![1. To Be Employable
“Good writing skills [are] essential for both existing
employees and new hires” (“Student Perceptions of
Their Writing Skills: Myth and Reality,” Journal of
Business and Management, 2012).
* The NAEP (2011) states 80% or more of employees have writing
responsibility and this is expected to increase.
* The Business Roundtable records inadequate skill “as a barrier to
promotion and an estimated #3 billion (2012) is spent each year
training employees to write” (Addison, McGee, and James, 170).
Occupational Outlook Quarterly. “Occupational Employment.” Occupational Outlook Quarterly 49.4 (2006-06):
8-29.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/bfa1bc08-9ba9-44e4-baef-9f4e2317af6b-150501122207-conversion-gate02/85/StudentsCanWriteBetterPresentation-12-320.jpg)
![2. To Raise United States Literacy Levels
~ U. S. ranked #14 globally ~
* Writing and reading tied together when defining literacy
because writing and reading “involve development of
meaning, both conceptualized as comparing activities in the
sense that both involve planning, generating, and revising
meaning” (Writing and Reading Relationships: Constructive
Tasks, Langer and Filhan, 200).
* Illiteracy is a way to control a society (Writing in the 21st
Century, NCTE, 2009). Writing allows “citizens [to] exercise
their own control” (2). Freedom can be lost through losing
literacy.
National Center for Education Statistics. “Writing.” Institute of Education
Sciences. US Dept. of Education. (2008): 468.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/bfa1bc08-9ba9-44e4-baef-9f4e2317af6b-150501122207-conversion-gate02/85/StudentsCanWriteBetterPresentation-13-320.jpg)
StudentsCanWriteBetterPresentation
- 1. 1
- 2. By Christina F. Kennison April 2015 2
- 3. My research has focused on the quality of students’ writing in America. This involved: Close examination of The Nation’s Report Card and assessment focus. Research which identifies factors contributing to below standard writing – blockages. Key reasons to raise student writing quality. I conclude with 3 writing activities I put together and find successful.
- 4. The Nation’s Report Card™ informs the public about the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students in the United States. Report cards communicate the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a continuing and nationally representative measure of achievement in various subjects over time. For over three decades, NAEP assessments have been conducted periodically. By collecting and reporting information on student performance at the national, state, and local levels, NAEP is an integral part of our nation’s evaluation of the condition and progress of education. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible for carrying out the NAEP project. United States Department of Education, 2015
- 5. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). “Writing Assessment.” NAEP 2011 Writing Framework (2011): 1-26 5 Nation’s 2011 8th & 12th Grade Writing Report Card
- 6. National Assessment of Educational Progress: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/Reading/achieveall.asp The 2011 report reveals almost 75% of the nation’s students are at “Basic” level or below , instead of “Proficient,” or “Advanced.” NAEP defines “Advanced” as: “able to make complex inferences and construct and support inferential understanding of the text. Students should be able to apply understanding of a text to make and support a judgment.” NAEP defines “Proficient” as: “the ability to “represent solid academic performance.” NAEP defines “Basic” as: “able to locate relevant information, make simple inferences, and use their understanding of the text to identify details that support a given interpretation or conclusion. Students should be able to interpret the meaning of a word as it is used in the text”.
- 7. National Assessment of Education Progress. “Writing Assessment.” NAEP 2011 Writing Framework (2011): 1-26 The National Survey Engagement wanted students to have more instruction on how to write and with various types of writing formats. The key of the 2011 NAEP writing assessment focused on, among others things, communicative purposes: To convince To inform To share experience The change came because although The Common Core attempted to prepare students, the Nation’s latest Report Card, along with other reports, feedback from schools, teachers, parents, and students suggested something more was needed.
- 8. when students follow individual voice and are prompted to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize, they enjoy writing, which leads to: Engagement Creativity Invention But instead, students are prompted to provide the “right” formula and answers, which then lead to their viewing writing as boring and frustrating. Students know writing assignments aren’t about their ideas . Engagement, creativity, and invention happen outside the classroom and “under” it however. Brooke’s study revealed students’ notes to one another creative, inventive, and enthusiastic between their teacher’s instruction and assigned work. Brooke, Robert. “Underlife and Writing Instruction.” National Council of Teachers of English 38.2 (1987): 141-153. JSTOR. Web. 29 Sept.
- 9. http://jnab.wikispaces.com/SHARED+WRITING 1. Teacher/Student Relationship effects writing A friendly, positive, and safe classroom where encouragement, time to pursue self, and examples of writing in process (Shared Writing) is provided, student performance is heightened. * Shared Writing: Gallagher’s work reveals students write better when teachers “come out from behind the curtain” (Write Like This, Teaching Real-World Through Modeling and Mentoring Texts, 224-225, 2011). * In shared writing the teacher holds the pen and the students are invited to contribute ideas for the writing.
- 10. 2. Teachers Need Better Writing Training. Teachers report they don’t feel they’ve had enough writing training. A Staten Island teacher for example, admits his “training taught him a lot of theory, but little on how to teach” (Tyre The Writing Revolution, 2012). * A study by Parrand and Limbrick identified teachers’ variance of writing understanding as “the single source of influence” that “contributes to variance in student achievement,” indicating enhancing teachers’ writing knowledge enhances students’. Parr, Judy M. and Libby Limbrick. “Contextualizing practice: Hallmarks of effective teachers of Writing.” (2010) 583- 590. ERIC. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
- 11. 3. Standardized Tests not only require the “right” formula and answers, but teachers report standardized tests devour time, leaving little time for students to pursue intrapersonal exploration. * Teachers teach for the test (Brimi, “Teaching Writing in the Shadow of Standardized Writing assessment,” 2012). Educational System Comic, 23 Oct. 2011. http://weknowmemes.com/2011/10/the-educational-system-comic/
- 12. 1. To Be Employable “Good writing skills [are] essential for both existing employees and new hires” (“Student Perceptions of Their Writing Skills: Myth and Reality,” Journal of Business and Management, 2012). * The NAEP (2011) states 80% or more of employees have writing responsibility and this is expected to increase. * The Business Roundtable records inadequate skill “as a barrier to promotion and an estimated #3 billion (2012) is spent each year training employees to write” (Addison, McGee, and James, 170). Occupational Outlook Quarterly. “Occupational Employment.” Occupational Outlook Quarterly 49.4 (2006-06): 8-29.
