SCAFFOLDING STUDENT RESEARCH & WRITING: A WIN-WIN SOLUTIONWriting Across the Curriculum

March 1, 2010

Elizabeth Swaggerty

Purpose of Course: The purpose of this course is to provide an opportunity for students to engage in the independent study of problems/issues/topics in the teaching of reading.

Major Objectives• To become familiar with the many and varied topics/issues associated with

reading and reading instruction.• To gain knowledge about reading topics/issues through research, reading,

writing.• To identify one (1) specific topic of choice for further study.• To gain knowledge about the selected topic.• To be able to synthesize information and develop analytical and critical

thinking skills associated with the research of a topic.• To become familiar with the electronic resources available for obtaining

information.• To gain skill in using electronic resources for the purpose of obtaining

information.

Scaffolding

Vygotsky’s ZPD

Provide scaffolding to support learning within a continuum of support

LOTS of initial support from the instructor

Reading sets/Response log papers

Thorough feedback

Read like a reading teacher AND a writer

Write a quality research paper.

Is this asking our undergraduates to do the impossible?

Timeline/Organization

Moodle

Literature Review Matrix

Source: Broemmel, A., & Swaggerty, E. (2008). “Examining the possibilities: Planning your research project.” In C.A. Lassonde & S.E. Israel (Eds.), Teachers taking action: A comprehensive guide to teacher research. International Reading Association.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Instructor University writing center consultants Peers

Revising and Editing

Revision = "see again," to look at something with a fresh, critical eye. Ongoing process of RETHINKING the paper: reconsider arguments,

review evidence, refine the purpose, reorganize, revive. TIPS:

Print the draft and work from hardcopy. Problems that seem invisible on the screen somehow tend to show up better on paper.

Read the paper out loud. Don't try to tackle all revision questions and issues in one draft. Pick a few

to tackle at a time. Ask questions and be critical when answering them. For example, are

there opposing viewpoints that you haven't considered yet? Editing = capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure,

subject/verb agreement, consistent verb tense, word usage

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/revision.html (UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center)

APA Style

There is no use hiding …

APA can be your friend.

Audience

Final drafts are posted on discussion board, read by me, and read by two peers

Summary component (commercial) is viewed by the entire class (Moodle discussion board) and publicly available

Voice ThreadJ. Baillargeon: http://voicethread.com/#u255282.b564803.i3021265Lori and David: http://voicethread.com/#u255282.b862302.i4859821

GlogsterT. Johnson: http://taichi23.glogster.com/Shame-of-a-Nation/J. Jones: http://hellojenjones.glogster.com/mosaic-of-thought /

Prezi Presentation Creator

swaggertye@ecu.eud