Educators have been challenged for many years to engage their students, but often students still seem to be disengaged (Klem & Connell, 2004). Research indicates student engagement is critical to student achievement and success in school (Appleton, 2008; Connell, Spencer, & Aber, 1994; Easton, 2008; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Student engagement is imperative in all subject areas, yet, after considering the research, writing is a particularly significant school subject that may be impacted by student engagement. Considering the research on engagement and the need to improve students’ literacy achievement, there is a compelling reason to know how and when students are engaged in writing. The aim of this study was to investigate the intersection of engagement theory and students’ engagement. Specifically, this inquiry focused on the students’ perceptions of engagement while identifying indicators of engagement and factors affecting engagement related to the student, task, or context within the writing classroom. My study addressed the following questions: (a) How can student’s engagement in a writing classroom be described? and (b) What are students’ perceptions of their engagement in a writing classroom? The findings of this study prompt educators to consider the importance of focusing on engagement in our classrooms. Students identified factors that promoted their engagement: importance of choice, making connections and teacher modeling. This study also found engagement and attitude influenced each other resulting in a positive classroom environment. Finally, this research identified the significance of student voice and how students are able to ascertain their level of engagement, if asked.

本研究旨在探討高中英文教師對於英文作文教學的信念與其實際教學情形。文獻回顧內容涵蓋英文作文教學理論以及教師信念與實踐。 本研究的對象為台北市的高中英文教師，研究方法採用量化的教師問卷輔以質化的教師訪談，問卷回收171份，採用兩種統計方法分析：描述性統計及單因子變異數分析；訪談人數為6人，訪談結果用來支持、解釋問卷結果。研究重點如下：(一)教師信念及教學情形：包含教學目標、教師角色、教學內容及教學方式、（二）教師信念與實踐的符合度與造成不相符合的原因以及（三）影響教師信念與實踐的因素。 本研究的主要發現如下： 1. 大考會左右老師的教學方向，但老師教學時目標不只侷限於此。 2. 老師的教學信念與實踐皆綜合成果導向與過程導向的教學法原則，而非單一教學法。 3. 教師教學上面臨課程、學生、教學準備及批閱作文等方面的困難，這些困難會阻礙老師遵循其信念教學。 4. 教師背景經驗確實會對其信念與實踐有所影響。 本研究有助於認識高中英文教師教寫作的信念與教學情形。研究者根據研究發現，分別對高中英文教師、教師培育機構、教育部及作文教學教材編寫者提出建議，以期讓高中英文作文教學更進一步。 / The purpose of this study was to explore what beliefs senior high school English teachers hold toward writing instruction and their practices of the beliefs. Literature review covered the approaches of ESL/EFL writing instruction and teachers’ beliefs and practices. The participants of this study were senior high school English teachers in Taipei city. Two data collection instruments were adopted, the quantitative questionnaire and the qualitative interview. In total, 171 questionnaires were gathered and analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. In addition, six interviews were conducted, whose results were utilized to further support and explain the questionnaire results. There were three research focuses. The first one was on teachers’ beliefs and practices in the goals of writing instruction, the roles they played, and the content as well as the teaching procedures of writing instruction. The second one was on the consistency between teachers’ beliefs and practices and possible reasons for the inconsistency. The third one was on influential factors on teachers’ beliefs and practices. Based on the results of this study, major findings are summarized. First, for the teachers in this study, entrance exams were approaching, so the test-oriented trend seemed to be inevitable. However, teachers believed that to familiarize students with English writing structure and to enable them to express in written English could also be possible goals, and they did teach accordingly. Second, the goals, roles teachers played, content, and teaching procedures reflected a mixture of product-oriented and process-oriented approaches. Third, the difficulties originating from curriculum, students, teaching preparation, and composition evaluation might hinder teachers’ practices of their beliefs. Finally, teachers’ background experiences were found to play a part in influencing teachers’ beliefs and practices. It is hoped that this study can contribute to more understanding of senior high school English teachers’ beliefs and practices in writing instruction. With the results of this study in mind, the researcher further made suggestions toward senior high school English teachers, teacher education institutes, the Ministry of Education, and writing instruction material designers. This might help refine senior high school English writing instruction.

