Education Commons^™

Culturing Our Community: A Memoir Of Life Experiences In Costa Rica, Jennifer Beckmeyer

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Costa Rica were the smells. As 1 set foot into the moist tropical air, I was immediately overwhelmed with humidity, the aroma of unfamiliar plants, and excitement for this unknown world. Everywhere I went for the first several weeks, I was welcomed with new sensations of something different in the air. Even now, after seven months of being back in the United States, the images, smells, flavors, and people remain ingrained in my senses and are present in my daily interactions and decisions. Due to such strong sensory, as well as …

The Effectiveness Of Revision Activities On Improving Writing, Paul Chen, Steve Walker

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: How effective are the activities, both individually and relative to each other, on improving students’ writing skills and knowledge?

Method & Data Studied: We conducted this research in a political science senior seminar in Fall 2008. The course was for 5 credits, worth 3 Writing Proficiency points, with 11 students.

Project Title: Challenging What We Think We Know: Moving Beyond The Obstacles Of Prior Knowledge, Bidisha Biswas, Rosa Jimenez, Jessica Pemble

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: In what ways does prior knowledge affect students’ writing?

Method & Data Studied: During the final weeks of the fall 2008 quarter a survey was made available to the students in the American Foreign Policy course on Blackboard Academic Suite. The survey contained seven open-ended questions that prompted students to reflect on the assignments and evaluate, in particular, the way in which they chose to engage biases in assigned materials and their own preconceived ideas about foreign policy topics when completing writing assignments.

Student Writing And Non-Traditional Writing Media And Environments, Suzanne Paola, Lori Brock

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: What happens in students’ descriptions of their generative writing when the physical materials of or the environment for writing are de-familiarized?

Method & Data Studied: Writing exercises in English 460: Multi-Genre Creative Writing and English 101: Writing and Critical Inquiry asked students to participate in two material/environmental disruptions. The first exercise consisted of writing with non-dominant hands (brain hemisphere switch) through typing (English 460) or handwriting (English 101). In English 460, the environment was altered from the classroom norm of silence by playing atonal music during the writing exercise. The second exercise offered non-standard paper with the option …

Impact Of Written Comments On Student Writing, Margi Fox, Jeanne Killgore

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: What is the usability of written comments on graded writing in the Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing course? What impacts the usability of the comments for readers, students in Margi Fox’s English 302 course? The framework for the project—and for the curriculum in English 302—revolved around three main rhetorical principles:

Purpose: Clarify and prioritize purposes for written comments on student work

Readers: Understand and address the needs of student readers

Context: Focus on the dynamics of different situations over the course of the quarter

Exploring Reflective Journal Writing In The Classroom, Jennifer Karchmer, Kate Bauer

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 2007 and 38 surveys administered in 2008 at WWU to COMM318 Professional Communication Fall Quarter 2008 students. Also, this study included student journals (about 10 pages each) with qualitative comments. The data reduction for quantitative portion was broken down into a year over year comparison.