Many college-level students choose to study in another country and in a second language, often in English. In this context, a high standard of written English is important to attain good grades in college and earn degrees with distinction, which may lead to successful careers. One international college provided computer tools to students to improve their writing; however, students were reluctant to use the tools provided. This qualitative study explored these college students' perceptions of their lack of motivation to use computer tools and the barriers that prevent them from improving their English writing. The research questions investigated the technology available for these English as a Second Language students, their motivation to use error correction tools, barriers to their use, and attitudes to writing well in English. This study used the social constructivist theory as its theoretical framework that students learn by interacting with others. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 20 students, and 2 focus groups of 5 participants. All were selected purposefully. Data were open coded and thematically analyzed and 4 themes emerged. The four themes were technology and its uses, user preferences, writing, and motivation. The results indicated that the participants preferred to consult teachers, with technology as an aid, and used error correction tools only as a last resort. A total immersion writing development program with follow-up mentoring was developed to improve incoming international students' writing skills and to build their confidence in the use of technology. The emergent information from this study is intended for use by students, staff, and faculty to improve international students' English language acquisition, academic achievement, and professional success.

Scientific reasoning and writing skills are ubiquitous processes in science and therefore common goals of science curricula, particularly in higher education. Providing the individualized feedback necessary for the development of these skills is often costly in terms of faculty time, particularly in large science courses common at research universities. Past educational research literature suggests that the use of peer review may accelerate students' scientific reasoning skills without a concurrent demand on faculty time per student. Peer review contains many elements of effective pedagogy such as peer-peer collaboration, repeated practice at evaluation and critical thinking, formative feedback, multiple contrasting examples, and extensive writing. All of these pedagogies may contribute to improvement in students' scientific reasoning. The effect of peer review on scientific reasoning was assessed using three major data sources: student performance on written lab reports, student performance on an objective Scientific Reasoning Test (Lawson, 1978) and student perceptions of the process of peer review in scientific community as well as the classroom. In addition, the need to measure student performance across multiple science classes resulted in the development of a Universal Rubric for Laboratory Reports. The reliability of this instrument and its effect on the grading consistency of graduate teaching assistants were also tested. Further, application of the Universal Rubric to student laboratory reports across multiple biology classes revealed that the Rubric is further useful as a programmatic assessment tool. The Rubric highlighted curricular gaps and strengths as well as measuring student achievement over time. / This study demonstrated that even university freshman were effective and consistent peer reviewers and produced feedback that resulted in meaningful improvement in their science writing. Use of peer review accelerated the development of students' scientific reasoning abilities as measured both by laboratory reports (n = 142) and by the Scientific Reasoning Test (n = 389 biology majors) and this effect was stronger than the impact of several years of university coursework. The structure of the peer review process and the structure of the assignments used to generate the science laboratory reports had notable influence on student performance however. Improvements in laboratory reports were greatest when the peer review process emphasized the generation of concrete and evaluative written feedback and when assignments explicitly incorporated the rubric criteria. The rubric was found to be reliable in the hands of graduate student teaching assistants (using generalizability analysis, g = 0.85) regardless of biological course content (three biology courses, total n = 142 student papers). Reliability increased as the number of criteria incorporated into the assignment increased. Consistent use of Universal Rubric criteria in undergraduate courses taught by graduate teaching assistants produced laboratory report scores with reliability values similar to those reported for other published rubrics and well above the reliabilities reported for professional peer review. / Lastly, students were overwhelmingly positive about peer review (83% average positive response, n = 1,026) reporting that it improved their writing, editing, researching and critical thinking skills. Interestingly, students reported that the act of giving feedback was equally useful to receiving feedback. Students connected the use of peer review in the classroom to its role in the scientific community and characterized peer review as a valuable skill they wished to acquire in their development as scientists. Peer review is thus an effective pedagogical strategy for improving student scientific reasoning skills. Specific recommendations for classroom implementation and use of the Universal Rubric are provided. Use of laboratory reports for assessing student scientific reasoning and application of the Universal Rubric across multiple courses, especially for programmatic assessment, is also recommended.

