Education Commons^™

Evidence-Based Writing Pedagogy, Patrick Misner

Culminating Experience Projects

Standardized tests continue to consistently show students performing below grade level on writing tasks. This project explores the history of the issue as well as research behind evidenced based writing pedagogy shown to improve students' writing abilities. It focuses on three key strategies: integrating reading and writing instruction, providing effective feedback, and using a process writing framework. The culminating project incorporates these three techniques in a writing unit, which can be used with high school English students. Also provided are pre- and post-assessments with grading rubrics taken from previous National Assessment of Educational Progress tests that teachers can use to …

Visual Literacies And Young Children’S Writing: Creating Spaces For Young Children’S Voices And Engaging In Authentic Writing Experiences, Elizabeth Presto

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Young children engage in multimodal written expression. The research in this study explores the spaces that were created, and the stories created by children in an after-school comic club. The club utilized the Writer’s Workshop model to support the Being a Writer program that is used in the Ocean View School District (Ocean View School District is a pseudonym). I created a supplemental writing program that utilized visual literacy instruction and taught the lessons in the club. The theoretical framework incorporated developmentally appropriate writing instruction, visual literacy elements, and sociocultural theory. This study employed an action research methodology with multiple …

Literacy Instruction And Student Writing In Middle School Social Studies, Nicole Hedman

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research was to determine whether using daily literacy strategies focusing on writing would make an impact on the scores of a high-level question (HLQ) among middle school social studies students. The research took place over seven weeks in a public suburban midwestern middle school. The population of students in the study included 104 sixth-grade students. The intervention included using various literacy strategies focusing on writing and incorporating reading, speaking, and listening. Data was collected from writing samples, HLQ scores, observations, and a student survey. Some positive effects of the study were an increase in the …

The Effects Of Gamified Peer Feedback On Student Writing In High School English Language Arts, Kerise Amaris Broome

Theses and Dissertations

National assessments on writing show that student proficiency is low in part because many high school students lack revision skills. Compounding the problem is that as classroom sizes grow, teachers have less time to give the feedback that students need to improve. Peer feedback shows promise in being able to solve the feedback problem, but it must be carefully structured to be effective. The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the impact of gamified peer feedback in a high school English Language Arts classroom at Southern Charter High School. Three research questions guided this study: (1) What impact …

Electronic Portfolios In A High School Community Of Practice: Action Research Exploring Writing Experiences In An Advanced Placement Writing Course, Archibald Franklin Harrison Iv

Theses and Dissertations

The underlying assumption of this study is that writing as a process has profound implications for success and fulfillment both in and beyond the classroom. A second assumption is that electronic portfolios provide students a space to write, revise, reflect, share, and explore themselves as writers. Students who engage with and embrace the writing process to the point that they self-identify as writers may be more likely to not only succeed at academic writing tasks but to integrate writing into their future lives (Lengelle and Meijers, 2014). For writing to play a prolonged role in this level of academic, professional …

College Readiness In Writing As Determined Through Graduates’ Qualitative Perceptions, Dr. Rebecca G. Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The aim of this study was to determine why, although rigorous standards in English language arts (ELA) have been adopted in a northwestern state and were designed to build toward college readiness, high school students graduating from a college readiness curriculum are not college ready in the area of writing. The purpose of the research was to explore graduates’ perception of college readiness, how a college readiness curriculum prepared them for college writing, and ways to improve that preparation. The theory that supported this study was the concept of college readiness. The key research questions for this study addressed how …

Improving Critical Thinking In Written Assignments: Human Vs. Chatgpt Tutor In Socratic Questioning Intervention, Katia Martha

Scripps Senior Theses

The purpose of the proposed study is to trial a short Socratic Questioning (SQ) intervention in the writing process, facilitated by either a human or ChatGPT tutor, and explore the effects that this may have on students’ critical thinking (CT), which will be coded from their written responses. Participants will be undergraduate college first years in the local California area who are fluent in English and have no learning disabilities. This study involves two visits, spaced a week apart, to gather pre- and post- test data for evaluating the effectiveness of the SQ intervention in improving CT. Both visits will …

Connecting Writing To Life: The Effects Of Place-Conscious Education On Writing In A First Grade Classroom, Tara P. Dietrich

