CETLA Presentation

Howard University

April 3, 2014

Writing Matters

at the School of Social Work!

Desired Outcomes:Faculty

• Faculty will communicate high

expectations for student writing.

• Faculty will refer students to resources to

assist them with their writing.

• Faculty will hold students accountable for

improving their writing if it does not meet

the “Writing Matters” standards.

Desired Outcomes:Students

• Students will devote more time and effort

to their writing.

• Students will seek assistance to improve

their writing.

• Students will confirm the importance of

writing in their future.

• As a result, students will produce better

writing!

The Writing Matters Statement

Writing is an essential tool for thinking and

communicating in virtually every profession. Therefore,

in this course I expect you to produce writing that is not

only thoughtful and accurate, but also organized, clear,

and consistent with the rules of Standard English. If your

writing does not meet these standards, I may deduct

points or ask you to revise. For assistance with your

writing, go to the student section of the Writing Across

the Curriculum (WAC) website

(http://www.cetla.howard.edu/wac/students.aspx).

Participation

0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250%

FA 2011

FA 2012

FA 2013

Pledging Faculty in the School of Social Work

100%

200%

214%

Research Questions

Implementation: How many instructors

implemented the Writing Matters practices

and, if so, how? How many students were

aware of the campaign?

Impact: How did the Writing Matters

Campaign influence students’ composing

processes? How important did the students

feel writing was in their future? According

to the faculty, did the quality of student

writing improve?

Methodology

• Faculty Survey: online, anonymous, via

SurveyMonkey

• Student Survey: online, anonymous, via

Blackboard, exit to raffle

• Response Period: Dec. 4–18, 2013

Preliminary Results

Faculty Sample

• 44% (19) of the School of Social

Work’s 43 part-time and full-time

instructors responded.

• Nearly all (95%) assigned at least

one paper per course; 63%, 3

papers; 37% assigned > 4 papers

(on average).

Student Sample

• 65% (128) of the 198 students who

enrolled in Social Work classes in Fall

2013 responded to the survey.

• 88% of the respondents indicated that they

were aware of the campaign, so this

analysis focuses on their responses. 3% of

these “aware” students said they had been

taking Social Work courses since 2010;

12% since 2011, 36%, since 2012, and

39%, in 2013.

ImplementationFaculty Survey

• 84% reported wearing a

button.

• 84% said they had

announced the

campaign in class.

• 74% said they had

included the Writing

Matters Statement in

their syllabi.

Implementation

• 78% reported seeing at least

1-2 instructors wearing a

button.

• 91% recalled hearing an

announcement by at least 1-

2 instructors; 58%, by at

least 3-4.

• 85% recalled seeing the

Writing Matters Statement

in syllabi from at least 1-2

instructors; 60%, from at

least 3-4.

Student Survey

ImplementationFaculty Survey

• All said that they

had communicated

their expectations

for student writing

more clearly since

joining the Writing

Matters Campaign;

53% said “much”

more clearly.

ImplementationStudent Survey

• 74% described their

instructors’ expectations

for student writing as

“high.”

ImplementationFaculty Survey

• 84% reported that they

had deducted points

more often.

• 53% had asked

students to revise poor

writing more often.

• 32% had referred

students to a tutor

more often.

• 58% had referred

students to writing

resources more often.

ImplementationStudent Survey

• 95% reported that at least 1-

2 instructors deducted points

for poor writing; 59%, at

least 3-4.

Impact

More than half of the students reported that they were

more likely to prepare a rough draft and solicit feedback

because of the Writing Matters Campaign.

Impact

More than two thirds of the students reported that they were more

likely to proofread because of the Writing Matters Campaign, but

less than a a third said they were more likely to seek assistance.

Impact

Half of the students reported that they spent more

time preparing papers because of the Writing

Matters Campaign, BUT…

…only 19% said they

had visited the WAC

website at least once.

?

Impact• 74% of the faculty reported that the

quality of student writing had improved

since they joined the campaign; the

remaining 26% were not sure.

Impact• 79% rated student writing in their

Writing Matters courses as proficient,

while 7% called it exemplary.

Impact

Faculty:

• “I have seen tremendous improvements

for our English-speaking students.”

• “It’s working!”

Students:

• 98% said writing was important in their

future, and 80% said writing was very

important.

• “Writing matters no matter what

courses you are taking.”

However…

• After joining the campaign, 58% of the

faculty visited the WAC website, and

63% consulted other writing resources,

BUT…

…only 11% attended a WAC workshop!

WAC Training

“Writing to Learn”

“Learning to Write”

“Handling the Paper Load”

• WAC Seminar: May 19-21 (9am – 12:30pm)

• WAC Online: August (TBA) and by request for

groups of >5

Contact

• Go to CETLA’s homepage

(http://www.cetla.howard.edu).

• Email questions to cetla@howard.edu.