Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Ready or Not: Addressing the Preparation Gap Between High School and College-Level Writers

Blackstone, Jordan Y.

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, Curriculum and Teaching.
The educational community has long since recognized that there is preparation gap between high school and college-level writing. Current literature revealed six primary categories of concern: quantity of writing, use of formulaic writing strategies, development of cognitive skills, audience and purpose for writing/writing as communication, student qualities, and genre/cross-discipline features of writing. In light of these gaps, deliberate attention must be directed towards examining instructional strategies that might be effective in preparing students to meet the demands of college-level writing. Therefore, the focus of this research was to examine the effectiveness of current instructional strategies and their ability to address the preparation gap between high school and college-level writing. Three high school English Language Arts teachers participated in this study, which sought to explore the following research questions: 1) What instructional strategies are high school teachers using to teach college-preparatory writing? and 2) Are the instructional strategies used by high school teachers effective in addressing the main areas of the preparation gap between high school and college-level writers? A series of three interviews were conducted with three teacher participants, and classroom observations were conducted over the course of two months; additionally, artifacts such as curricular materials and student work samples were collected. The six categories of the preparation gap were used as a framework to analyze data from teacher interviews, observations, and artifact collection. Five themes emerged which directly relate to the effectiveness of classroom teachers’ instructional strategies in addressing the preparation gap: philosophy and purpose of high school writing instruction, instructional transparency, community, students’ identities as writers, and cross-discipline collaboration. Results from this study suggested that when teachers clearly articulated a philosophy and purpose for writing instruction at the high school level, it better enabled them to implement instructional transparency with regard to writing. Particularly, the strategic use of formulaic writing structures supported by teacher modeling and the development of students’ writing-related cognitive skills were found to support college-preparatory writing instruction and address specific areas of the preparation gap. Furthermore, this study suggested that establishing a collaborative community in which students view themselves as writers may assist students is developing the techniques and student dispositions that support strong writing performance across the disciplines.
Timothy Murnen (Advisor)
Tracy Huziak-Clark (Committee Member)
Cheryl Hoy (Committee Member)
121 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Blackstone, J. Y. (2014). Ready or Not: Addressing the Preparation Gap Between High School and College-Level Writers [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1403790235

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Blackstone, Jordan. Ready or Not: Addressing the Preparation Gap Between High School and College-Level Writers. 2014. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1403790235.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Blackstone, Jordan. "Ready or Not: Addressing the Preparation Gap Between High School and College-Level Writers." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1403790235

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)