Education Commons^™

Monitoring The Writing Progress Of English Learners In The Secondary Setting, Susan C. Ellis

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This capstone is a literature review that centers on two research questions: what are researchers saying about using progress monitoring in writing, particularly that of secondary school English learners (ELs), and what tools are available for monitoring the writing progress of these students? An investigation of the uniqueness of EL writers was conducted prior to designing a systematic literature review for this capstone. An exhaustive search for studies that addressed the research questions was conducted, resulting in three studies that met the reliable and valid criteria established for this literature review. Each of the studies examined the reliability and validity …

Cognitive Function And The Administration Of A Writing Strategy Compendium Incorporating Autobiographical Recall And Art, Jonnie Sue Cleveland

Dissertations

The ability to write is vital in many academic areas (U.S. Department of Education, 2011). Roughly 70 percent of U. S. students in a representative sampling during 2010 (grades 8 and 12) scored only at the Basic (fractional grasp of prerequisite information and abilities) level and below (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).

Fifty-four percent of students in the eighth grade and 52 percent of students in the twelfth grade in the United States scored at the Basic level. Another 20 percent of students in the eight grade and 21percent of students in the twelfth grade scored below the Basic level. …

Using Embedded Institutes As Professional Development To Create A Culture Of Writing Excellence, Melanie K. Farber

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The following thesis addresses the problem of creating a culture of writing excellence at a large, urban school. I will show how the Embedded Institute model helped our school to reconsider our professional development model and to create writing leaders across the content areas. The thesis will make the argument for something larger than test scores through qualitative feedback from teacher participants.

Adviser: Robert Brooke

The Writing Process: Using Peer Review To Develop Student Writing, Jennifer M. Troester

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The following thesis will explore how peer review through an online writing exchange influences student writers during the writing process. I propose that when students participate in this online writing exchange to peer review, it will assure that they will have a better understanding of the writing process, and more confidence in analyzing their own writing and in themselves as writers. It also makes these students more conscientious of the writing they share with peers because they have a wider audience than just their teacher, and this motivates them to improve their writing. The last part of the document features …

An Investigatory Study Of Relationships Among Selected Theoretical Components Of Letter-Writing Fluency, Pamela C. Reutzel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research that shows the need for letter-writing fluency as a foundation for being able to attend to higher-level thinking skills in writing calls for more research as to what the components of letter-writing fluency actually are and how they are related to writing efficiency. To study the components of letter-writing fluency, four assessments were used to evaluate 49 kindergarten students’ letter writing abilities. These assessments were made in December of their kindergarten year. The first assessed subskill was letter-naming fluency (LNF), which has previously been shown to be predictive of reading ability. The other two subskills that were assessed focus …

Writing Narratives With The Aid Of Picture Stories, David S. Rayo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of picture stories in improving the use of various verb tenses in the writing of narratives of adult English language learners (ELL) over five treatment sessions. The participants in this classroom study consisted of two cohorts for a total of 36 participants between the ages of 18 and 22, eight from Angola and 28 from China; 18 males and 18 females. The results showed no significant improvement in the experimental picture condition compared to the control group across three tests; possible reasons are discussed. However, the study shows that ELL …

Calderwood Writing Initiative At Umass Boston, Denise Patmon, Carolyn Wong, Cedric Woods, Elena Stone

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Founded in 2003, the Calderwood Writing Initiative is dedicated to improving the teaching and practice of expository writing. In the past, the Initiative has sponsored a wide variety of experimental programs & approaches.

Not A Horror Story: Competency-Based Education (Cbe) & Writing Instruction, Michelle Navarre Cleary

SCPS Competency-based Education Publications and Presentations

“Horrifying,” “dystopian,” “there be wild beasts out there” – these are not descriptions of a terrifying new movie, but recent reactions to competency-based education (CBE) on the Writing Program Administrators (WPA) listserv. However, closing our eyes and pulling up the covers is not going to serve us well.

Unlike credit-hour based programs, CBE allows students to apply learning gained in many ways (including from life experience, classrooms and MOOCS) to demonstrate competence. Many CBE programs also allow students to work at their own pace, freeing those who are ready to move more quickly from the constraints of the academic term. …

Not A Horror Story: Competency-Based Education (Cbe) & Writing Instruction, Michelle Navarre Cleary

Michelle Navarre Cleary

“Horrifying,” “dystopian,” “there be wild beasts out there” – these are not descriptions of a terrifying new movie, but recent reactions to competency-based education (CBE) on the Writing Program Administrators (WPA) listserv. However, closing our eyes and pulling up the covers is not going to serve us well.

