Scholarship Overview
The general thrust of the scholarship is that what students learn and do in high school matters and that a good deal of it transfers to the college level. The problem is in the disconnect between the pressures and expectations faced by high school teachers (standardized test prep, AP and SAT writing prompts, “writing as performance” in general) as opposed to the greater amount of “writing to learn” that students are expected to engage in at the college level. To be successful writers at any level, students need to be more focused, intentional, and critical readers and need to be taught how to be such a reader.
What scholarship (articles, books, reports) did you consult and how did it inform your project?
Beach, Richard, Chris Anson, Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch and Thomas Reynolds. Understanding and Creating Digital Texts: An Activity-Based Approach. Lanham: Rowan, 2014. Print. The authors provide a rationale and a number of activities to support the creation of on-traditional” texts in the writing classroom at the secondary and post-secondary levels.
Connor, Timothy, Ronald Skidmore, Loal Aagaard. “College Student Disposition and Academic Self-Efficacy.” Mid-South Educational Research Association. November 2012. Online. The research looks at the role of what many would call a “growth mindset” with test results showing that students who have such a mindset are more optimistic about the challenges faced. It is suggested that instructional strategies work to enhance student self-efficacy.
Dennihy, Melissa. “‘Forget What you Learned in High School!’ Bridging the Space between High School and College.” Teaching English in the Two-Year College. December 2015. 156-169. Dennihy examines the issues faced by students and faculty as those faculty seek to prepare students to be successful at both levels.
Driscoll, Dana Lynn and Jennifer Wells. “Beyond Knowledge and Skills: Writing Transfer and the Role of Student Disposition.” Composition Forum. 26: Fall 2012. Online. The role of student disposition in learning is examined with the argument that disposition should be more central to instructional strategies.
Featonby, Amy. “The use of the ‘Teaching as Inquiry Model’ to Develop Student’s Self-efficacy in Literature Response Essay Writing.” Kairaranga. 13:1, 2012. 24-35. Online Year 12 students in England were evaluated with regard to their self-efficacy in a pre- and post-intervention methodology, affirming the positive correlation between studnt self-efficacy and performance along with some sense that self-efficacy can be taught.
Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. Council of Writing Program Administrators. N.p., Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. Framework was used to teach high school students how the habits of mind, specifically metacognitive reflection, influences writing.
Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel K. Durst. “They Say/I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, with Readings. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. Print. Graff, Birkenstein, and Durst focus providing students with strategies for entering an academic conversation by providing numerous strategies in template form. High school seniors found these templates invaluable for understanding they are indeed entering an academic conversation rather than writing a casual statement where they are supposed to be the experts.
Otten, Nick. “College Board.” AP Central – How and Why to Annotate a Book. College Board, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. Article used to create “Annotating with a Purpose” guidelines for high school students.
“Purposeful Annotation: A “Close Reading” Strategy That Makes Sense to My Students.” Dave Stuart Jr. Teaching the Core.com, 16 Jan. 2017. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. Stuart provides numerous strategies and ideas for teaching high school students the annotating with a purpose.
Sullivan, Patrick. “What is ‘College-Level’ Writing?” Teaching English in the Two-Year College. May 2003. 374-390. Sullivan provides an overview of the issues involved with not only teaching first year writing, but the essay examines the various forces that shape curricular and professional concerns.
The Citation Project: Preventing Plagiarism, Teaching Writing. 12 March 2017 citationproject.net Sandra Jamieson, Rebecca Moore Howard, and Tricia C. Serviss direct research projects to help with the teaching of source-based writing that demonstrates information literacy while avoid plagiarism.
“They Say / I Say.” YouTube. YouTube, 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. YouTube channel that summarize the “They Say/I Say” writing strategies. Used as an intervention for embedding quotes into writing.
Wardle, Elizabeth and Doug Downs. “Reflecting Back and Looking Forward: Revisiting ‘Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions’ Five Years On.” Composition Forum. 27: Spring 2013. Online.
Wardle and Downs revisit the discussion started by their June 2007 College Composition and Communication essay positing First Year Composition as an Introduction to Writing Studies as a curriculum that better fosters learning transfer.
Wells, Jennifer. “They Can Get There from Here: Teaching for Transfer through a ‘Writing about Writing” Course. English Journal. Nov 2011, 101:2, p57-63. Wells examines how a high school writing curriculum that emphasizes writing about writing will provide the skills that enables incoming college students to be successful writers at the college level.