Theses and Dissertations

This study describes a problem of practice encountered in a first-grade class in the southeast. Students exhibited negative attitudes during the writing process. Because of this, the quality of their writing suffered. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between attitudes and writing achievement in a first-grade class using place-conscious education. Additionally, this study was also built upon the social constructivism learning theory. To address the problem of practice, the researcher conducted a mixed-methods action research case study to analyze the effects of place-conscious education on students’ attitudes and proficiencies on writing. The study was guided by …

Getting It Write: The Influence Of Growth Mindset On Secondary Students' Perceptions Of Their Writing Abilities, Megan Hertz

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

This study investigated the ways in which growth mindset activities influenced secondary students’ perceptions of their writing abilities and skills. The researcher introduced growth mindset strategies, language, and instruction into two class periods of a 10th–grade English classroom to improve students’ perceptions of their writing abilities and to develop students’ writing skills. Data were collected with pre– and post–intervention surveys, field notes, written artifacts, and individual interviews. The constant comparative method was used to analyze qualitative data to identify significant themes. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. The researcher found the participants expressed improved resilience in response to …

The Effect Of Constant Time Delay And Sentence Frames On Correct Word Selection For Sentences Constructed Using Technology-Aided Instruction During A Story-Based Lesson, Thai Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an intervention package that included constant time delay (CTD) and sentence frames on correct word selection for sentences constructed using technology-aided instruction (TAI) during and following a story-based lesson (SBL) for participants ages 6-8 who have intellectual disability, developmental delays, and autism (IDD). A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention. Probes were conducted during baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases to determine the effectiveness of the intervention on correct word selection for sentence construction. Results indicate a functional relation between the …

Writing Instruction For Multilingual Learners, Leticia Kiwan

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the benefit of three key elements of instructional writing strategies: structured writing, visual learning, and collaborative tasks to assist Title 1 middle school site administrators and teachers in assessing the impact of the instructional writing strategies for multilingual learners to achieve reclassification to Fluent English Proficient.

Methodology: The qualitative case study included a thorough analysis of one-on-one interviews with seven teachers and seven administrators with more than three years of experience in a middle school from the Sacramento area.

Findings: Examination of the data indicated the following findings: (1) …

Student Perceptions Of Their Engagement With Online Writing As Influenced By Their Teacher’S Presence At A Virtual High School: A Mixed Methods Study, Adrienne Harvie

Theses and Dissertations

This convergent mixed-methods action study explored the virtual high school student perception of how their engagement on writing assignments is affected by the presence of their English teacher in an online class. Research questions specifically focused on how teacher presence in the virtual classroom affects student engagement in online writing assignments. Another question asked how students perceive teacher presence in the virtual classroom and the third question examined how students perceived their engagement in online writing assignments is affected by teacher presence.

In this study two English teachers at a virtual high school were mentored by the researcher to increase …

Closing The English Language Proficiency Gap In Post-Secondary Education In Canada, Priscilla Lothian-Hendrix

Dissertations

The proposed research employed a mixed-method approach to investigate why the linguistic standards of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) (levels 5–8) are deemed satisfactory for English as a second language (ESL) learners at the college level. An examination of the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) identified why an ESL learner with a CLB level of 5–8 requires English support services in post-secondary education to achieve academic success in Canada. The CLB levels of six female participants were analyzed using a questionnaire in reading, writing, listening, and speaking to explore their English levels in articulating the language, pronouncing words, …

Transfer And Transitions: Exploring First Year Writing At Holy Cross, Elizabeth Casavant

English Honors Theses

This study explores how first year students transition to college writing, especially in a pandemic with an online format, and how students use transfer, if at all. It focuses on the following research questions: How do students transition to college writing, college norms, and online classes in a pandemic, and how can Holy Cross first-year writing courses support students in this transition? The methods used to investigate these questions included the administration of two surveys sent to first-year students in a first-year writing course, as well as 10 interviews with students. After transcribing, collating, and coding the data, the following …

Writing For An Authentic Audience In The Middle Grades, Emily Huffman

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the effects of writing for an authentic audience on the achievement and engagement of students in a school in Southern California. The participants were 79 8th graders, split into an experimental group of 40 that wrote a review with the opportunity to be published in The New York Times, and a control group of 39 students that wrote a review for the teacher to read and grade.

