With the help of several students, and a generous ninth grade English teacher, this article detai... more With the help of several students, and a generous ninth grade English teacher, this article details a study of revision. Using independent raters, this study found that students’ writing improved through a process of revision that was supported by time, peer review, specific writing instruction, and parent-volunteers trained as writing coaches through an innovative program developed by Ellen Kolba and Sheila Crowell, The Writers Room. With this study I also came to see how valuable small revision is—adding or changing sentences even –, and suggest that we consider small revision as success, not failure.
Introduction: What's the Issue with Student Writing as Public Text?, E. Isaacs & P. Jackson 1... more Introduction: What's the Issue with Student Writing as Public Text?, E. Isaacs & P. Jackson 1. Redefining Public/Private Boundaries in the Composition Classroom, A. Stover 2. Embodied Processes, A. Lee 3. "Why Didn't You Speak Up?," S. Stenberg 4. The Ethics of Students' Community Writing as Public Text, A. Goodburn 5. Publishing Student Writing, C. Moran 6. "Can't We Just Xerox This?," N. Mauriello & G. Pagnucci 7. Some People Just Want Their Stories to Die with Them, D. Owens
Abstract With the knowledge that teachers are not formed entirely through training and theoretica... more Abstract With the knowledge that teachers are not formed entirely through training and theoretical study, and the hope that teachers do not compose their pedagogies entirely in isolation and solely from their own experiences, I ask the question: how do practicing teachers successfully construct pedagogies which are personally and experientially valid as well as theoretically informed? To explore this question I conducted a qualitative study of three women writing teachers which describes how these teachers have come to construct ...
Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) tasked with the responsibility of writing center administra... more Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) tasked with the responsibility of writing center administration have complex and challenging positions that vary widely in terms of fiscal and administrative positioning, staffing, utilization of technologies, and mission yet share a common history and commitment to individualized instruction. This research report provides information that illuminates these variations in individualized writing instruction by reporting on a study of 101 US writing centers located at four-year colleges or universities identified as 'top' in several categories, providing for a sample that is diversified by region, size, sector (public or private), and educational focus. Derived from a purposive sample of web-based information, the sample allows for comparison to research that is based on self-selected reporting and thus provides a broader view but also one which is from afar. Data collection was based on publicly available information and focused on writing center services, institutional and physical location, status and position of staff, use of technology, and articulated mission. Analysis reveals the persistence of variation in institutions' approaches to this long-valued component of writing instruction in higher education. Research findings affirm the centrality of writing centers and individualized instruction in college and university life in the US but suggest that writing centers, with few significant exceptions, are positioned as adjunct to other educational activities on campus. We believe these findings contribute to the need for more information about the professional working conditions under which all WPAs (including directors of writing centers) work and how students are taught. This article is the first part of a series on how writing is taught in a variety of settings; traditional classes, programs, and centers.
With the help of several students, and a generous ninth grade English teacher, this article detai... more With the help of several students, and a generous ninth grade English teacher, this article details a study of revision. Using independent raters, this study found that students’ writing improved through a process of revision that was supported by time, peer review, specific writing instruction, and parent-volunteers trained as writing coaches through an innovative program developed by Ellen Kolba and Sheila Crowell, The Writers Room. With this study I also came to see how valuable small revision is—adding or changing sentences even –, and suggest that we consider small revision as success, not failure.
Introduction: What's the Issue with Student Writing as Public Text?, E. Isaacs & P. Jackson 1... more Introduction: What's the Issue with Student Writing as Public Text?, E. Isaacs & P. Jackson 1. Redefining Public/Private Boundaries in the Composition Classroom, A. Stover 2. Embodied Processes, A. Lee 3. "Why Didn't You Speak Up?," S. Stenberg 4. The Ethics of Students' Community Writing as Public Text, A. Goodburn 5. Publishing Student Writing, C. Moran 6. "Can't We Just Xerox This?," N. Mauriello & G. Pagnucci 7. Some People Just Want Their Stories to Die with Them, D. Owens
Abstract With the knowledge that teachers are not formed entirely through training and theoretica... more Abstract With the knowledge that teachers are not formed entirely through training and theoretical study, and the hope that teachers do not compose their pedagogies entirely in isolation and solely from their own experiences, I ask the question: how do practicing teachers successfully construct pedagogies which are personally and experientially valid as well as theoretically informed? To explore this question I conducted a qualitative study of three women writing teachers which describes how these teachers have come to construct ...
Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) tasked with the responsibility of writing center administra... more Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) tasked with the responsibility of writing center administration have complex and challenging positions that vary widely in terms of fiscal and administrative positioning, staffing, utilization of technologies, and mission yet share a common history and commitment to individualized instruction. This research report provides information that illuminates these variations in individualized writing instruction by reporting on a study of 101 US writing centers located at four-year colleges or universities identified as 'top' in several categories, providing for a sample that is diversified by region, size, sector (public or private), and educational focus. Derived from a purposive sample of web-based information, the sample allows for comparison to research that is based on self-selected reporting and thus provides a broader view but also one which is from afar. Data collection was based on publicly available information and focused on writing center services, institutional and physical location, status and position of staff, use of technology, and articulated mission. Analysis reveals the persistence of variation in institutions' approaches to this long-valued component of writing instruction in higher education. Research findings affirm the centrality of writing centers and individualized instruction in college and university life in the US but suggest that writing centers, with few significant exceptions, are positioned as adjunct to other educational activities on campus. We believe these findings contribute to the need for more information about the professional working conditions under which all WPAs (including directors of writing centers) work and how students are taught. This article is the first part of a series on how writing is taught in a variety of settings; traditional classes, programs, and centers.
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