This study used a quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of argumentative writing on non-science majors' conceptual understanding and the growth of their writing skills over a semester. To assess gain in conceptual knowledge, tests were given before and after the course; students in the writing group gained significantly more than…

Collaboration between chemistry lecturers and literacy lecturers led to the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary project with the object of addressing two pertinent challenges in chemistry education. The first challenge is the tendency of students to approach different topics in science as separate units of knowledge, which…

An important foundational skill developed in an undergraduate science program is the ability to find, critically evaluate, and communicate scientific information. Effective science communication depends on good writing; therefore, we leveraged student support services offered by the Writing Centre and Academic Communications, in conjunction with…

Written communication skills are essential in today's world; yet, there is a perception (real or perceived) of a decline in the writing skills of undergraduate students. There is a recognition that there are systematic issues within the landscape of higher education that make teaching writing challenging at certain institutions. A writing program…

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their…

This study compared the characteristics of second graders' mathematical writing between an intervention and comparison group. Two six-week Project M2 units were implemented with students in the intervention group. The units position students to communicate in ways similar to mathematicians, including engaging in verbal discourse where they…

In Florida, middle grades students take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) in reading and writing. In partnership with the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), Avalon Middle School implemented the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) framework beginning in the 2012-2013 school year to develop literacy skills across…

Academics are actively encouraged to disseminate new knowledge to the scientific community by publishing in scholarly journals. External and internal barriers to writing, however, prevent many authors from writing for publication. This article gives an account of an intervention to provide hands-on coaching to inexperienced academic authors.…

'This action research study was conducted on a fourth grade rural classroom in Orange County, N.Y. for the purpose of determining if the use of the VoiceThread program will affect student performance in mathematics writing. A baseline of student performance on this measure was administered in the fall of 2010 using the NYS Holistic rubric of a 3…

This article presents a lesson cycle of activities for teaching reading and writing skills for expository text. The lesson cycle consists of four parts: (1) vocabulary words, (2) text structures, (3) modified sentence completion activity, and (4) rewriting text. Sixth- and seventh-grade summer school students were taught to recognize and…

The J. M. Tull School of Accounting at the University of Georgia has developed a program that integrates the teaching of writing skills with the regular accounting courses. Students in a three-course sequence write a total of eight papers--technical, memos, or reports--in assignments that resemble writing tasks encountered by professional…

Intended for use in curriculum planning, course development, and program evaluation, this report contains data from a study of the writing abilities of entering freshman students at the University of Texas at El Paso. The first chapter of the report provides background information concerning the need for systematic assessment of the writing…

A case study examined the implementation of a schoolwide writing program established in a California middle school through a district sponsored school improvement program (SIP). Conducted at an urban sprawl southern California school of approximately 900 students in grades seven and eight, the program was directed and implemented by the English…

Intended to complement two other summaries about writing across the curriculum at Gallaudet College for deaf students, this report describes the first academic year of the college's writing across the curriculum program (WAC), detailing various instructors' projects and their personal opinions about the program, as well as how the students felt…

In 1989, a study was conducted within the Minnesota Community College System to determine the effects of a 3-year Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) staff development program on the quality of student writing and on student mastery of course objectives. The study methods included faculty interviews, student and faculty surveys, holistic ratings…