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ERIC Number: ED331082
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1991-Apr
Pages: 45
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Professional Development of the 90s: Teachers, Students, and the South Carolina Writing Improvement Network.
Berry, Barnett; And Others
The mission of the South Carolina Writing Improvement Network (WIN) is to improve students' writing abilities by providing professional development programs and writing activities for remedial writing teachers. A study assessed the effects of WIN on the growth and professional development of writing teachers, as well as the effects of the implementation of WIN on students' scores on the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) Writing Test. A survey mailed directly to 100 WIN teachers received a response rate of 59%. Results showed that WIN has definitely had an impact on classroom writing practice. WIN instructors teach all facets of the writing process more frequently, and their students are receiving higher scores on the Basic Skills Assessment Program Writing Tests. The teachers reported that their knowledge of writing instruction had increased, and that their students had become better writers. In addition, teachers characterized themselves as more efficacious and more willing to draw on professional judgment rather than on a set of predetermined rules. The data also showed, however, that WIN teachers may have difficulty in the transition from traditional writing instruction to the more open-ended approach embedded within the writing process. Obstacles to this transformation appeared to include a lack of vested teacher power in a hierarchical administrative model and a lack of administrative knowledge and support of the writing process. (Six tables of data are included and two appendixes--the "Writing Improvement Network Survey" and the WIN Interview Protocols--are attached.) (PRA)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A