We pilot tested an identity-based relevance-writing intervention designed to support developmental community college students' (N = 54) educational commitment, value, and persistence. The intervention was embedded within regular journal assignments in two study skills courses with a third section serving as a comparison group. The intervention…

This dissertation explored how effectively first-year writing (FYW) evaluated and selected sources for their researched writing assignments. Though students were taught how to access sources from the library and offered sources on the course management system, most often they obtained sources via the open internet. As mis- and disinformation…

We tested whether a brief self-affirmation writing intervention protected against identity-threats (i.e., stereotyping and discrimination) for adolescents' school-related adjustment. The longitudinal study followed 639 adolescents in Germany (65% of immigrant descent, 50% female, M[subscript age] = 12.35 years, SD[subscript age] = 0.69) from 7th…

The quality of undergraduate student writing is cause for concern among academics and industry professionals alike. Because writing apprehension is thought to be a contributing factor in the current deficit of undergraduate writing proficiency, the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) was administered to parks, recreation, and tourism students to…

Background: To combat stereotype threat, several school-based field trials have leveraged self-affirmation theory (Steele & Liu, 1983; Liu & Steele, 1986), wherein affirming one's important beliefs and values can buffer against identity threats. Self-affirmation theory posits that individuals are motivated to maintain a positive overall…

We tested the long-term effects of a utility-value intervention administered in a gateway chemistry course, with the goal of promoting persistence and diversity in STEM. In a randomized controlled trial (N = 2,505), students wrote three essays about course content and its personal relevance or three control essays. The intervention significantly…

Purpose: This tutorial describes how a speech-language pathologist (SLP) might incorporate writing-based principles into therapy sessions to target a variety of speech and language goals for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children in addition to writing. We present an illustrative example of one SLP's experience implementing Strategic and…

Writing is considered the most arduous academic task in school. Many students struggle with motivating themselves to engage in text production due to the enormous cognitive load it requires. In this pilot study, we used a simple electronic device that emits silent vibration signals at programmed intervals to help five sixth graders to stay focused…

The purpose of this mixed methods action research project was to address the problem of practice of incorporating foundational grammar, spelling, and punctuation (GSP) instruction into community college journalism classes through the intervention of online interactive modules called The Story Mechanics Project (SMP). The modules were developed and…

The present research examined the extent to which the initial approach to a research-writing course by STEM and non-STEM second-language learners may entail the contribution of different dispositions to course performance and ultimately be responsible for dissimilar outcomes. Individual differences in dispositions and behavior were assessed during…

Written communication skills are often among the most important applied skills sought by employers when hiring graduates of colleges of agriculture. However, recent reports cite a gap between employers' expectations and graduates' levels of preparedness in key applied skills, among them "effective written communication." One critical…

International students with low academic English proficiency face challenges with reading their course materials and writing assignments. Their challenges are exacerbated during remote learning, as they remain in their home countries, immersed in their home languages, which may be quite distant from academic English. To investigate the effects of…

The popularity of technology use in various aspects of individuals' lives has necessitated integrating some form of technologies into language education to have a more effective teaching and learning process. Considering basic and sub-skills in English, vocabulary is probably the most preferred skill to learn by using different technological tools…

Where academic literacies are understood as situated social practices, effective academic literacy support needs to reflect the disciplinary and institutional specificity of the practices. However, the institutional separation of academic literacy teaching from disciplinary subject teaching, typical of UK universities, creates significant…