This Study considers some of the problems and solutions to the needs of Vietnamese tertiary students with respect to writing in English in the University setting. The Study identifies that writing English as a foreign language has been and continues to be a f u n d a mental difficulty for Vietnamese tertiary students. Consequently, in order to understand the difficulty and the needs of such students, this Study enters into a consideration of the language and learning needs of the target population and describes the teaching strategy and syllabus content necessary to assist such students to function in English writing more adequately. In order to realise these aims, the Study reviews the relevant literature with respect to: (i) the development of the theory of the concept of writing in a foreign language , and (ii) the teaching of different foreign language teaching methods in the twentieth century. Finally , details of syllabus design and suggested techniques are presented in Appendices 1 and 2 respectively.

<p>It is important to think about how to correct an essay and what the students should learn from it. My aim in this paper, is to look into what different researchers have said about feedback on written assignments and carry out a study of the kind of feedback that is actually used in secondary school today – and of what students and teachers think about it.</p><p>The results show that underlining is the marking technique mostly used in the secondary school where I did my investigation. This technique was also mostly preferred amongst the students. Two teachers were interviewed and both said that they used underlining because experience has shown that this marking technique is the most effective one. Furthermore, the results from the essays differed when analyzing errors corrected with complete underlining, partial underlining, crossing out and giving the right answer. One marking technique got good results when dealing with one kind of error, and worse in others. My conclusion is that teachers need to vary their marking technique depending on the specific kind of error.</p><p>Also, the results from a questionnaire showed that most of the students would like to get feedback on every written assignment. Not many of them said that they were already getting it, although this was what both teachers claimed. To conclude, there are many different ways to deal with marking and feedback. The key-word seems to be variation. As long as teachers vary their ways of dealing with marking and giving feedback, they will eventually find one or two that are most effective. Involving the students in this decision can also be a good idea, if they are interested.</p>

Abstract The purpose of this survey is to examine how educators work with reading- and writing-skills in preschool with six year old children. I want to examine if the new curriculum, Lgr11, has affected the school teachers in their teaching of reading- and writing and if their work has changed through the years. Using a qualitative study, five preschool-teachers, working in preschool for several years, were interviewed to be heard of their thoughts about this topic. The survey shows that preschool-teachers are more familiar with the curriculum of today, in relation to previous curriculums. Much because of that the new one is more addressed to preschool compared with earlier curriculums but also that the teachers in an easier way can see the pupils’ way to knowledge. The preschools in the survey also work more and more similar to grade one. The difference is that the school uses more books and materials and that the preschool emphasis the importance of early childhood education in their business and that preschool teaches more knowledge about drama, music and the children play. A current question is how preschool and grade one can cooperate so that all pupils can develop their reading- and writing-skills as good as possible. / Sammanfattning Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur pedagoger arbetar med läs- och skrivinlärningen i förskoleklass. Jag vill undersöka om den nya läroplanen, Lgr11 (läroplan för grundskolan, förskoleklass och fritidshemmet 2011), påverkat personalen i läs – och skrivundervisningen och om pedagogernas arbete förändrats under årens lopp. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ studie är fem förskollärare som arbetat under många år i förskoleklass intervjuade, för att få höra deras tankar om detta. Undersökningen visar att de intervjuade förskollärarna i förskoleklass är mer insatta i den läroplan vi har idag i förhållande till de läroplaner vi haft tidigare. Mycket därför att den riktar sig mer till förskoleklass i jämförelse med tidigare läroplaner men också för att man kan se de kunskapskrav som eleverna ska nå på ett tydligare sätt än förut. Dessutom arbetar förskoleklasserna i studien alltmer liknande årskurs ett. Enligt de intervjuade lärarna är skillnaden att man i skolan använder sig av mer böcker och material och att förskoleklassen betonar vikten av förskolepedagogiken i sin verksamhet och tycker sig lära ut kunskap mer med hjälp av drama, musik och lek. En fråga som blir aktuell är hur förskoleklass och årskurs ett ska kunna samarbeta för att alla elevers fortsatta läs- och skrivutveckling ska bli så optimal som möjligt.

