Education Commons^™

‘Care Work’ And University Scapegoating: Making Social Reproduction Visible In The Teaching Of Writing, Rachel T. O'Donnell

Academic Labor: Research and Artistry

No abstract provided.

Writing Instruction In China: Challenges And Efforts, Rongrong Dong, Danling Fu, Xiaodi Zhou, Buyi Wang

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This qualitative study examined the current writing instruction in 1-12 level education with the data collected in three Chinese cities. The data from the Interviews of teachers and teacher-educators at different levels and from classroom observations at upper elementary to high schools in three metropolitan cities across China provide insights into 1-12 writing instruction in contemporary China. To further reveal the efforts taken by writing teacher under China’s high-stakes testing culture, this paper also presented a case study of an exemplary 10th grade writing teacher, who took tremendous efforts in nurturing true readers and writers in his classroom under the …

Nailing Jell-O To A Tree, Jayson Lozier

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio contains papers addressing writing instruction, women's studies, queer theory, and literary analysis. “Mr. L 2.0 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love English Composition” details the implementation of more effective techniques to teach writing in the secondary English classroom. “Educating Women in Afghanistan: Power, Revolution, and Rebellion” examines the feminist struggles around education and the efforts of the Afghan Institute of Learning to bring about change. “Out of the Closet and into the Classroom: Introducing Queer Reading Strategies to the Secondary English Classroom” examines the importance of queer theory and queer reading techniques in high school …

Enhancing Writer's Voice In Argumentative And Expository Essay Writing Using The Embedded Voice Technique, Jonathan K. Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the impact that the Embedded Voice Technique of writing instruction had on one’s writer’s voice. The teacher-researcher posits that voice is not an individual component of writing, but rather a culmination of multiple components of writing; it is the sum of parts rather than a part in and of itself. The study took place in an English 3-Honors class with nine randomly chosen participants over an eight-week period. Data were collected using a variety of data collection instruments. Pre and post-treatment Likert scale surveys determinee participants’ dispositions regarding writing. Pre …

Spotlight On Using Mentor Texts In Writing Instruction: Turning To Books For Ideas, Dana Sudhoff

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Literacy

Researchers have found a connection between reading and writing instruction and the benefits the instruction has on students’ reading comprehension and writing expression. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the effectiveness of the use of mentor texts on the writing of 22 students in grade 3. Curricular methodology consisted of selected trade books used as mentor texts to represent the various genres and natural language structures inherent within children’s books so that students had consistent models of good writing as they attempted to emulate various authors’ styles of writing. Data collection consisted of a teacher-made questionnaire …

Preparing Elementary Writing Teachers: An Inquiry-Driven, Field-Based Approach To Instruction, Lisa K. Hawkins, Nicole M. Martin, Jennifer Cooper

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Pre-service teachers’ [PSTs] preparation for teaching writing is foundational to writing instruction in elementary schools and children’s writing. Prior research has identified elements in writing-focused methods coursework that support their preparation. In this article, an innovative component in a stand-alone writing teacher preparation course that incorporated the research-based elements is showcased: a process for deconstructing and modeling inquiry-driven writing pedagogy. This process includes five phases: (1) using mentor texts during initial immersion, (2) using mentor texts to study structure, (3) using mentor texts to study writer’s craft, (4) using mentor texts to study sentence structure, sentence fluency, and language, and …

Getting To What Is: Poetry As A Genre Of Access For Multilingual Learners, Audrey A. Friedman, Joelle M. Pedersen, Chris K. Bacon

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This paper explores the poetry writing of 15, multilingual ninth graders to construct a practitioner framework for analyzing writing as discourse with multilingual learners (MLs). Grounded in an understanding of poetry as a genre of access for both teachers and students, we asked: How does poetry—read as a specific, situated discourse—reveal linguistic and cultural competence among MLs in an urban, high-school classroom?

Using four tools of Critical Discourse Analysis—situated meaning, significance building, connections building, and identity building—we analyzed student poetry produced via an online mentoring platform. Through applying these lenses, three major themes emerged, which structured our framework: language experimentation, …

Writing Conference Purpose And How It Positions Primary-Grade Children As Authoritative Agents Or Passive Observers, Lisa K. Hawkins

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

A common practice in today’s primary-grade classrooms, teacher-student writing conferences are considered a vital component of instruction by accomplished writing teachers and advocates of process writing. Moreover, what teachers say and how they say it shapes those opportunities for student learning that are possible in classrooms. As such, building an understanding of the talk that ensues during primary-grade writing conferences, those purposes that such talk serves overall, and the significance of its pedagogical appropriateness is essential. Findings from a multiple-case study of conference enactment in both a kindergarten and a first-grade classroom illuminate the varying degrees of authoritative and dialogic …

Frameworks For Collaboration: Articulating Information Literacy, And Rhetoric And Writing Goals In The Archives, Amy J. Lueck, Nadia Nasr

Staff publications, research, and presentations

Rhetoric and composition scholars have recently called our attention to the value of archival research in the undergraduate classroom, leading to rich collaborations with archivists and librarians at many institutions. As we engaged our own pedagogical collaboration as a university archivist and English faculty member, we realized that, though we might use slightly different language to articulate them or cite different sources in support of them, many of our learning goals overlapped. As we explored these goals together, we realized that they evidenced a correspondence in our disciplines that we had not explored—one that is reflected in our fields’ recent …

Rhetorics Of Functionally Applicative Game Design: Designing And Testing The Project Management Game Scrummage, Matthew Carson Beale

English Theses & Dissertations

In this project, I designed and tested Scrummage, a tabletop game to teach the scrum project management system to undergraduate students. The project grew from the gaps in both academic literature and pedagogical tools for project management and collaboration in the technical communication classroom. Although the field of technical communication places significance on project management, research shows that many employers find the project management skills and knowledge of recent graduates to be under-developed. Situated in the fields of game design, game studies, project management, and technical communication, this project asks how we as educators can improve the project management learning …

What Do Middle Grades Preservice Teachers Believe About Writing And Writing Instruction?, Tracey S. Hodges, Katherine Landau Wright, Erin Mctigue

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

After third grade, students’ motivation and enjoyment of writing begins to wane, and this trend continues through most of their education. Middle grade students especially need high-quality writing instruction; however, many teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to teach writing. To combat these issues, teacher preparation programs should understand how their preservice teachers feel about writing and teaching writing. The present study surveyed 150 middle grade preservice teachers to determine their self-efficacy beliefs about writing and writing instruction. Results indicate that preservice teachers valued writing, but did not feel confident with many specific aspects of writing instruction.