Establishing a benchmark for effective intervention : first-year engineering students’ writing and their perceptions thereof

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Phrasing Feedback to Improve Students\u27 Writing in a Large First-Year Humanities Course

On a revise-and-resubmit assignment in a large introductory History course, students were provided with feedback that was phrased either as questions, statements, or imperatives. This study examines which form was most likely to lead to improvement in the students’ writing. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyze a data set comprising 669 individual pieces of feedback on 67 sets of papers. Researchers found that, overall, students were most likely to implement feedback phrased as imperatives and least likely to implement feedback phrased as questions, and that the likelihood shifted somewhat depending on which aspect of writing was being commented upon; the extent of change required; the students’ past performance in the course; and the person providing the feedback

Évaluer la valeur de l’intégration de l’écriture et de l’enseignement de l’écriture dans un cours de méthodes de recherche

Universities across Canada and elsewhere have a longstanding focus on improving students’ writing skills, including for the purpose of fostering better learning. In this paper, we present findings from two sources of data—a discursive analysis and student survey—exploring the impact of writing instruction and support in the context of a required social science research methods course. The course is situated in an institutional context whereby specific courses are targeted for writing support through the provision of additional funds. The results indicate that the structure of the course—featuring components like tutorials and scaffolded assignment design—facilitates gains in student writing. The discursive analysis shows improvements across the three assignments submitted throughout the term and a positive impact of tutorial attendance. The survey indicates that students have an overall positive impression of the supports designed specifically with the learning of writing and research skills in mind.Les universités d’un bout à l’autre du Canada et ailleurs se concentrent depuis longtemps sur l’amélioration des compétences en écriture des étudiants et des étudiantes dans le but de favoriser un meilleur apprentissage. Dans cet article, nous présentons les résultats de deux sources de données – une analyse discursive et un sondage auprès des étudiants et des étudiantes – pour explorer l’impact de l’enseignement et du soutien de l’écriture dans le contexte d’un cours obligatoire de méthodes de recherche en sciences sociales. Le cours se situe dans un contexte institutionnel où des cours spécifiques sont ciblés pour le soutien à l’écriture par l’octroi de fonds supplémentaires. Les résultats indiquent que la structure du cours – dont certaines composantes comprennent des tutoriels et la conception d’exercices d’étayage – facilite l’amélioration de l’écriture des étudiants et des étudiantes. L’analyse discursive indique des améliorations dans les trois travaux soumis au cours du trimestre et un impact positif sur la présence aux tutoriels. Le sondage indique que les étudiants et les étudiantes avaient une impression généralement positive des soutiens conçus spécifiquement pour l’apprentissage de l’écriture et l’acquisition de compétences en matière de recherche

Assessing the Value of Integrating Writing and Writing Instruction into a Research Methods Course

Universities across Canada and elsewhere have a longstanding focus on improving students’ writing skills, including for the purpose of fostering better learning. In this paper, we present findings from two sources of data—a discursive analysis and student survey—exploring the impact of writing instruction and support in the context of a required social science research methods course. The course is situated in an institutional context whereby specific courses are targeted for writing support through the provision of additional funds. The results indicate that the structure of the course—featuring components like tutorials and scaffolded assignment design—facilitates gains in student writing. The discursive analysis shows improvements across the three assignments submitted throughout the term and a positive impact of tutorial attendance. The survey indicates that students have an overall positive impression of the supports designed specifically with the learning of writing and research skills in mind

Academic Literacies in a South African Writing Centre: Student Perspectives on Established Practices

Through a case study conducted in 2014 and 2015 at the University of X in South Africa, the researchers collected focus group and survey data to develop a better understanding of the kinds of students who use the university’s Writing Centre and their perceptions of the support they receive. The research question at the core of their study asks whether a South African writing centre’s academic literacies practices and philosophy should be adapted or changed to better serve today’s students.The results of the study demonstrate that the vast majority of students who visit the writing centre speak English as an additional language and believe they need more writing support with a focus on lower order concerns than that currently offered through the academic literacies approach at the university. The researchers concluded that the South African undergraduate students at the University of X need differentiated forms of writing support that go beyond the orthodoxies of the current academic literacies approach embraced by the University’s writing centres. The researchers urge writing centres to acknowledge the need to develop interventions and models of support that target English as an Additional Language (EAL) students without adopting a deficit-perspective and without abandoning the long-term project of challenging the privileged status of the English language within the institution

Academic Skills Group Project

Course Code, Name, Level and Enrollment: UTM118H5F, The Science of Learning, first-year undergraduate, 46-99 students.Learning Outcomes: develop and practice important learning strategies including active listening and note taking; critical reading; and effective exam preparation techniques.Other notes: entry includes the assignment's rubric and the course's syllabus.In this group project, students are put in a scenario that requires them to research foundational academic skills that will help students succeed at university. Groups must summarize the existing research on how best to teach and learn specific academic skills and then make a recommendation for how this research might be applied in university settings. Group members will have the opportunity to figure out the best way to present their work and their ideas together

Reflective Practice – A Model for how best to implement it?

The Canadian University Survey Consortium found that 56% of students in tertiary education have experienced some form of experiential learning (EL). Scholars engaged with EL argue that Reflective Practice is necessary to provide the transformative learning experience that distinguishes EL from traditional lectures. Our session will explore student perceptions of the merits of reflection before and after an intervention. This research took place in an advanced internship visual studies course at our university. In order to ensure that students value reflective practice, our intervention was embedded into the fabric of the course so that it could provide a “real world” experience for students. We developed and delivered a lesson/workshop on the merits of deep reflection (Brookfield, 1995; Harvey, Coulson, & McMaugh, 2016; and Smith, 2011) and how this practice is necessary to encourage deeper learning (Ghaye, 2011). Our discussion will focus on providing a methodology for how to encourage deep reflection through the use of a course embedded workshop that provides students with a set of tools to facilitate their engagement with deep reflection. We will also outline how linking the reflective exercises to discipline specific concepts/activities will not only encourage deeper reflection but will allow for the transformative experience that is sought in an experiential learning curriculum (Ghaye, 2011). Brookfield, S. D. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Ghaye, T. (2011). Teaching and learning through reflective practice: a practical guide for positive action (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Harvey, M., Coulson, D., & McMaugh, A. (2016). Towards a theory of the Ecology of Reflection: Reflective practice for experiential learning in higher education. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice. 13(2): http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol13/iss2/2 Smith, E. (2011). Teaching critical reflection. Teaching in Higher Education 16(2) pgs.211-223