I denna undersökning granskas 31 texter skrivna av elever i årskurs 7 höstterminen 2011. Samtliga texter är skrivna efter samma på förhand fastställda uppgift. Metodmässigt har texterna granskats genom en närläsning strukturerad av ett analysschema.  Undersökningen syftar till att besvara följande frågeställningar: - Vilka är de texttypsmässiga styrkorna och svagheterna i elevtexterna? - Hur ser samspelet ut mellan berättandet och argumenterandet i elevtexterna? - Vilka typer av kunskaper i argumentation visar sig i elevtexterna? Sammanfattningsvis visar studien att eleverna kan föra fram en tes och argument som stödjer tesen. Dock finns det utrymme för förbättring vad det gäller skapandet av disposition. Undersökningen visar också att en mindre del av eleverna valde att skriva en diskuterande text istället för en renodlad argumentation. Eleverna har i de flesta fall en god känsla för blandningen av den argumenterande och berättande texttypen. I diskussionen redogörs för hur texterna skulle kunna användas i ett formativt arbetssätt för att diskutera kunskaps-kvalitéer. / In this thesis 31 student texts are examined by close reading. The texts were written in seventh grade on the fall semester of 2011. The study of close reading were structured by an analytic scheme and aimed to answer the following questions: - Which are the strengths and weaknesses in the student’s text in relation to text type? -  How is the relationship between narrative and argumentative text types represented? -  Which signs of knowledge about written argument appear in the student’s texts?  The study shows that most students can formulate a thesis and argument to support it.   There is however room for improvement when it comes to the disposition of the text. The study also shows that some of the students wrote a text as a discussion rather than an argument. In most cases the students are successful in combining narrative and argumentative text types. The thesis is concluded by a discussion about how these results could be helpful in the frame of formative assessment and guide students to develop their argumentative skill.

Bakalauro darbe analizuojama afazijų ištiktų žmonių rašymo grįžimo dinamika. Suformuota hipotezė, kad gebėjimą rašyti padeda grąžinti ankstyvos rašymo pratybos. Tirti afazijų ištikti VšĮ Šiaulių apskrities ligoninės ir VšĮ Klaipėdos ligoninės pacientai, patyrę galvos smegenų insultą ar po galvos smegenų naviko šalinimo operacijos. Atvejo analizės metodu išsiaiškinta, kaip kinta paciento rašymo įgūdžiai nuo reabilitacijos pradžios iki reabilitacijai skirto laiko pabaigos. Tyrimo metu identifikuotas rašymo sutrikimų pobūdis esant įvairioms afazijoms ir iškeltas tikslas, išsiaiškinti rašomosios kalbos grąžinimo ypatumus skirtingų afazijų atvejais. Norint įvykdyti numatytą tikslą, buvo išsikelti šie uždaviniai: • Išanalizuoti medicininę, pedagoginę, psichologinę literatūrą nagrinėjamu klausimu. • Identifikuoti rašymo sutrikimų pobūdį esant įvairioms afazijoms. • Atskleisti asmenų, praradusių gebėjimą kalbėti, rašymo kaitą nuo reabilitacijos pradžios iki reabilitacijai skirto laiko pabaigos. Išaiškėjo, kad rašymo sutrikimų pobūdis priklauso nuo afazijų rūšies. Tiriamųjų rašomosios kalbos grįžimas vyko individualiai, priklausomai nuo afazijų pobūdžio, formos, laipsnio, įtakos turėjo tiriamojo amžius, išsimokslinimas, lytis bei asmeninės žmogaus savybės. Atliktas tyrimas parodė, jog reabilitacijos pradžioje dauguma pacientų negebėjo savarankiškai rašyti ir tik iš dalies nurašinėjo pateiktus žodžius. Reabilitacijos pabaigoje tiriamieji aktyviai pradėjo nurašinėti, o dalis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / There is an analysis result of the return of writing skill in Aphasia in this Bachelor Final Work. The hypothesis says: early writing practice determinate faster return of writing skills. For the analysis there were examined patients with traumatic brains injuries and patients who had brain tumor operations in Šiauliai Country Hospital and Klaipėda Hospital. To find out how is changing patients writing skills in the beginning and the end of rehabilitation there was used a case study method. The analysis showed character of writing problems in different kinds of Aphasia. The mane goal of the analysis was to find out particularity of return of writing skills in the case of different kinds of Aphasia. To answer the mane goal there were formed there tasks: • Make an analysis of medical, pedagogical, psychological literature. • Indent the nature of writing skills in different kinds of Aphasia. • Reveal dynamics of writing skills in the beginning and in the end of rehabilitation for the patients who lost their speaking skills. The analysis showed that the nature of writing skills depends of the kind of Aphasia. The return of writing skills was individual, depended on the kind, form and grad of Aphasia. Age, education, sex and personal characteristics had also impact the return of writing skills. This investigation helped to find out that in the beginning of rehabilitation many patients could not write by themselves and partly could rewrite the words. In the end of... [to full text]

