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Name: mary = petersen

Email: = mary.pet= ersen@canyons.edu

Phone: 362-5803

Department: english

Class: full-time<= o:p>

Title: Self-Refle= ction in the Writing Process

Students: = 50

B1: Submit

ResearchQuestion= :<= /o:p>

The research question posed in this project is whether participation in discussion boards and other self-reflection writing activi= ties increases students’ level of motivation, satisfaction and skill acqui= sition. The fundamental premise that underlies the hypothesis is that students who reflect on their writing process and share their work with others exert mor= e control over their writing, are more motivated, and ac= hieve greater satisfaction in their writing.

Summary:

This project involved two English 91 classes totaling 50 stude= nts and was designed to provide opportunities for self-reflection and sharing of writing throughout the semester. The course provided twenty discussion board forums, six personal “author’s notes” self-reflections, a= nd three peer response letters. For each of three short essays, students engag= ed in these self-reflection activities. At each stage of the writing process (prewriting, drafting and revising) students posted discussion board commen= ts about the strengths and weaknesses in their writing process. Discussion boa= rd topics included thesis development, pre-writing techniques, introduction and conclusion paragraphs, and revision strategies. Students not only posted reflective comments about their own writing process in each discussion board but also responded to at least two classmates’ comments in each discussion board. In addition, students exchanged first drafts with a partn= er and wrote peer response letters to one another, evaluating aspects of the e= ssay and suggesting possible revisions. These peer response letters were graded = on thoroughness, insight, and knowledge of essay organization. At the completi= on of each first and second draft essay, students wrote a one paragraph self-reflection on how their essay progressed, what components of the draft were effective, and what revisions they could implement in a subsequent dra= ft. At the end of the course, students completed a ten question survey based on their participation in the semester’s self-reflection activities. A h= ard copy of the survey results will accompany this report.

One difficulty I encountered initially is the lack of discussi= on board participation. Despite the stated participation requirement in the syllabus and on the weekly assignment schedule, many students did not participate and I needed to remind students frequently that discussion board responses are graded homework assignments. I have found in this class as we= ll as others that students in on-ground classes are reticent, sometimes even resentful, of having to complete online assignments. They feel that they enrolled in a face to face course and that online assignments should not be required. This attitude may be reflected in the results of the survey.=

On the final survey, 78.5% of all students stated that they completed at least 17of 20 discussion boards. 21.5% of all students stated = that they completed 13-16 of the twenty discussion boards. The survey results indicate that all students completed at least 65% of the discussion boards = with 78% of students competing at least 17 of 20. This statistic is significant since the research project depends, in part, on completing discussion board forums.

In response to the survey question “How much did participating in the discussion board conversations help you to understand = your personal writing process?” only 28% of all students answered “t= o a great degree.” 54% of all students stated that it helped “to so= me degree.” 15.5% of all students stated that it helped “to a small degree.” Interesting= ly, however, is that in response to the question “How much did participat= ing in each discussion board help you to understand the various stages of the writing process?” 39.5% of all students answered “to a great degree.” 47% of all students answered “to some degree.” T= hese results suggest that discussion boards helped students to understand the components of good essay writing more than to understand their personal process.

A combined 33% of students in both classes responded that participating in the discussion boards helped them to feel more comfortable= or confident about their writing “to a great degree.” A combined t= otal of 52% responded that it helped them feel more comfortable or confident “to some degree.”

These survey results do not definitively suggest that discussi= on board participation for these students was effective in helping them to ach= ieve satisfaction, confidence or awareness of their writing process.<= /span>

Two additional questions warrant discussion. Question #6 asked “How much did writing author’s notes at the end of your drafts = help you to evaluate the quality of your own essays?” Question #9 asked “How much did receiving peer responses from classmates help to improve your writing skills?” In both questions, 60% of all students stated t= hat peer responses helped “to a great degree.” 33% answered “= to some degree.” These results convincingly suggest that the writersR= 17; personal reflections as well as the comments of other classmates help stude= nts to develop effective writing skills.

I would like to include anecdotal evidence to support the conclusions of the survey. The first is the final portfolio. This portfolio= is the culmination of the English 91 composition course. Students are required= to revise two essays for a 3rd final draft. In addition, they must write a one page cover letter for each essay documenting the revisions they made from t= he first to the second to the third draft. This assignment requires knowledge about the components of an effective essay as well as reflection on the writer’s personal process in achieving the revision goal. I found tha= t in both classes, students generally provided competent, thoughtful and knowledgeable cover letters that documented the revisions they made and the reasons for the revisions. In addition, of the 50 students who submitted portfolios, only 3 did not pass English 91. This is slightly better than the average in English 91 classes = of two or three non-passes per 25 student class.

Modifications:

none

Learn:

Based on the results of this study, I would say that my hypoth= esis is confirmed. Participation in self-reflection activities seems to increase skill acquisition and personal satisfaction in the writing process. What is noteworthy is that the results of this study suggest that students don̵= 7;t feel that discussion board participation has as much impact on their writin= g as sharing work with others and receiving feedback from classmates. Moreover, = they feel that writing author’s notes (a personal evaluation of their essa= y) is more helpful than the writing discussion board responses. Having read the discussion boards and evaluated the writing of each student, I feel that despite students’ resistance to completing discussion boards, the discussion board participation did contribute to the overall positive effec= t of these self-reflection activities. What may be important for composition instructors in planning their curriculum is that this project suggests that students value reflecting on their own work and receiving feedback about th= eir work from other students.