College Writing Presentation.pptx - NSSE

College Students’ Experiences With Wri3ng: What Do We Know, and How Are Ins3tu3ons Applying Local Findings? AAC&U, January 2016, Washington DC Jillian Kinzie, Bob Gonyea, and Alex McCormick – Indiana University Bloomington Chuck Paine – University of New Mexico Laura Palucki Blake – Harvey Mudd College Agenda 1. 
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Jillian Bob Chuck Laura Alex Introducing NSSE and the Writing Modules Contributions of Writing to Learning and Development Three Case Studies Using NSSE & FSSE to Challenge Assumptions about Writing Summing it Up/Discussion NSSE and College Student Writing Jillian Kinzie – Indiana University Bloomington Interest in College Student Writing •  Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) frames desired proficiencies for communicative fluency and writing and commends efforts to improve “the experiences and practices that move students toward those outcomes” •  AAC&U VALUE Rubric on Written Communication Employers & Students Perception of Preparedness: Written Communication Outcome Hart & Associates, 2015, Falling Short? College Learning and Career Success Assertions: Writing & Student Learning • Written communication = essential learning outcome • Student writing positively impacts student learning & development • Writing is integral to learning from 1st semester through senior year and beyond • Writing is a mode of learning -­‐-­‐ a key competency to be addressed and practiced recurrently and at successively more challenging levels Measuring Student Engagement National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) • Launched in 2000 • 1,600 institutions • To help institutions diagnose and take action on dimensions of educational quality NSSE – Core Survey Writing Items •  During the current school year, to what extent have you…Prepared 2 or more drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in •  During the current school year, about how many papers, reports, or other writing tasks of the following lengths have you been assigned (include those not yet completed) [none, 1-­‐2, 3-­‐5, 6-­‐10, 11-­‐15, 16-­‐20, More than 20] •  Up to 5 pages •  Between 6 and 10 pages •  11 pages or more •  How much has your experience at this institution contributed to your knowledge, skills, and personal development in… Writing clearly and effectively Launched in 2013: NSSE Topical Modules • NSSE participating institutions may append up to 2 Topical Modules -­‐ short sets of questions on topics such as academic advising, civic engagement, experiences with diversity, technology, and writing. • Modules allow for deeper exploration of important areas based on campus needs. NSSE Modules 2014-­‐2016 number and percentage institutions selecting Module 2016 2015 2014 Academic Advising 189 34% 193 33% 250 35% Civic Engagement Development of Transferable Skills 49 9% 48 9% 57 10% 53 9% 55 8% 88 12% Experiences with Diverse PerspecKves 38 7% 44 8% 66 9% Experiences with InformaKon Literacy 60 11% 62 11% 83 12% 54 10% 67 12% 65 9% Experiences with WriKng First-­‐Year Experiences & SR TransiKons 150 27% Global Learning Learning with Technology 70 13% 41 7% 134 23% -­‐-­‐-­‐ 59 10% -­‐-­‐-­‐ -­‐-­‐-­‐ 67 9% •  Review 1a-­‐j. module items •  Predict First year students or Seniors responses The Contributions of Writing to Learning and Development Bob Gonyea, Indiana University Bloomington Anderson, Anson, Gonyea, & Paine Research in the Teaching of English, 50 (2), 2015 The Contributions of Writing to Learning and Development BACKGROUND •  Writing has garnered enormous institutional investment in form of required entry-­‐level courses, WAC/WID programs, staffing, etc. •  Assumption: Writing is essential to learning, so MORE writing = MORE learning. •  Research: Mixed results, mostly local, dearth of large-­‐scale quantitative studies •  Astin (1992): Focus on development of writing skills = general education outcomes •  Light (2001): Amount of writing has strongest relationship with student engagement in a course •  Arum & Roska (2011): Found that students made few strides in critical thinking and complex reasoning unless courses demanded large amounts of reading and writing The Contributions of