While the importance of feedback in education is well established, the effects of structured knowledge in collaborative academic writing remains uncertain. This study introduces an academic writing feedback tool that combines structured knowledge mining, analysis, and visualization. An empirical experiment was conducted in a second-year university…

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…

Research into metacognition has found it to facilitate self-regulation and correlate to learners' L2 writing level. Following Lee & Mak's (2018) framework of Metacognitive Instruction (MI) for L2 writing classrooms, this study applies Dynamic Assessment (DA) to writing MI (MI-DA) in a rural middle school EFL class in China. A one-semester…

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…

Kuh (2008) describes the capstone as a "culminating experience" students undertake close to graduation often involving "a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they've learned" (p. 11). The senior thesis is one form of the capstone in which students write an analytic paper under faculty supervision, typically as…

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical case for the value of scenario-based assessment (SBA) in the measurement of students' written argumentation skills. First, we frame the problem in terms of creating a reasonably efficient method of evaluating written argumentation skills, including for students at relatively low levels of competency.…

We present a new approach to investigating student reasoning while writing: real-time capture of the dynamics of the writing process. Key-capture or video software is used to record the entire writing episode, including all pauses, deletions, insertions, and revisions. A succinct shorthand, "S notation," is used to highlight significant…

In this report, we examine the feasibility of characterizing writing performance using process features derived from a keystroke log. Using data derived from a set of "CBAL"™ writing assessments, we examine the following research questions: (a) How stable are the keystroke timing and process features across testing occasions?; (b) How…

This article outlines a rational for responsive, differentiated writing instruction that targets students' identified needs with respect to various dimensions of the writing process. Discussed is a cycle that requires ongoing assessment, instructional decision-making, responsive, differentiated instruction, guided practice, and assessment.…

The authors consider how portfolios can meet the challenges of assessing various aspects of literacy and student learning. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) specify the knowledge and skills students need for success in college and the workplace--including writing in all content areas. The CCSS attends to range as a core theme in a more…

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…

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…

This examination of an evaluation of writing based on process rather than on product argues that one of the primary functions of evaluation as a part of teaching should be to diagnose the writing strategies that underlie a writer's current performance, not just textual problems. The first half of the paper discusses the various ways teachers use…