Teaching Writing, Dylan Stickler

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio fulfills the requirements for my MA in English with a specialization in Teaching. It contains an analytical narrative, two teaching units, an academic proposal, as well as an analysis of technical writing instruction. Each project centers on improving the quality of writing instruction students receive.

The Impact Of Interactive Journaling On Seventh-Grade Students’ Writing Self-Efficacy, Writing Performance, And Attitudes Towards Writing, Nicholle Morgan Arman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate the impact of interactive journaling on the writing self-efficacy, writing performance, and attitudes towards writing of seventh-grade students. According to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Writing Test, only one-fourth of 8th and 12th graders are proficient at writing. This means thousands of people are entering the job market with inadequate writing skills (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Research suggests that if people feel more confident in their writing abilities, writing performance will improve. This study was guided by several research questions. First, the study aimed to reveal …

Dawn Of The Undead Classroom: Pop-Culture In The First-Year Composition Classroom, Sierra A. Ellison

English (MA) Theses

Supplemented by the findings of her IRB certified research project, Sierra A. Ellison delves into the positive effects pop culture and genre have on the first-year composition classroom, exploring how engaging students through a common discourse that is relatable and comfortable can aid in their writing and composition progression. She explains how teaching under a framework such as the undead and examining these types of thematic material can engage students in the material and give students the space to open up about key issues like race, sex, politics, morality, and consumerism that they might be reluctant to discuss otherwise.

Engaging Middle School Emergent Bilinguals In Language Awareness: A Practitioner Researcher Study, Carol Lickenbrock

Dissertations

This practitioner research study (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) traced the journey toward critical literacy of a group of seven emergent bilinguals and me, their teacher, over the course of a four-month unit on argument as part of our English for Speakers of Other Languages 3 (ESOL3) class. Many of these students, like many emergent bilinguals in the United States, had been disempowered because they had not had access to the academic texts of school. As part of this research, students worked with tools of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze the interpersonal, ideational and textual metafunctions of argumentation in lessons …

Text-Influenced Expressions Of Understanding: Differences In Kindergartners’ Discourse And Written Retellings Of Traditional And Digital Texts During Buddy Reading, Julie Parrish

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Buddy reading a text is a collaborative act that typically generates discourse that provides researchers with a glimpse of the comprehending taking place. However, in recent years, the infusion of technology in classrooms has resulted in many traditional texts being replaced by digital versions. Thus, this qualitative case study examined the spoken and written discourse of 12 kindergartners (6 dyads) as they buddy read a traditional and digital text.

Drawing upon two distinct lenses—sociocultural and comprehension signifier—video recordings, transcriptions, and written retellings were analyzed. Specifically, process coding and in vivo coding were used to construct categories and uncover sociocultural patterns …

An Exploratory Study Of The Effects Of A Technology-Based Graphic Organizer And 1:1 Chromebooks On The Persuasive Writing Of Third-Grade Students, Kathy L. Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative action research was to determine the effectiveness of a technology-based graphic organizer on student achievement, engagement, and motivation in writing. The study explored the usefulness of incorporating a mindmapping program, using Chromebooks to assist students when brainstorming ideas for a persuasive essay. Further, this study examined third-grade English language arts students’ perceptions of the use of technology to write persuasive essays using a specific writing prompt.

The teacher-researcher collected and recorded data on eight third-grade students over seven days. To identify and validate the study’s findings, field notes, student interviews, student reflective digital journals, surveys, …

Going Digital With Peer Review: Using Action Research To Explore The Effect Of Digital Peer Review On Student Writing Composition And Student Attitude In A Rural Primary School, Kemberly Jean Owens

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to explore the use of peer review on student writing composition and student attitudes toward writing for third grade students at Little Rural Primary School. This study focused on two research questions. The first research question explored how and to what extent the use of digital peer review effects student writing composition. The second research question explored how and to what extent digital peer review effects student attitudes toward writing. The study took place in the third and fourth grade gifted and talented classroom at Little Rural Primary School in South Carolina and …

Rethinking Gaming & Representation Within Digital Pedagogy: An Instructor’S Guide, Anthony Wheeler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work fully analyzes the creation process and implementation of a deeply-structured social commentary in the form of a digital interactive-fiction, created in the open software known as Twine. My co-developer, Raven Gomez, and I created a game that explores the challenges of navigating spaces within higher education as someone who identifies as something considered to be “other” by the standards of the common Western curriculum. Once the infrastructure of the product itself is outlined, this work follows students in an English Composition I course throughout their experiences creating digital interactive-fiction games based on pivotal moments in their lives that …