Many students struggle on writing tasks with little success because writing is a complex task. Students with learning disabilities (LD) and students who are served in English to Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) programs generally perform at lower rates on writing tasks than their English-only speaking peers without disabilities. Several researchers indicate that students with disabilities may be able to improve their performance on writing tasks through the implementation of Direct Instruction writing programs. The purpose of the current study was to demonstrate the relationship between the implementation of an accelerated Direct Instruction program and student writing performance with students who have LD in written expression, and who are either English-only speaking or native Spanish-speaking. Specifically, using a multiple-probe across participants single-subject research design, two groups of students received instruction using the Expressive Writing program. One group of three students were concurrently served in both special education for learning disabilities in the area of written expression and in a program for students who were English Language Learners (ELL), and another group of three were native English speakers who had learning disabilities in written expression. Students were divided into two separate groups to determine the effect of an abbreviated instructional sequence on both groups of students as the language background differences between the two groups did not allow them to be examined as one distinct group. The effects of instruction were measured by analyzing the number of correct word sequences, the number of words, and the types of errors when students were given three-minute writing probes. Additionally, performance on the Test of Written Language (3rd edition) (TOWL-3) and a classroom generalization measure were examined. Results indicated that when only half of the total lessons were presented to the students in both groups, the number of correct word sequences and the total number of words written increased on within-program writing probes, the TOWL-3, and on a generalization measure. An implication of these results is that adolescent students with writing deficits may be able improve their basic writing skills using half of the total program. Such a finding is important because students at this level who have not yet acquired these skills must quickly acquire them to be able to develop the more sophisticated skills required of students at their grade level. Limitations included the lack of the in-program placement test being proctored at the end of the intervention and the use of a nonconcurrent baseline with the second group of students.

The aim of this study is to investigate, from a didactic perspective, how teachers pursue their writing instruction. A certain focus is directed towards discursive writing and the way the teachers support second language learners. The purpose is to compare the teachers’ writing instruction regarding the aspects above. The lack of research when it comes to the practice of discursive writing and writing instruction, in Swedish primary schools, in general form the basis of this study. The following questions provide the framework of this study:What are the teachers’ perspectives and reflections on discursive writing and writing instruction in general? In what ways is the teaching in writing designed and how does the teachers’ reflect on their teaching? Is there a difference between how the teachers conduct their writing instruction, with regard to a second language perspective, and how does the teachers reflect upon that? The study is based on observations and interviews with two teachers regarding these matters. The theoretical approaches of this study are Ivanic’s (2004) discourses of Writing and Learning to write and the theoretical concept scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, Ross 1976, s. 89-90, 97-99). The results show, in conclusion, that the teachers’ writing instruction includes the majority part of Ivanic’s discourses but these are variously practiced. The major part of the teaching was, in both teachers’ classrooms, performed in accordance with the narrative genre but discursive writing was also practiced. The teachers showed an awareness of the importance of supporting second language students, but a difference in the way they conducted their writing lessons from this aspect was evident.

abstract: A teacher's belief in what he or she can do is often a predictor for how well students may do in their classroom. Working together in a collaborative setting while looking at student work, determining next steps, and setting goals for student achievement can provide the impetus for teachers to change practices, implement different strategies and find success in the classroom. Collaborative practitioner inquiry focused in a single content such as written expression can bring about positive change for student achievement and teacher efficacy. In this study, a collaborative practitioner inquiry process was used to enhance teacher efficacy and increase student achievement in writing. This process was implemented school wide as an integral part of the school's instructional program. Teachers met once each month in Data Writing Team groups to look at student writing in their own classrooms and across their grade level. Based on the writing samples, teachers created SMART goals, determined levels of proficiency, and identified instructional strategies to implement. Data were collected through the administration of a teacher efficacy survey, focus group and individual interviews, student achievement data from pre- and post- writing samples, and observations and interpretations in a research journal. Findings concluded that collaborative practitioner inquiry contributed measurably to most Lake Shore Elementary School teachers' efficacy as teachers of writing especially by enhancing their convictions that they could teach writing and solve instructional roadblocks individually and collectively. In addition, collaborative practitioner inquiry contributed to substantial improvement in Lake Shore students' writing achievement. Teachers' accountability and purposes for instruction were enhanced through opportunities to work collaboratively together. Finally, collaborative practitioner inquiry contributed to students' writing achievement by adding to teachers' understanding of writing instruction and fostering continuously improved teaching practices. As a result of conducting this study, I learned that teachers who have the time to meet, talk, and think together form a greater focus as a grade level and, in turn, a purpose for what they do in the classroom. When teachers find success in their instruction their efficacy increases and as found during this study student achievement increases. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

