Joint determination of college student achievement and effort: Implications for college teaching

In this paper, a four-equation simultaneous equations model is developed with college student effort and achievement being jointly determined. The model is then tested using a sample of students from one comprehensive university. The empirical results provide evidence that student efforts with respect to faculty interaction, but not with respect to library usage or course effort, significantly affect achievement.You know, teachers sometimes think they are all that happen in class. But I have to take what a teacher is trying to teach me and translate it into something I learn, and that has little to do with the teacher. The learning is what I do.—A student named Susan, fromOn College Teaching, by Ohmer Milton and AssociatesAn earlier version of this paper was presented at the Lilly Conference on College Teaching at Miami University in November 1989.     

Dangerous liaisons: Reflections on a pilot project for state-mandated outcomes assessment of written communication

This study details the development and results of a campus-based writing assessment plan that was mandated by a state-wide university system in order to explore the “value-added” from a writing program curriculum to undergraduate students’ competence with written expression. Four writing samples (two timed essays and two conventional essays) that are produced before, during and at the close of enrollment in the writing program are scored for critical thinking, genre knowledge, rhetorical skills, and mechanics. The results indicate that local campus student achievement related to writing is comparable with performance captured by nationally normed technologies and larger assessment projects at similar state universities. The data also suggest significant performance difference related to the institutional position of students’ instructors as well as students’ own enrollment status. The article concludes that while the data produced by this research project are compelling, the policy and political implications of the undertaking suggest greater sensitivity to the institution's culture and program direction as well as its impact on instructor morale, student learning environment and the place of composition studies in the university.     

The formation of conscience: A lost topic of Didaktik

Progressive and radical visions of education have accorded student voice an important place in their critiques of traditional schooling and their proposals for change. In this paper, I examine and criticize two popular conceptions of student voice. The firstvoice as individual expression- is put forward by advocates of writing workshop approaches tothe teaching of writing. Workshop advocates emphasize students' desire to express their unique selves in writing, and how traditional instruction frustrates this desire. The second conception of student voice- voice as participation- comes from advocates of critical pedagogy. These advocates call for critical dialogues among teachers and students, within which student voices would sound and be heard. I conclude the paper by sketching an alternative conception, one that affirms the strengths of these previous versions, as well as responds to their weaknesses. I propose that voice be conceived of as aproject involving appropriation, social struggle and becoming. My goal is to envision student voice in a way that more adequately recognizes the interactional and ideological complexities of student expression, so that we might, as educators and researchers, better support the flourishing of student voices in schools.     

Reconsidering assessment: From checklist to dialectic

When composition teachers evaluate student essays, how well-aligned is their grading practice with what those teachers profess is important about writing? How do instructors discover this alignment? This article describes the consequences of inadvertent misalignment by analyzing a document typically found in many writing programs—an instructor's essay evaluation checklist. A critique of this common assessment instrument reveals that, in trying to promote evaluative consistency, the checklist privileges product over process, the authority of academic discourse over the autonomy of students' own voices, and an analytic predisposition to student writing as opposed to an instructor's reader-response. In so doing, the checklist undercuts the kind of composition pedagogy instructors claim to espouse in their classroom practice. Perhaps these conflicts cannot be overcome, but, in response to this precarious predicament, this essay poses this question: Can assessment find its direction and vitality by acknowledging such conflicts? A dual heuristic, of sorts, is proposed for locating assessment techniques that directly address the conflicts inherent in the checklist. This heuristic seeks out in assessment what the checklist clearly lacks: dialogic and dialectic dimensions. Defining which assessment methods best fulfill this heuristic—and in so doing more honestly align pedagogy with evaluation—is the purpose of the concluding remarks in this essay.     