Self–regulation in writing is viewed as critically important in order to be a good writer. With the advent of cellular telephony, what passes as ‘good’ writing is being challenged with the introduction of the abbreviated form of SMS (Short Messaging Service) language. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the changes in SMS spelling and whether or not these changes affected the participants’ spelling age and their ability to write formally within the context of a formal SMS and the English language class. This study also aimed to determine whether a relationship exists between self–regulatory skills and writing in SMS. A sequential explanatory mixed–method research design was selected in order to address the research questions which had been posed. The study examined the nature of Short Messaging Service (SMS) language and the relationship between self–regulation and SMS, using a dominant quantitative survey design which was followed by a qualitative phase which explored and explained the phenomena which had been exposed in the quantitative phase of this study. The results of this study indicated that SMS language is an abbreviated form of digital writing, which is colloquial and informal in nature. SMS language is used in SMS text messages and within the forum of the chatroom MXit. The results also indicated that the participants in this study use the self–regulatory strategies of goal setting, strategic planning, self–recording, self–evaluation and self–reaction when writing SMS text messages that are more formal in nature. Furthermore, no evidence of SMS language could be found in an analysis of writing portfolios, indicating that SMS language does not affect the academic writing skills of the participants in this study. The main conclusion was that although this study was completed on a very small scale and that it would be inappropriate to generalise, the implementation of and research regarding the nature of SMS and self–regulation in SMS writing, require attention in order to ensure that the self–regulatory skills possessed by learners in our schools are used optimally in order to promote literacy and good writing practices. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Learning and Teaching))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Self–regulation in writing is viewed as critically important in order to be a good writer. With the advent of cellular telephony, what passes as ‘good’ writing is being challenged with the introduction of the abbreviated form of SMS (Short Messaging Service) language. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the changes in SMS spelling and whether or not these changes affected the participants’ spelling age and their ability to write formally within the context of a formal SMS and the English language class. This study also aimed to determine whether a relationship exists between self–regulatory skills and writing in SMS. A sequential explanatory mixed–method research design was selected in order to address the research questions which had been posed. The study examined the nature of Short Messaging Service (SMS) language and the relationship between self–regulation and SMS, using a dominant quantitative survey design which was followed by a qualitative phase which explored and explained the phenomena which had been exposed in the quantitative phase of this study. The results of this study indicated that SMS language is an abbreviated form of digital writing, which is colloquial and informal in nature. SMS language is used in SMS text messages and within the forum of the chatroom MXit. The results also indicated that the participants in this study use the self–regulatory strategies of goal setting, strategic planning, self–recording, self–evaluation and self–reaction when writing SMS text messages that are more formal in nature. Furthermore, no evidence of SMS language could be found in an analysis of writing portfolios, indicating that SMS language does not affect the academic writing skills of the participants in this study. The main conclusion was that although this study was completed on a very small scale and that it would be inappropriate to generalise, the implementation of and research regarding the nature of SMS and self–regulation in SMS writing, require attention in order to ensure that the self–regulatory skills possessed by learners in our schools are used optimally in order to promote literacy and good writing practices. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Learning and Teaching))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

A hybridized society, Kuwait meshes Islamic ideologies with western culture. Linguistically, English exists across both foreign language and second language nomenclatures in the country due to globalization and internationalization which has seen increasing use of English in Kuwait. Originally consisting of listening, speaking, reading and writing, the first grade English curriculum in Kuwait was narrowed in 2002 to focus only on the development of oral English skills, and to exclude writing. Since that time, both Kuwaiti teachers and parents have expressed dissatisfaction with this curriculum on the basis that this model disadvantages their children. In first grade however, the teaching of pre-writing has remained as part of the curriculum. This research analyses the parameters of English pre-writing and writing instruction in first grade in Kuwaiti classrooms, investigates first grade English pre-writing and writing teaching, and gathers insights from parents, teachers and students regarding the appropriateness of the current curriculum. Through interviews and classroom observations, and an analysis of curriculum documents, this case study found that the relationship between oral and written language is more complex than suggested by either the Kuwaiti curriculum reform, or international literature concerning the delayed teaching of writing. Intended curriculum integration across Kuwait subjects is also far more complex than first believed, due to a developmental mismatch between English pre-writing skills and Arabic language capabilities. Findings suggest an alternative approach to teaching writing may be more appropriate and more effective for first Grade students in the current Kuwait curriculum context. They contribute also to an emerging interest in the second and foreign language fields in the teaching of writing to young learners.