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published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study was designed to develop and validate an assessment instrument which would yield valid information on teachers' theoretical learning philosophy orientation and instructional behaviors in the teaching of writing. Data are analyzed to determine whether there is a relationship between stated learning theories and responses to statements of elements of a writing program. The subjects who participated in the study were graduate students at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, and The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, and experts in the field of writing or language arts who were certified according to stated criteria. Respondents completed the View Toward Learning sheet and the Shaeffer Inventory of Approaches to the Teaching of Writing. The information from each completed Inventory and Learning View sheet was recorded for analysis data to accept or reject ten hypotheses. The Inventory achieved content validity through individual item documentation in literature sources. The instructional approaches were interpreted according to three common learning theories: Behavioristic, Nativistic and Cognitive Field. The data analysis, which included t tests, Cronback Alphas, and item correlations and classification, established the instrument as valid in distinguishing a teacher's approach as Behavioristic or Nativistic and reliably aligned learning theory with classroom practices. It was not valid in differentiating the Nativist from the Cognivist. Recommendations include a revision of selected Nativistic and Cognitive Field items to achieve a clearer distinction between the two approaches, and the use of the instrument and cover sheet in a large scale study to further document validity and reliability. The Inventory may be utilized for teacher self-appraisal individually, in staff development projects, or in combination with classroom observation. Teacher education programs concerned with writing instruction could assess beliefs about the way children learn and related classroom practices.

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This study examines the writing progress of six students over a period of five years and the effectiveness of the writing program each student experienced. Writing samples, standardized test scores, writing prompts, student surveys, and interviews with students and teachers combine to illuminate the strengths and weaknesses in the writing program.Quantitative data is derived from student surveys which illuminate the frequency student instruction in the best practices in writing instruction, in addition to the data collected from student standardized test scores. Qualitative data is disaggregated from student writing samples, writing prompts, and interviews, which demonstrate student knowledge of writing processes, and clarifies student experiences in writing instruction.The combination and examination of this data provides a clear picture of the students' five-year writing programs. In depth analysis this data illuminate strengths and weaknesses in the writing program experienced by the students. This paper also provides suggestions for improving writing instruction utilizing the best practices in writing instruction. / Department of English

This study describes the conversations that emerged during structured and unstructured peer response sessions in a basic writing classroom. The evidence suggests that the students were more likely to discuss both global and local issues in their writing when their teacher provided them with a structured set of questions to answer during response sessions. Additionally, the degree to which the students internalized these structured patterns of response and transferred them to the unstructured writing workshop sessions varied significantly among groups of students. While some students used the guided response questions to build beneficial writing-reading relationships with their peers and learn new methods for responding to writing, others kept the structured and unstructured response sessions almost entirely separate. These results raise questions regarding how students' sense of ownership over their own writing and motivation to participate in a community of writers affect the degree to which they internalize the patterns of response that are encouraged by their teacher during structured peer response sessions. / Department of English

In recent years, adults beyond the traditional college ages of 18-22 have been returning to higher education in record numbers. At most colleges, these students, along with their younger counterparts, are required to take two or three terms of freshman composition. Although returning students may be apprehensive at first, their teachers report that many are highly motivated and perform successfully in these required writing courses. To investigate this phenomenon, I studied the attitude and performance of returning adults (defined here as 25 years old and over) who were enrolled in traditional freshman composition classes at the University of Illinois at Chicago during the fall quarter of 1983.Specifically, I studied the attitude and performance of four case study subjects by conducting interviews, administering Daly and Miller's Writing Apprehension Test, collecting writing samples, and obtaining audiotaped composing-aloud protocols. My assessment of the data was informed by Daly's Taxonomy of Attitudes and Beliefs about Writing, Wilkinson's Stylistic, Cognitive, Affective, and Moral Scales, and Faigley and Witte's Taxonomy of Revision Changes. I present my findings in four narrative case histories.In addition, I conducted a group study of the attitude and performance of 44 returning students enrolled in required composition courses at U.I.C. during the fall quarter of 1983. To measure these students' attitude and performance, I administered Daly and Miller's Writing Apprehension Test at the beginning and end of the quarter and obtained final course grades.Although all four case study subjects expressed some initial writing anxiety, by the end of the quarter, three of the four had become confident and able student writers. Because of serious skill deficits, as well as high anxiety, the fourth student failed to complete the course. Contrary to expectation, the initial W.A.T. group mean was a moderate 66.22. An item analysis indicated that much of the anxiety expressed was situational. The low end-of-the-quarter mean (55.65) reinforced this impression. Apparently a quarter of composition instruction and writing practice reduced the situational apprehension of many. Moreover, the majority of these returning students performed successfully with 28 out of 44 earning an A or B in their freshman composition courses.In part, this high success rate was due to the population sampled. That is, few severely underprepared returning students begin their college work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Characteristics shared by these adequately prepared returning students included: high investment in writing. assignments; willingness to revise; interest in and acquisition of metacognitive skills; and use of life experience to enrich their writing.

Using a combination of Error Gravity and Composition Evaluation research methods, the author examined unguided responses to three non-native speaker compositions by 16 college composition and 10 TEFL teachers. A total of 13 to 15 content or form items per paper were rated, but for each paper, no more than five were selected by 50% or more of the teachers. The lack of agreement among the respondents concerning the items rated for seriousness throws doubt on the feasibility of producing meaningful rank orders of weaknesses using authentic written discourse as the sample. The findings show that the respondents rated content weaknesses as more serious than form weaknesses, but there was evidence that attention to form can obscure content problems for some teachers.