Multiple orthographic codes in reading and writing acquisition

A modified Stroop Test (single-letter, letter-cluster, and whole-word colorinconsistent stimuli) showed greater interference for the more automatic orthographic coding unit—the word—than for the less automatic coding units—single letters and letter-clusters—in developing readers in second, fourth, and sixth grade (N=72, Study 1). A developmental trend was observed from relative skill in word-level orthographic-phonological correspondence in second graders to relative skill in subword level orthographic-phonological correspondences in sixth graders. A previous finding that whole word coding > letter coding > letter cluster coding in relative rate of development was replicated (N=300, Study 2). Multiple orthographic codes—for whole words, single letters, and letter clusters—were correlated with both reading and writing but patterns of correlations with the component reading and writing skills changed from first to third grade; by third grade whole word coding was not correlated with reading and writing skills but letter cluster coding was correlated with all reading and most writing skills. Cue validity —categorization of letters on the basis of differentiating rather than distinctive features—improved from second to sixth grade and may account for developmental gains in letter cluster coding. Level of cue validity was correlated with speed of sentence comprehension (N=60, Study 3). The theoretical and practical significance of multiple orthographic codes for orthographic-phonological connections in word recognition and for literacy acquisition in general is discussed.This research was supported, in part, by Grant No. 25858-01 awarded to the first author from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.Study 1 is based on a presentation at the 1990 meeting of the American Education Research Association. Study 2 is based on a presentation at the 1991 meeting of the American Education Research Association. Study 3 is based on a presentation at the 1989 meeting of the American Education Research Association.The authors thank the participating children from the Shoreline Public Schools (Study 1), Bellevue, Northshore and Seattle Public Schools (Study 2), and the Mukiteo Public Schools (Study 3). They also thank Sylvia Mirsepassi for secretarial assistance.     

Learning to teach at the elbows: The tao of teaching

The metaphor learning to teach at the elbows is put forward in this article to highlight claims about learning to teach that focus on the development of “teaching manner.” My particular interest is in characterizing and understanding aspects of teaching that seem to be acquired, shared, mediated, and changed through teachers' work together—a shaping which I believe occurs initially through mimicry in the practice setting, and which in many cases appears to take place independent of rational deliberation. I ask “How do I understand this kind of learning?” and “How, then, do I then represent my work as a teacher educator?” These questions are explored in light of contemporary Western ideas about situated cognition, activity, and identity—ideas which are extended further in this paper by pointing out similar problems related to integrating knowing and action that are found in early Chinese philosophy. In particular, the dialogical relationship between Confucianism and Taoism provides a useful framework for understanding the studio interplay between learning as socio-culturally mediated activity and critical reflection in the initial preparation of teachers.     

Is politics the problem and markets the answer? An essay review of Politics, Markets, and America's Schools

Politics, Markets, and America's Schools is an ambitious book that draws eclectically on concepts from political science, the sociology of organizations and educational learning theory. Chubb and Moe employ an extensive array of data seeking to link the mechanisms that control school operations to student achievement. They conclude that a total restructuring of the governance system of American education — from democratic to market control — is necessary. Our review scrutinizes a set of critical decisions made by Chubb and Moe in defining their key concepts and in the analytical models employed in this research. We argue that many of these decisions are not justified on either theoretical or methodological grounds. Moreover, the cumulative effect of the decision tends to tilt the empirical evidence toward supporting the authors' a priori beliefs. As a result, we conclude that Politics, Markets, and America's Schools is best viewed as a policy argument, where extensive, but not always solid empirical evidence has been artfully employed to advance the authors' preconceived notions about American schooling.     

WRITING AS DIALOGUE: THE COMPOSITION STUDENT AS WRITER,AUDIENCE, AND CRITIC

My Colleague, Dr. Eileen Landis‐Groom, and I are professors of English at Embry‐Riddle Aeronautical University, she on the Prescott, Arizona campus, and I on the Daytona Beach, Florida, campus. This past semester we began an experimental composition project that centers on the students’ exchanging papers and paper critiques between the two campuses. We believe that writing students engaged in the correspondence project have better realized particular instructional goals than they would have in the traditional closed‐classroom environment; student assessment of the project indicates that they, too, are confident that the method allowed them to improve their writing more than more traditional methods might have. The project has challenged their understanding of the audience‐purpose‐style relationship, demanded a much more concentrated effort in composing written evaluations of student writing, and allowed for a valuable exchange of place‐oriented information across a great geographic distance. The correspondence method of teaching writing insists on the nature of writing as dialogue by replacing the “general,” hypothetical audience with the concrete individual, combines key features of collaborative learning, peer review, and process orientation, and focuses on the critique as a composition in itself.     