Implementing Writers’ Workshop Into The Special Education Classroom, Taylor Denning

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Writers’ Workshop has developed prominence as a method towards providing authentic writing experiences. The purpose of this study was to determine what happens to student perceptions and quantity of writing when Writers’ Workshop is implemented into a special education setting. This study took place in a self-contained special education classroom of third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. Data was collected through focus group interviews with the teachers, focus groups with two students from every grade, perception surveys, and writing samples.

Surveys and focus group interviews were completed before and after the implementation. Writing samples were collected at the beginning, middle, and end …

Implementing Writing In Content Areas: Teachers’ Perceptions As Writing Instructors, Matthew Davis Shemwell

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers across content areas have a shared responsibility to incorporate writing instruction into the curriculum; however, analysis of needs assessment survey data collected during Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant application in 2014 revealed that the faculty of the participating high school did not embrace writing instruction responsibility. The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions, confidence, and use of writing instructional strategies throughout content areas at the conclusion of implementation of the five-year grant. The researcher conducted an explanatory sequential mixed methods design that utilized a survey, interviews, and lesson plan document analysis. The survey sample consisted of …

Reorienting Writing In The 21st-Century Classroom: A Mixed Methods Study Of High School Students' Experiences Using Digital Writing Tools To Support The Writing Process, Kay Sellers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to describe students’ experiences using digital writing tools to support the different stages of the writing process in Honors-level English classes at a large suburban public high school in the southeastern United States. Reports from the writing section of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) reveal that writing scores for college-bound seniors declined by 15 points between 2005 and 2016. Even though students use social media tools for daily communication, some studies suggest students fail to make the connection between digital tools they use every day and the potential use of digital tools …

Culturally Familiar Texts To Improve Reading And Writing Outcomes For High School English Language Learners: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Taryn Courtney Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that culturally relevant pedagogical strategies are essential for improving culturally and linguistically diverse student achievement. However, there is little research about which specific strategies provide the largest impacts. And there is even less research on which strategies help LatinX English Language Learners achieve academic success in the areas of reading and writing. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of utilizing culturally familiar text, as compared to culturally unfamiliar text, on reading comprehension and summary writing outcomes for secondary LatinX ELL students. This study sought to determine if there were statistically significant differences in reading …

Perceptions Of English Teachers About Professional Development For Evidence-Based Writing Practices, Julie Nicole Bollich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Writing teachers in a southern school district have not consistently implemented evidence-based practices (EBPs) in writing instruction as indicated by students not meeting proficiency levels on state and campus writing assessments. Despite professional development (PD) provided to writing teachers, writing assessment scores remained lower than state level scores between 2012 and 2019 at the target campus. Teachers’ perceptions of their competence related to the implementation of writing strategies in the classroom, their perceptions of how district and campus PD supported their skill development, and their efficacy in designing and implementing lesson plans focused on teaching writing strategies were explored in …

Effects Of A Writing Instructional Package For Students With Moderate Intellectual Disability., Beth Newberry Gurney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of writing skills is one of the most complex competencies that students are expected to master (Saddler, 2013). Limited research has been conducted on the acquisition of writing skills for students with moderate and severe intellectual disability. Even fewer studies have examined the acquisition of sentence construction skills. The current study examines the effects of a writing instructional package using peer tutoring, response prompting, and sentence frames to teach students with moderate intellectual disability to construct sentences related to adapted grade-level social studies content. Four seventh grade students without disabilities were trained to implement the writing instructional package …

The Intersection Of Influential Reading With Writing In Multimodal Contexts, Grace Rusk Kerr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have touted the importance of teacher self-efficacy on the motivation and achievement of their students (Ashton & Webb, 1986; Bandura, 1994 & 2002; Mojavezi & Tamiz, 2012). When teachers have high levels of self-efficacy (the level at which teachers believe they can affect student outcomes), their students achieve at higher levels and develop increased levels of motivation. By extension, we posit that if teachers have increased self-efficacy regarding their own writing abilities, it will translate into increased motivation and achievement levels for their students in the area of writing. The purpose of this three-article dissertation is to support …