to grade all the assignments, it can threaten coverage of material, and our students rarely appreciate it, writing assignments can be crafted to reduce grading, add depth to coverage, and spark interest. What follows is an overview of how I incorporate writing into my theatre courses and some ways of crafting engaging writing-intensive courses.

Fort Wayne Alumnus, Taylor University Fort Wayne

TUFW Alumni Publications (All)

The Spring 2001 edition of The Fort Wayne Alumnus, published by Taylor University Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Focus On Writing: Collaborative Action Research In The Classroom, Carol Marchel, Dianne Whitaker

Perspectives In Learning

In higher education, professors are expected to provide quality instruction, although rewards are often based on research activities. For those who value teaching for its own sake, it is difficult to balance the competing demands of life within academe with the demands of teaching. As teachers, we seek to understand student needs to improve our classroom practice. More importantly, we want to show students how to improve their own skills. This article describes how we combined both research and instruction to improve the quality of instruction while providing students with a way to improve their skills. We utilized this approach …

Negotiating A Labyrinth: Uncovering Meaning Through Biography, Floretta Thornton-Reid

Perspectives In Learning

Biographical method is one of “several intellectual disciplines that make use of life writing” (Smith, 1994, p. 286). However, biographies are probably better described as an interdisciplinary methodology that incorporates several approaches to qualitative research including but not limited to life history, narrative analysis, case study, historical social science, grounded theory and ethnography (Marshall & Rossman, 1999; Riessman, 1993; Atkinson, 1998). In laymen’s terms, a biography can be understood as the written history of a person’s life. Thus the life history or narrative story of a person is a key biographical concept. Controversy has long surrounded life history. Runyan (1982a) …

0590: Maurice Harmon Papers, 1993-1994, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection contains materials related to Maurice Harmon’s work during his time at Marshall University and slightly after. The bulk of the collection consists of works in progress by Harmon and others at Marshall. The works in progress included in this collection are “Sean O'Faolain”, Constable (London, England), 1994 and “Preserving the Word: Descriptive Catalogue of Maurice Harmon’s Library of Anglo-Irish Literature and Criticism” compiled by Barbara R. Brown and edited by Lisle G. Brown, John Deaver Drinko Academy for American Political Institutions and Civic Culture, 1996. These works consist of both proofs and files on floppy disks. Other materials …

Reinventing The University: Finding The Place For Basic Writers, Jane E. Hindman

Publications and Research

A poststructuralist critique of basic writing placement and pedagogy, this paper argues that our notions of good writing (i.e., the criteria by which we as English professors and compositionists authorize and "place" students) come not from some general or transcendent standards, but rather from the practices by which we self-authorize within our own discourse community. Using Bartholomae and Petrosky's curriculum presented in Facts, Artifacts, Counterfacts as a point of departure, I propose a language-centered curriculum which uses discourse itself as the subject of the semester-Jong project wherein students eventually learn to critique our practices and create their own discourse communities. …

Taylor University Magazine (Fall 1988), Taylor University

The Taylor Magazine (1963-Present)

The Fall 1988 edition of Taylor Magazine, published by Taylor University in Upland, Indiana.

Johnny, His Teachers, And Their Teachers, James C. Schaap

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

An Introductory Course In The Reading Of Simple Graphic And Statistical Material For Use In Junior High Schools, Annie Mckenzie

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In the stories of olden times and in those of our own American Indians, we learned of the picture writing of primitive peoples. It became an early method of recording people's thoughts. This was a very useful method at a time when the race was young. This in turn was the beginning of our alphabet, later the beginning of shaping letters into words, and then word into sentences and paragraphs. As our world has grown older, new idea have come into use and we are no longer content to live as our grandparents lived. We travel by fast express trains, …