In this article, we explored the potential of the Student Mental Model Analyzer for Research and Teaching (SMART) technology that was designed to help students write and revise high-quality summaries of complex texts. Grounded in the design research, the aim of this pilot study was twofold: (a) to generate insights to further improve the SMART…

Although studies on peer feedback have identified several advantages for second language writing classes, the benefits of peer feedback to low-proficiency students have not been thoroughly investigated. This current study aims to determine how low-proficiency second-language students of English can improve their writing by giving and receiving…

This study investigated the effect of: (1) direct written corrective feedback (WCF); and (2) opportunities for revision on the development of second language learners' explicit and implicit L2 knowledge in an EFL setting. Twenty-six intermediate-level university students were randomly divided into three groups: two treatment groups (direct…

Google Docs has recently been suggested as an efficient collaborative tool for group writing. This experimental quantitative study, including pretest-treatment-posttest design, aimed at comparing the effects of collaborative writing on Google Docs and individual writing practice on EFL learners' descriptive paragraphs. The participants were 48…

Having students write reflections has been shown to help teachers improve their instruction and students improve their learning outcomes. With the aid of Natural Language Processing (NLP), real-time educational applications that can assess and provide feedback on reflection quality can be deployed. In this work, we first evaluate various NLP…

Contributions: The main contribution is to share a series of practical methods that improve the writing quality of capstone reports. Background: The ability to write well is critical to the success of an engineering technology graduate. However, the evidence points to the fact that industries are disappointed with the quality of writing skills…

Much has been written about the importance of giving personal attention to children's written work. The focus has been on the effect of this feedback on the writing and on the child. Drawing on the philosophical discourse of the care of the self, I argue that the ways in which a teacher gives feedback informs the development of the teacher.…

This study investigated the efficacy of behavioral skills training (BST) and interteaching in enhancing the American Psychological Association (APA) formatting skills of online graduate learners. Writing skills are foundational to academic success and professional competency, particularly in online graduate programs characterized by learners with…

Summary writing is a useful instructional tool for learning. However, summary writing is a challenge to many students. This mixed-method study examined the potential of the Student Mental Model Analyzer for Research and Teaching (SMART) system to help students produce summaries that reflect key concepts and relations in a text. SMART uses the…

Universities across Canada and elsewhere have a longstanding focus on improving students' writing skills, including for the purpose of fostering better learning. In this paper, we present findings from two sources of data--a discursive analysis and student survey--exploring the impact of writing instruction and support in the context of a required…

In this article, we describe and analyze the experience of undergraduate chemistry students who scripted episodes of a science podcast for non-expert audiences. This practice aimed to improve public communication of science and technology, often suppressed throughout science careers but relevant for developing critical thinking. In particular, the…

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in the use of automated writing evaluation (AWE) in second language writing classrooms. This increase is partially due to the belief that AWE can assist teachers by allowing them to devote more feedback to higher-level (HL) writing skills, such as content and organization, while the technology…

This study explored the role of feedback-seeking behaviors (FSB) in how English-as-a-second language (ESL) learners benefit from written corrective feedback (WCF). Seventy-six learners enrolled in an ESL writing course at a major university in the United States completed an FSB questionnaire, wrote a narrative essay, received WCF on their essays,…

Scaffolding is a teaching strategy that provides temporary support and guidance to learners as they develop their skills. Through online teaching and scaffolding clinics for novice writers, this narrative qualitative study aimed to assist students and novice writers in improving their scientific paper writing skills. For data collection, this…

Inspired by Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and Storch's framework of peer interaction, this study investigated the nature and outcome of peer interaction in EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' peer review and revision activities. During two 16-week semesters, 32 lower-intermediate learners participated in an Advanced Writing university…