Unlike credit-hour based programs, CBE allows students to apply learning gained in many ways (including from life experience, classrooms and MOOCS) to demonstrate competence. Many CBE programs also allow students to work at their own pace, freeing those who are ready to move more quickly from the constraints of the academic term. …

The 'Literacy' Idea, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

A central reason why researchers and practitioners refer to domain literacy is to draw attention to the kinds of things students learn in the domain. In a traditional learning domain the focus might be on the acquisition of discrete facts, skills and procedures that have little obvious connection or utility. In a learning domain with a literacy orientation, the focus is on applying the domain’s facts, skills and procedures to support creativity and inventiveness, to solve novel problems and to deal with the kinds of challenges that life presents outside the classroom. In the case of mathematics, for example, a …

Exploring Interactive Writing As An Effective Practice For Increasing Head Start Students' Alphabet Knowledge Skills, Anna H. Hall, Michael D. Toland, Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Steve Graham

Anna H Hall

The current study used a pretest–posttest randomized control group design with 73 Head Start students, ages 3–5 years. The researcher served as the interactive writing teacher for the treatment group, rotating to five different classrooms in one Head Start center 3–4 days a week for 13 weeks. Children in the treatment group received a 10–15 min interactive writing lesson each day in small groups within their own classroom settings. Children in the control group received standard literacy instruction in small groups with their own classroom teachers. Child outcome data on upper case, lower case, and letter sound identification were collected …

Beyond The Author's Chair: Expanding Sharing Opportunities In Writing, Anna H. Hall

Anna H Hall

Providing children with opportunities to share their writing with others is a vital part of establishing a successful writing community. Although sharing is most often viewed as a beneficial experience for children, it is important to acknowledge that sharing can also be uncomfortable and intimidating for many young authors. This article provides tips for establishing a respectful writing community, including strategies for whole-group sharing, as well as alternative experiences for children who are reluctant to share.

Reading And Math Strategies For Struggling Students, Tonya Hiers, Arlene Berry, Kim Trepanier

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation will provide Common Core based strategies for teachers to use with students at risk of failure. Participants will engage in tasks that will allow them to experience Close reading, constructed response, and math problem solving. These cross curricular strategies will address literary, informational, and problem solving standards.

Exploring Interactive Writing As An Effective Practice For Increasing Head Start Students' Alphabet Knowledge Skills, Anna H. Hall, Michael D. Toland, Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Steve Graham

Anna H Hall

The current study used a pretest–posttest randomized control group design with 73 Head Start students, ages 3–5 years. The researcher served as the interactive writing teacher for the treatment group, rotating to five different classrooms in one Head Start center 3–4 days a week for 13 weeks. Children in the treatment group received a 10–15 min interactive writing lesson each day in small groups within their own classroom settings. Children in the control group received standard literacy instruction in small groups with their own classroom teachers. Child outcome data on upper case, lower case, and letter sound identification were collected …

Boys, Writing, And The Literacy Gender Gap: What We Know, What We Think We Know, Nancy Disenhaus

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The existence of a persistent gender gap in literacy achievement, and particularly in writing, is not in dispute: boys trail girls in every assessment at state, national, and international levels. Yet although this basic fact is not in dispute, nearly everything else concerning the gender gap in literacy achievement--its causes, consequences, and potential solutions--remains hotly contested, particularly in the public and professional discourse. Scholarly research offers insights that frequently challenge the prevailing public discourse, but this research has been conducted primarily in the U.K., Australia, and Canada, leaving the experiences of U.S. students largely unexplored. Herein lies the problem: an …

Video Review And Reflection For Ongoing Inservice Teacher Professional Development, Hannah M. Dostal, Kimberly A. Wolbers

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Publications and Other Works

Purpose. In this chapter we describe how a rubric-style observation instrument for observing classroom writing instruction was used to focus and optimize collaborative video analysis sessions among teachers and researchers spread across six states. As part of a 3-year Institute of Education Sciences (IES) development grant, we used videos of classroom instruction both as data for researchers studying the nature and impact of a specific instructional approach, Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI), and as a vehicle for collaborative teacher professional development-- for both teachers and teacher leaders.