Recent research has suggested that building personal relationships with students and establishing "learning communities" may be one way to encourage students to persist in their studies beyond the first year. Because many institutions require students to complete one or more writing courses early in their careers, first-year composition instructors have the opportunity to interact with students as they first attempt to assimilate into the academic culture. Response activities--one of the key ways writing instructors interact with their students and ask their students to engage with one another--can be a be a way to both facilitate effective revision and foster a sense of community among students. Group conferencing, defined in this study as a meeting between an instructor and a small group of students in which the participants receive feedback on drafts from their group members and instructor simultaneously, is a promising strategy for achieving those goals effectively and efficiently. The purpose of this study was to use a teacher research/participant-observer methodology to examine group conferencing more expansively and thoroughly than previous researchers and depicting a broader range of the behaviors that characterized the conferences and including the students' perception of the activity. In order to achieve these aims, a group of eighteen first-year composition students participated in individual conferences, in-class peer response, and group conferences and completed reflective assignments about each activity's effectiveness. Recordings of the group conferences were reviewed for significant behavioral patterns and the students' written responses were analyzed for indications of positive and negative reactions to group conferencing. The results included many behaviors described by previous researchers as well as several additional behavioral patterns that indicated the activity could be an effective and unique feedback experience. Most notably, working side-by-side with the instructor seemed to enhance the quality of feedback the students were able to offer one another because the instructor was able to demonstrate appropriate response techniques, prompt for more detailed responses from the students, and reinforce the students' helpful contributions. The students' written responses indicated that they saw value in group conferencing and, in some cases, came to prefer it over other feedback activities. Further, the findings of this study suggest that group conferencing may provide opportunities for community-building not afforded by other response strategies.

The complex task of reading, understanding, analyzing, synthesizing, and subsequently writing in response to a prompt about multiple texts required by the Common Core writing standards is difficult for many students, especially struggling writers and students with learning disabilities. The majority of elementary teachers report having less than adequate preparation in writing pedagogy and identify writing as the area they feel least prepared to teach. In this multiple probe across participants study, two teachers, a special education teacher and a cooperating general education teacher in whose classroom he worked, served as teacher participants. The special education teacher implemented Self-regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) for informational writing citing text-based evidence from two sources following practice-based professional development (PBPD) with small groups of students. Three female and five male fifth-grade African American students teacher-identified as struggling writers or receiving Special Education services for a specific learning disability (LD) participated in the study. Research questions were: To what extent can SRSD be implemented with fidelity in small groups by a special education teacher in an inclusive general education setting? To what extent does SRSD instruction in the informational genre citing text-based evidence improve the writing skills of fifth grade students with LD or those who struggle in writing in terms of (a) analytic quality, (b) evidence of strategy use, and (c) length? To what extent is SRSD considered to be a socially valid intervention for use in inclusive education settings by the participating teachers and students? A teacher survey of classroom writing practices and observations of classroom writing practices were conducted prior to the intervention to contextualize current writing practices. Student writing probes were assessed for plagiarism, academic vocabulary, number of essay elements, evidence of strategy use, and length. Fidelity was collected for writing prompt administration, PBPD, and SRSD. The teacher implemented with high fidelity and rated PBPD favorably both before and after intervention. Following intervention, student analytic quality, evidence of strategy use, and number of words written increased. Instances of plagiarism were decreased following intervention. SRSD was rated high on measures of social validity by both students and teachers.

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京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第21844号 / 人博第873号 / 新制||人||209(附属図書館) / 2018||人博||873(吉田南総合図書館) / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科共生人間学専攻 / (主査)准教授 金丸 敏幸, 教授 谷口 一美, 准教授 高橋 幸, 教授 田地野 彰 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

Online Writing Instruction (OWI) programs, like online learning classes in general, are becoming more popular in post-secondary education. Yet few articles discuss how to tailor course assessment methods to an exclusively online environment. This thesis explores video analytics as a possible course assessment tool for online writing classrooms. Video analytics allow instructors, course designers, and writing program administrators to view how many students are engaging in video-based course materials. Additionally, video analytics can provide information about how active students are in their data-finding methods while they watch. By means of example, this thesis examines video analytics from one semester of a large western university’s online first-year writing sections (n=283). This study finds that video analytics afford stakeholders knowledge of patterns in how students interact with video-based course materials. Assuming the end goal of course assessment is to provide meaningful insight that will help improve student and teacher experience, video analytics can be a powerful, dynamic course assessment tool.