Writing to Learning and Development OUR STUDY •  Collaboration between Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) and NSSE •  Drafted 27 questions about effective writing practices (13 of which are the NSSE module— Effective Writing Practices) •  ~72,000 students from 80 institutions in 2010 and 2011 •  We confirmed three latent constructs: •  Interactive Writing Processes •  Meaning-­‐Making Writing Tasks •  Clear Writing Expectations •  Dependent Variables: •  Deep Approaches to Learning •  Perceived Gains in Learning and Development The Contributions of Writing to Learning and Development FINDINGS Blocked hierarchical regression, controlling for student and institutional characteristics, other forms of engagement, and amount of writing Amount of Variance Explained Deep Approaches to Learning Student/ Block 1 insKtuKonal characterisKcs Perceived Gains Higher-­‐ Order Learning Personal/ ReflecKve PracKcal Social Learning Competence Development General EducaKon Learning IntegraKve Learning 3% 4% 3% 7% 7% 4% 23% 39% 23% 27% 24% 26% Block 2 Other forms of engagement Block 3 Amount of wriKng 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% Block 4 EffecKve wriKng pracKces 5% 4% 1% 5% 6% 5% Anderson, Anson, Gonyea, & Paine— Research in the Teaching of English, 50 (2), 2015 The Contributions of Writing to Learning and Development CONCLUSIONS 1.  Writing is an effective way to learn. Writing assignments that involve interactive writing processes, meaning-­‐
making writing tasks, and clear writing expectations enhance undergraduate students’ participation in deep learning and their perceived gains in learning and development. 2.  Quality matters. Effective writing practices are more likely to be effective than the sheer amount of writing students do. It’s not about doing more, it’s about “doing well.” 3.  Faculty can improve course learning. Results have implications for modified and new approaches to designing writing assignments in any course. 4.  Assessing engagement in good writing practices can inform institutional improvements in undergraduate learning and development Three Case Studies Chuck Paine, University of New Mexico Three Case Studies: Using NSSE Writing Results and Methods Faculty development •  Why and how faculty should integrate writing Auburn WAC/WID initiative •  Motivating and informing a WAC/WID initiative Wisconsin-­‐La Crosse ongoing WAC/WID program •  Engaging faculty in assessment with home-­‐grown NSSE-­‐like surveys Writing Studies DNA •  Teaching and learning •  Faculty development •  Assessment •  Perennial misunderstanding about what writing does and how it does it All Faculty Are Responsible for Improving Writing Four Common and Troublesome Faculty Assumptions A.  Good writing = good grammar B.  First-­‐year inoculation C.  Disciplinary genres and conventions transfer D.  More is better Informing Faculty Development John C. Bean, Seattle University Super-­‐Mensch in WAC/WID Faculty Development Why NSSE? •  Authority •  Well known •  Data-­‐driven conclusions More Writing ≠ More Learning, Length ≠ Rigor The Big Fat Library-­‐Researched Term Paper A Simple but Powerful Set of Heuristics Faculty Can “Think With” NSSE-­‐CWPA Constructs •  Interactive writing processes •  Meaning-­‐making writing tasks •  Clear Writing Expectations Beaufort’s Kinds of Knowledge Needed to Write in a Discipline •  Subject matter •  Rhetorical •  Genre and conventions •  Writing-­‐processes “How will your students respond to these thirteen questions after taking your modified course?” Motivating and Informing Development of WAC/WID Auburn University Margaret Marshall, Professor of English and Director of University Writing 2010: NSSE Data Got the Ball Rolling •  Ten years of NSSE results •  Students were writing less than students at comparison schools. •  The QEP’s “simple solution” •  “Improve students’ writing with initiative to create writing-­‐