Design. By tying video analysis to a shared observation instrument, we were …

The Writing Performance Of Elementary Students Receiving Strategic And Interactive Writing Instruction, Kimberly Wolbers, Hannah M. Dostal, Steve Graham, David F. Cihak, Jennifer Kilpatrick, Rachel M. Saulsburry

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Publications and Other Works

Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) has led to improved writing and language outcomes among deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) middle grades students. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of SIWI on the written expression of d/hh elementary students across recount/ personal narrative, information report, and persuasive genres. Five multiple-probe case studies demonstrate a relationship between implementation of SIWI and improvements in genre-related writing performance. The effect of instruction was most immediately demonstrated with information reports and persuasive writing, whereas several sessions of recount instruction were needed for students to satisfy performance criteria. Additionally, pre …

An Analysis Of Deaf Students’ Spelling Skills During A Year Long Instructional Writing Approach, Lisa M. Bowers, Hannah M. Dostal, Jillian H. Mccarthy, Ilsa Schwarz, Kimberly A. Wolbers

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Publications and Other Works

Numerous studies have shown that spelling presents unique challenges for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh) and most do not develop age appropriate spelling skills. However, it is critical that these skills are acquired in order to use written language for academic or vocational purposes. Spelling errors from the writing samples of 29 middle school students in a state school for the Deaf were analyzed to examine changes over time. Samples were gathered before, during, and after a year-long writing intervention using Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI). When using SIWI, students are exposed to proper spelling …

La Programación Neurolingüística Como Método Para Mejorar La Acentuación En Los Estudiantes De Tercero Del Colegio Juan Luis Londoño De La Salle Sede Usme, Ana Maria Camacho Pascuas, Claudia Lorena Buchmann Silva, Damaris Zulma Salgado Sánchez, Daniela Esther Gómez Arenas

Licenciatura en Español y Lenguas Extranjeras

El siguiente trabajo de grado está basado en la implementación del modelo de la Programación Neurolingüística que desde los setentas se ha aplicado en diferentes disciplinas de la psicología en tratamientos para mejora de los problemas de aprendizaje. En este caso se llevó a cabo con un grupo de estudiantes de tercero del colegio Juan Luis Londoño de la Salle durante el tiempo de práctica pedagógica, a través de diversos talleres y actividades para promover la activación de los sentidos visual, auditivo y kinestésico, todo con el fin de mejorar la ortografía. Desde la realización de un primer diagnóstico del …

Conceptualizing Metalinguistic Understanding In Writing | Conceptualización De La Competencia Metalingüística En La Escritura, Debra Myhill, Susan M. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper will present a theoretical analysis of research on metalinguistic understanding, illustrating how current research does not yet adequately address metalinguistic development in writing. Existing research on metalinguistic understanding has focused more on language acquisition, oral development and bilingual learners. Research on metalinguistic understanding in writing has tended to look more closely at young learners developing writing skills in spelling, transcription and orthography. Thus, theoretical accounts of metalinguistic understanding are currently insufficient to explain developing metalinguistic mastery of composing text and the relationships between declarative and procedural metalinguistic knowledge in writing. If we are to understand better the nature …

Adventures With Mr Monkey: Stimulating Creative Writing In The Primary School Classroom Through Play, Chloe Gordon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The importance of learning through play is now accepted as an integral component of early childhood classrooms. However, including opportunities for play in the primary school classroom can be challenging when competing with an overcrowded school curriculum. In this article I share my reflections on how I used play to stimulate my Year one students' creative writing in 2013.

Effects Of Persuasion And Discussion Goals On Writing, Cognitive Load, And Learning In Science., Perry Klein, J. S. Eharhardt

Education Publications

Argument writing is challenging for elementary students. Previous experimental research has focused on scaffolding rhetorical goals, leaving content goals relatively unexplored. In a randomized experiment, 73 students in Grades 5, 6, and 7 wrote persuasive texts about difficult-to-classify vertebrates. Each student received one of three sets of writing prompts: a persuasive goal only (control); persuasive goal + rhetorical subgoal prompts; or persuasive goal + content subgoal prompts. Rhetorical subgoals increased text quality, variety of rhetorical moves, number of complex propositions, and classification knowledge. Content subgoals increased the number of simple propositions in text. A path analysis indicated that content subgoal …

