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WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM: EXPLORING PROMISING
PRACTICES IN TWO CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS
by
Vithrel Searchwell
____________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
August 2008
Copyright 2008 Vithrel Searchwell
Object Description
| Title | Writing across the curriculum: exploring promising practices in two California charter schools |
| Author | Searchwell, Vithrel |
| Author email | searchwe@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-05-12 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-06-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Wohlstetter, Priscilla |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Mora-Flores, Eugenia Ragusa, Gisele |
| Abstract | Writing is essential to success in school and has been linked to student achievement or the lack thereof. This study investigated the use of writing across the curriculum in two California charter schools that have had success using writing to improve student achievement. Writing across the curriculum has been identified in the literature as a promising practice that increases student achievement.; A qualitative case study was conducted, in which two California charter schools implementing writing across the curriculum were examined. Data sources included the following: interviews with teachers and administrators, classroom observations, a review of archival documents, and observations of professional development specific to writing across the curriculum. The following four research questions were answered during the study: How do charter schools use writing across the curriculum to improve student achievement? How are resources used to implement writing across the curriculum? What challenges have charter schools faced in implementing writing across the curriculum successfully? What evidence exists that writing across the curriculum has resulted in positive educational outcomes?; The findings illustrated that similar benefits and challenges were experienced at both schools. Consistent, on-going professional development, on the topic of writing across the curriculum, was found to be a critical component of implementation. Although both schools had extensive professional development, there was still a need for more. One school used a teachers-teaching-teachers model, while the other school used the English department as a resource.; Certain classroom practices were found to be effective in implementing writing across the curriculum. Among those were class discussions, journal writing, and note-taking. The study revealed that students who engaged in writing across the curriculum had high test scores on standardized writing tests, Advanced Placement tests, and they passed college placement tests more frequently, eliminating the need to take a remedial writing class in college.; The goal of this study was to disseminate implementation details of writing across the curriculum through USC's Online Compendium of Promising Practices in order to assist other schools, districts, and policy makers who wish to improve student achievement through writing across the curriculum. |
| Keyword | writing across the curriculum; writing |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1271 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Searchwell, Vithrel |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@dots.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Searchwell-20080613 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Searchwell-20080613.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@dots.usc.edu |
| Full text | WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM: EXPLORING PROMISING PRACTICES IN TWO CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS by Vithrel Searchwell ____________________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION August 2008 Copyright 2008 Vithrel Searchwell |