- 13. 2. To Raise United States Literacy Levels ~ U. S. ranked #14 globally ~ * Writing and reading tied together when defining literacy because writing and reading “involve development of meaning, both conceptualized as comparing activities in the sense that both involve planning, generating, and revising meaning” (Writing and Reading Relationships: Constructive Tasks, Langer and Filhan, 200). * Illiteracy is a way to control a society (Writing in the 21st Century, NCTE, 2009). Writing allows “citizens [to] exercise their own control” (2). Freedom can be lost through losing literacy. National Center for Education Statistics. “Writing.” Institute of Education Sciences. US Dept. of Education. (2008): 468.
- 14. 3. To Solve World Problems * To solve world problems unique thinking and ways of seeing things is required. Instead of following their uniqueness, students are told to provide “right” formula and answers, which then cause students to “shut down.” It is “uniqueness” that may solve cancer, world hunger, and global warming, for example. * For students to become inventive, they must become engaged. Engagement comes from the fertile freedom to be oneself. Something different is needed.
- 15. That something different is encouragement to find self, which is similar to play. Students are then stimulated, and stimulation equals engagement. Public and “privileged identity” students are taught differently. All students need encouragement to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize and not just “privileged identity.” Privileged students already receive this in their classrooms. Finn, Patrick J. Literacy With An Attitude, Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest. New York. SUNY Press. 1999. Print.
- 16. 1. Reflective Essay (Ability to Share) 2. In Place of the Five-Paragraph Formula (Ability to Inform) 3. Shared Writing, “Your Dad Just Bought a New Boat” (Ability to Convince)
- 17. References marked with an asterisk (*) indicate studies included in the meta-analysis. Advocating Reasons for Change *Addison, Joanne and McGee, Sharon James. “Writing in High School/Writing in College: Research Trends and Future Directions.” CCCC 62:1 (2010): 147-179. Web. 17 Sept. 2013. Blake, Wendy J. “Imagine the Possibilities: A Student-Generated Unit to Inspire Creative Thought.” English Journal. (2003): 35-41. Web. 13 Sept. 2014. Brown, Rachael. “By the Numbers.” The Atlantic. Oct (2012): 87. Web. 28 Oct 2014. Finn, Patrick J. Literacy With An Attitude, Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self- Interest. New York. SUNY Press. 1999. Print. Glenn, Wendy J. “Imagine the Possibilities: A Student-Generated Unit to Inspire Creative Thought.” English Journal. May (2003): 35-41. Print. Lawrence, Julia. “Test Reveals Good, Bad News About Student Writing Skills.” Education News 21 Sept 2012. Web. 9 Nov 2014.
- 18. Lyons, Scott Richard. “What Do American Indians Want From Writing?” CCCC 51:3 (2000): 447- 468. JSTOR. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. National Assessment of Education Progress. “Writing Assessment.” NAEP 2011 Writing Framework (2011): 1-26. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. National Center for Education Statistics. “Writing.” Institute of Education Sciences. US Dept. of Education. (2008): 468. National Council of Teachers of English. “Writing in the 21st Century.” A Report (2009): 1-9. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. Occupational Outlook Quarterly. “Occupational Employment.” Occupational Outlook Quarterly 49.4 (2006-06): 8-29. *Simkin, Mark G., Janna M. Crews, and Mary J. Groves. “Student Perceptions of Their Writing Skills: Myth and Reality.” Journal of Business and Management 18.1 (2012): 81-92. ProQuest. Web. 3 Oct. 2014. Simmons, Amber M. and Melissa Page. “Motivating Students through Power and Choice.” English Journal 100.1 (2010): 65-69. Tyre, Peg. “The Writing Revolution.” The Atlantic. Oct (2012): American Schools. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. First Harvest. New York. 1992. Print.
- 19. Teaching Writing National Council of Teachers of English. Web 23 Oct. 2013. *Brimi, Hunter. “Teaching Writing in the Shadow of Standardized Writing Assessment: An Exploratory Study.” American Secondary Education 41.1 (2012): 52-77. ProQuest. Web. 2 Oct. 2014. *Brooke, Robert. “Underlife and Writing Instruction.” National Council of Teachers of English 38.2 (1987): 141-153. JSTOR. Web. 29 Sept. Gallagher, Kelly. Write Like This, Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor Texts. Stenhouse Publishers. Portland. 2011. Print. *Parr, Judy M. and Libby Limbrick. “Contextualizing practice: Hallmarks of effective teachers of writing.” Teaching and Teaching Education 26 (2010): 583-590. ERIC. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. *Stetson, Maura. “Freedom of Voice.” The National Council of Teachers of English. (1996): 74-78. Web. 1 Sept. 2014.
Editor's Notes
- #9: Brooke, Robert. “Underlife and Writing Instruction.” National Council of Teachers of English 38.2 (1987): 141-153. JSTOR. Web. 29 Sept.