Instructional Writing Practices In Grade Five, Susan Elaine Newberry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nationally and locally, a paucity of students are effective writers. The purpose of this exploratory, sequential mixed methods study was to explore effective research-based writing strategies and influences on writing skills of 5th grade students. Guided by Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory, the research questions investigated teachers' perceptions of the best instructional writing practices, the effect of writing practices on students' state writing scores, the relationship between student attendance and performance on the state writing test, and the amount of instructional planning dedicated to best writing practices. Data were collected from interviews with 5th grade teachers (N = 5), …

Caught In The Tractor Beam Of Larger Influences: The Filtration Of Innovation In Education Technology Design, Justin Olmanson, Fitsum Abebe, Valerie Jones, Eric Kyle, Lyrica Lucas, Katie Robbins, Guieswende Rouamba, Xianquan Liu

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

While emerging technologies continue to emerge, research into their use in learning contexts often focuses on a subset of educational practices and ways of using technologies. In this study we begin to explore the extent to which educational designs are influenced by larger societal and education-related factors not usually explicitly considered when designing or identifying technology-supported education experiences for research study. We examine patterns within and between factors via a content analysis across ten years and 19 different journals of published peer-reviewed research on technology-supported writing. Our findings have implications for how researchers, designers, and educators approach technology-supported educational design …

The Techno-Pedagogical Pivot: Designing And Implementing A Digital Writing Tool, Justin Olmanson, Katrina Kennett, Bill Cope

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In educational technology, the idea of innovation is usually tethered to contemporary technological inventions and emerging technologies. Yet, using long-known technologies in ways that are pedagogically or experientially new can reposition them as emerging educational technologies. In this study we explore how a subtle pivot in pedagogical thinking led to an innovative education technology. We describe the design and implementation of an online writing tool that scaffolds students in the evaluation of their own informational texts. We think about how pathways to innovation can emerge from pivots, namely a leveraging of longstanding practices in novel ways has the potential to …

Mteg Afghanistan 2013 : Preliminary Database For Grade 6, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG)

This is the the preliminary database for the Grade 6 Afghanistan Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) results. Published also at: https://www.acer.edu.au/files/AFG_MTEG_G6_DATABASE.zip

Monitoring Trends In Educational Growth : Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG)

This publication provides a summary of initial findings of the Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) study in Afghanistan. Class 6 students in 13 provinces in Afghanistan were assessed in the domains of mathematical, reading and writing literacy. In total, 5,979 students, 42% girls and 58% boys, took the test and completed a student background questionnaire in either Dari or Pashto. The principal from each assessed school also completed a school background questionnaire. The initial results on gender differences show some promising outcomes as well as highlighting areas that require attention. The results of MTEG 2013 Class 6 indicate that …

The Role Of The Interruption In Young Adult Epistolary Novels, Betty J. Herzhauser

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the genre of young adult literature, a growing trend is the use of epistolary messages through electronic methods between characters. These messages are set apart from the formal text of the narrative of the novel creating a break in the text features and layout of the page. Epistolary texts require a more sophisticated reading method and level of interpretation because the epistolary style blends multiple voices and points of view into the plot, creating complicated narration. The reader must navigate the narrator’s path in order to extract meaning from the text. In this hermeneutic study, I examined the text …

Supporting Elementary Teachers In Effective Writing Instruction Through Professional Development, Whitney Nash Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing have created a challenge for teachers at an urban elementary school as they struggled to provide effective writing instruction to support the rigorous expectations of the standards. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary teachers' lived experiences of instruction and better understand instructional writing procedures and strategies. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Dennick's work for incorporating educational theory into teaching practices, which combined elements of constructivist, experiential, and humanist learning theories. Research questions investigated how teachers perceived the impact of the CCSS writing standards on their practice …

Creating A Peer-Managed Writing Center For Secondary Schools, Lucinda Eva Moebius

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student writing skills are a growing concern in secondary schools given the current focus on common core standards and college readiness. This qualitative case study addressed the growing problem of high school students being unprepared for the rigor of college level-writing. The study used a series of 10 interviews with writing center directors and teachers in 2 secondary schools with writing centers. This research adds to the literature on peer-managed writing centers and contributes to the body of knowledge of writing centers as a specific conceptual framework of response to intervention (RtI). The broad research questions were focused on 3 …