The purpose of this study is to investigate how the US-based First-Year Composition (FYC) instructors understand and facilitate metacognition in their classes and assess students' metacognition through exploratory, mixed methods approaches. I argue that even if we understand the importance of metacognition generally for student populations, we…

In lived experience, the two processes of secondary research and writing overlap and intertwine interminably, creating an overarching complex system as research becomes expressed in writing and writing generates new research. This classroom study explores the two processes as one--the research-writing process--through coding of student journal…

Even though K-12 educators must assess student learning and adjust instruction based on learning data, many teachers lack confidence in their ability to assess. Because low confidence levels may be due to inadequate teacher preparation, this study invokes the pivotal SoTL project, Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT), as it examines TILT's…

Writing instruction is a particular challenge because there is no singular, linear solution to teaching students to write well. This book approaches writing as a wicked problem that takes place in complicated contexts. Through both scholarly research and teacher reflection, it examines ELA classrooms and the experiences of writing teachers to…

Hattie and Timperley's (2007) model of effective feedback, widely used in teacher professional development, provides an easily-applied framework for thinking about the information contained in feedback. However, the model simplifies a complex phenomenon shaped in practice by interpersonal, disciplinary and institutional aspects. Examining the…

This article describes how four English language arts teachers formed an inquiry group to design approaches to writing assessment that would support and foster student writers' agency, empowerment, and freedom. They hoped that by focusing assessment on students' articulation of their writing processes rather than on rubrics or final products, they…

Developed to evaluate secondary school students' writing fluency skills, this study is descriptive in nature and uses a mixed method approach. During the research, the researcher attempted to identify students' abilities to write in terms of quantity and complexity, on the one hand, and also attempted to identify findings on accuracy, the…

This practical book provides explicit directions for teaching sentence-level skills to students who have difficulties in this area. The author explains the key role of sentence combining in the writing process and presents effective techniques for instruction and assessment. Numerous sample lessons, practice activities, planning tips, and…

The authors assert that the time that teachers spend providing feedback could better be used to focus on formative assessment systems.

This article makes a case for the inclusion of creative writing in Library & Information Science (LIS) courses. Using an example of the course on reading practices and audiences, it shows how creative writing can contribute to the development of creativity, critical thinking, ability for self-direction and independent learning--all the…

This paper explores automated methods for measuring features of student writing and determining their relationship to writing quality and other features of literacy, such as reading rest scores. In particular, it uses the "e-rater"™ automatic essay scoring system to measure "product" features (measurable traits of the final…

Although handwriting is often considered a matter of presentation, a substantial body of international research suggests that the role of handwriting in children's composing has been neglected. Automaticity in handwriting is now seen as of key importance in composing but this proposition is relatively untested in the UK and the assumption has been…

Written language is a complex set of skills that facilitate communication and that are developed in a predictable sequence. It is therefore possible to analyze current skills, identify deficits, plan interventions, and determine the effectiveness of the intervention. To effectively accomplish these tasks, educators need to choose appropriate…

Rubrics are an integral part of many writing programs, and they represent elements of good writing in essays, stories, poems, as well as other genres and forms of text. Although it is possible to use rubrics to teach students about the processes underlying effective writing, a more common practice is to use rubrics as a means of assessment, after…

While formal, standardized assessment instruments provide valuable and necessary information about students' various abilities and skills, the use of informal and qualitative assessment approaches has the benefit of leading directly to instruction based squarely on an individual student's needs, strengths, and existing skills. This article…