Students in the sciences learn to engage with primary research articles as a fundamental part of their discipline, essential to both writing and research. These sources are difficult to navigate, leading students to use (and misuse) these sources in a variety of complex ways. As instructors and researchers, we are aware of these challenges, but…

While automated feedback is becoming readily accessible to student writers, how students employ resources and strategies to use such feedback remains largely unexplored. Informed by activity theory and the construct of appropriation, this study conceptualizes students' use of automated feedback as social appropriation mediated by resources and…

Understanding how to make the world a better place requires interdisciplinary knowledge. Public policy analysis helps policymakers arrive at informed policy decisions. The policy analysis process involves public problem definition and data collection, stakeholder identification, a rationale for government involvement, evaluation criteria,…

National calls to improve science education include focusing on scientific practices coupled with learning disciplinary core ideas. Among the practices is constructing explanations. In the field of cellular and molecular biology, explanations typically include a mechanism and can be used to make predictions about phenomena. In this work, we…

Background: Learners' writing skills are critical to their academic and professional development. Previous studies have shown that learners' self-assessment during writing is essential for assessing their writing products and monitoring their writing processes. However, conducting practical self-assessments of writing remains challenging for…

Effective communication and academic writing in English hinge on a solid grasp of grammar, with pronouns representing a pivotal aspect. However, non-native, particularly English as a second language (ESL) students, often find difficulties in employing pronouns effectively, especially in reference to their antecedents within sentences. The current…

Graduate students face writing anxiety and low self-efficacy regarding writing research papers. Holladay (1981) addressed the negative characteristics of anxiety in graduate students by writing: "They are frightened by a demand for writing competency, they fear evaluation of their writing because they think they will be rated negatively, they…

Newspaper op-eds, dedicated to commentary essays from outside of a newspaper, function as a platform for the public to exchange opinions. We designed an op-ed writing assignment as part of a semester-long course project in global supply chain management (SCM). Student teams conducted research on a SCM topic, presented their findings in the…

In this article, we argue that using students' reflective writing to understand specific aspects of their classroom experience requires that researchers systematically integrate into the curriculum reflections that responsibly attend to both students' learning and the focus of classroom research. Informed by recently published articles on…

Developing a professional identity is a key element of the transition into the teaching profession. Limited research exists on professional development activities and ideas that support beginning teachers' development of their professional identity in practice. For this study teachers participated in an induction programme that focused on…

This paper forwards discourse analysis as a productive way to consider the ways in which the possibilities available for middle grades preservice teachers in justice-oriented teacher education programs are complicated by larger discourses relating to teacher neutrality and teacher education as a transformational narrative. To illustrate this,…

This article explores the written reflections and multimodal analyses of 31 middle school students who engaged with video games as texts. For four consecutive days, students spent 30 minutes playing video games and then 30 minutes writing reflections on their experiences and perceptions, resulting in 124 total reflections. Students focused on how…

There is minimal research which makes the connection between mobile technology and improved student achievement. This study addressed the gap in the literature and considered the dynamic and fluid engagement mobile technology brings to the teaching and learning environment to improve student essay scores in the composition classroom. Freshman…

Background/Context: The emphasis on scientific practices articulated by the National Research Council framework and the Next Generation Science Standards requires significant pedagogical shifts for U.S. science teachers. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study provides a rare window into the challenges and opportunities…

Writing assignments that students complete in university courses are typically designed for evaluation and grading by the instructor, who, therefore, acts as the sole reader of student written work. However, most written genres students would--and do--encounter in the world beyond the classroom are composed for diverse audiences who influence…