Using the Science Writing Heuristic to Improve Undergraduate Writing in Biology

Our objective was to investigate the impact of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) on undergraduates’ ability to express logical conclusions and include appropriate evidence in formal writing assignments. Students in three laboratory sections were randomly allocated to the SWH treatment (n?=?51 students) with another three sections serving as a control (n?=?47 students). All sections received an identical formal writing assignment to report results of laboratory activities. Four blinded raters used a 6-point rating scheme to evaluate the quality of students’ writing performance. Raters’ independent scoring agreement was evaluated using Cronbach's α. Paper scores were compared using a t-test, then papers were combined into low-scoring (3.5 of 6 points) or high-scoring (>3.5 of 6 points) sets and SWH and control cohorts were compared using Pearson's chi-square test. Papers from the SWH cohort were significantly (P?=?0.02) more likely to receive a high score than those from the control cohort. Overall scores of SWH cohort papers tended to be higher (P?=?0.07) than those from the control cohort. Gains in student conceptual understanding elicited by the SWH approach improved student ability to express logical conclusions about their data and include appropriate evidence to support those conclusions in formal research reports. Extending the writing tasks of the SWH to formal writing assignments can improve the ability of undergraduates to argue effectively for their research findings.     

Involvement and growth of students in three academic programs

The purpose of this study was to provide further evidence on potential determinants of college student involvement in curricular and cocurricular campus activities, particularly on the importance of student enrollment in three academic programs. The study focused on how students in two special academic programs—an honors program and a transition program to assist academically disadvantaged students adjust to college—as well as students in the regular curriculum become engaged in a variety of experiences and how their quality of effort (involvement) in the activities is related to student growth and development. The relationship between level of student activity and achievement supports the claims of previous research that involvement contributes to students' development and gains in intellectual and interpersonal areas. However, the strength of relationship between student effort and gain varied for the three groups. Overall, the honors and transition students appeared to get more for their effort than did the regular students.     

Students' conditioned response to teachers' response: portfolio proponents, take note!

Portfolio advocates argue that teacher commentary becomes more meaningful for students with the use of portfolio assessment, particularly because the commentary is unaccompanied by a grade. However, my own study of portfolio classrooms suggests that students continue to regard teacher responses as directives that leave them few options in terms of revisions. My study involved six writing classrooms from the middle school to the university level and included classroom observations, interviews of students and teachers, and examination of student writing and teacher response. The students generally looked to their teachers to show them the “correct” way to write and resisted the notion of making independent judgments about their writing and the necessary revisions, primarily because they could not ignore the ultimate reality of the grade. Yet the teachers generally avoided being directive in their responses. In one instance, the teacher's best efforts to adopt a more open style of response backfired when a sensitive student read the commentary as demeaning. I argue, therefore, that even though portfolios represent a more enlightened approach to assessment, students have difficulty escaping their conditioned obeisance to teacher authority. While this finding should not be read as a condemnation of portfolio assessment, it does indicate that teachers need to be aware of how students read their responses. Otherwise, portfolios alone may not substantially alter the teacher–student dynamics.     

Does the Brain Have a Place in Educational Psychology?

Byrnes and Fox (1998) present the case for the relevance of cognitive neuroscience in educational psychology, including both logical and empirical arguments. In this commentary, I begin by briefly reviewing the history of the case for including the brain in educational psychology: Early educational psychology—as reflected in Thorndike's (1926) educational psychology textbook—emphasized the neuronal basis of learning; contemporary educational psychology—as reflected in educational publications—tends to ignore the brain; and future educational psychology will need to overcome the pitfalls encountered in previous misuses of brain research. Next, I examine two logical arguments for Byrnes and Fox's case, namely, that including cognitive neuroscience research makes educational psychology more complete and more plausible. Then, I examine the empirical argument of Byrnes and Fox by focusing on the value of cognitive neuroscience research in attention and memory as well as in reading and arithmetic. Finally, I suggest criteria for evaluating the contributions of cognitive neuroscience research in educational psychology, including the need for research on educationally relevant tasks and issues.     