intensive courses (WICs). Hire a WAC director.” •  The problem with that solution •  What kind of WICs? •  It was driven by Board of Directors, not faculty, and by lore, not research 2011: NSSE-­‐CWPA Questions Got the Ball Rolling in the Right Direction •  Auburn administered 27 experimental questions and the aligned FSSE questions to gain insight into issues at Auburn. •  NSSE-­‐FSSE comparisons showed marked disagreement about “clear writing instructions”—a place to start. •  With actionable data, her WAC/WID program argued successfully for resources. 2016: Results •  Faculty on board: faculty-­‐driven response and buy-­‐in •  Alignment across curriculum: writing outcomes addressed in first-­‐year writing and all WI courses •  Critical Thinking through Reflection, Effective Communication, Visual Literacy, Technical Competence •  40 programs use e-­‐portfolios coupled with enhanced capstone and signature work •  Five-­‐year longitudinal study underway using NSSE-­‐CWPA writing questions Reinvigorating a WAC Program and Faculty Engagement with Assessment University of Wisconsin-­‐La Crosse Patrick Barlow, University Assessment Coordinator Darci Thoune, First Year Writing Program Coordinator Bryan Kopp, University Writing Programs Coordinator (WAC/WID) Engaging Faculty in Assessment via CLASSE Survey Making •  Home-­‐grown, very local survey making. •  Faculty in each department are developing their own CLASSE surveys about writing so their questions reflect what they teach and what they value. The Results: Faculty are… •  invested in WAC/WID and assessment. •  gaining insights into their own discipline-­‐
specific genres, •  engaged with entire assessment process, •  conversing across departments and aligning their programs. Using NSSE & FSSE to Challenge Assumptions about Writing Laura Palucki Blake, Harvey Mudd College Using NSSE/FSSE to Challenge Assumptions about Writing •  Some Background •  About HMC •  About our Writing Requirement •  Assumptions about Writing •  Higher Ed and STEM •  Faculty-­‐held beliefs •  Student’s predispositions towards writing Peer Review of WriKng Assignments First Years Seniors 5 5 4.5 4.5 4 4 3.5 3 4 3.7 3.2 3.5 3.2 3 3 3 2.5 2.5 2 2 1.5 1.5 1 Talked with a classmate, Received feedback from a Gave feedback to a friend to develop your classmate, friend about a classmate about a draft or ideas before starting your draft before turning it in outline assignment HMC PeerGrp 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.5 2.6 1 Talked with a classmate, Received feedback from a Gave feedback to a friend to develop your classmate, friend about a classmate about a draft or ideas before starting your draft before turning it in outline assignment HMC PeerGrp 1 = no writing assignments; 2 = few writing assignments; 3 = some writing assignments; 4 = most writing assignments; 5 = all writing assignments ConvenKons of Academic WriKng First Years Seniors 5 4.5 5 4.3 4.5 3.9 4 3.5 3.4 4 3.6 3.5 3.3 3 3 2.9 2.5 2.5 3.8 3.8 3.3 3 3.4 3.1 3.5 2.9 2.7 2.5 2 2 1.5 1.5 1 1 Argued a position using evidence and reasoning Explained in Wrote in the style Addressed a real writing the and format of a or imagined meaning of specific field audience numerical or statistical data HMC PeerGrp Argued a position using evidence and reasoning Explained in Wrote in the style Addressed a real writing the and format of a or imagined meaning of specific field audience numerical or statistical data HMC PeerGrp 1 = no writing assignments; 2 = few writing assignments; 3 = some writing assignments; 4 = most writing assignments; 5 = all writing assignments Findings from FSSE/NSSE •  70% of students reported instructor explained assignments and provided clear instructions, whereas 90% of faculty indicated they did so. •  Difference slightly more exaggerated for Seniors as compared to First Years. •  Conclusion: •  Students might not be aware of assumptions that are not explicitly stated. •  Implications for increasingly diverse student body. •  Discussion: •  How can we “make the invisible more visible” to students? •  How to better help students use the analytical skills taught in Writ 1 as they approach writing assignments in specific disciplines. Summing it up/
Discussion Alex McCormick, Indiana University Bloomington College Students’ Experiences With Wri3ng: What Do We Know, and How Are Ins3tu3ons Applying Local Findings? AAC&U, January 2016, Washington DC Jillian Kinzie, Bob Gonyea, and Alex McCormick – Indiana University Bloomington Chuck Paine – University of New Mexico Laura Palucki Blake – Harvey Mudd College