Teaching second-grade students to write sequential text

With the adoption of the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards, writing has become an increasingly important area of instruction. Moreover, there has been an increased sophistication in the types of writing required of young children and the use of textual evidence expected in student writing. Historically, children have not been routinely taught explicit strategies for writing, but have been exposed to less rigid writing instruction such as Writer's Workshop. The current study examined an explicit writing strategy, the Read-to-Write Strategy, to determine its effectiveness in teaching young children how to write sequential text. A single subject design (N = 40) was used to compare the writing of second graders before and after instruction. Results indicated that the Read-to-Write Strategy significantly increased the quality of sequential text from the pre- to post-instruction with a large effect size reported. Implications and recommendations for educators and researchers are provided.     

Journal writing and mathematics instruction

In this article we discuss the educational value of engaging mathematics students in a specific form of writing to learn—the keeping of a journal throughout a mathematics course. As the result of an analysis which comprises both conceptual and empirical components, we suggest that journals have the potential to contribute to mathematics instruction in several ways. As the students write the journals, they can be encouraged to express and reflect upon their feelings, knowledge, processes and beliefs about mathematics, and consequently grow along each of these dimensions. By reading their students' journals, teachers may receive a wealth of information about their students and the course, and consequently improve their teaching. Finally, journals can create a new form of dialogue between the teacher and each student, thus allowing for more individualized instruction and a supportive classroom atmosphere.     

Pseudotransactionality, Activity Theory, and Professional Writing Instruction

Pseodotransactionality—writing that Is patently designed by a student to meet teacher expectations rather than to perform the “real” function the teacher has suggested—is a problem that has frequently troubled writing teachers, especially professional writing teachers. This article attempts to analyze the problem from a sociohistorical perspective by using two Russian theoretical exports: (1) M. M. Bakhtin's concept of genre and (2) Vygotsklan activity theory. The article concludes by suggesting how a sociohistorical perspective mlght help to counteract pseudotransactionality In the professional writing classroom.     

Moving on: A cooperative study of student transfer

With no statewide student tracking system in place for California's tripartite postsecondary education system, three of the state's leading institutions joined in a study of the effectiveness of student transfer—the bridge between community college and university-level education. Transfer success was measured by student preparation, persistence, and performance both before and after transfer. The study examined whether the need for remediation before transfer affected students' progress and degree attainment. The findings run counter to the traditional notion that few remedial students persevere and transfer. A comparison of graduation rates with other community college transfers and with native university students indicated these transfers performed better.Presented at the Thirty-first Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Francisco, May 26–29, 1991.     

Writing Self-Efficacy in Young Children: Issues for the Early Grades Environment

The intent of this study was to examine young children’s perceptions of writing self-efficacy (Grades K–1). Most research studies find a significant relationship between self-efficacy and achievement in older students (Grades 4–16). Research has also shown that children are affected by personal perceived self-efficacy. Therefore, self-efficacy can affect young learners as well. There are few self-efficacy studies among young learners, especially kindergarten and first grade. This study was conducted to determine if young learners could describe their writing self-efficacy and, if so, how student perceptions compare to teachers’ and researchers’ perceptions.The data showed that participating students from kindergarten and first grade could describe their writing self-efficacy. Several characteristics of children with high and low writing self-efficacy are discussed. Comparisons between teachers’, researchers’, and children’s perceptions of writing self-efficacy showed consistency with 14 of the 18 student participants.     

Are there any questions? one teacher’s view of students and their questions in a fourth-grade classroom

While many teachers agree that the questions students ask are valuable, researchers have found that student questions are notably absent from most classrooms. We know almost nothing about the exceptions to this—classrooms where teachers manage to elicit and use student questions effectively in instruction. One fourth grade teacher, known for her use of student questions, was selected for this study. Classroom observations and interviews were used to gather data; qualitative methods were utilized to analyze the teacher interviews and the interactions surrounding 260 questions students asked during observations. This paper highlights the teacher’s stance toward her students and their questions. 1) The teacher viewed her students as learners who asked questions to increase their understanding. 2) The teacher viewed the assumptions revealed by student questions, as ‘steps’ to the curriculum. 3) The teacher viewed her students’ questions through the lens of potential; that is, she responded to questions based on how they might promote the understanding of her students.