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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 334 591 CS 212 962 AUTHOR Walvoord, Barbara E.; McCarthy, Lucille P. TITLE Thinking and Writing in College: A Naturalistic Study of Students in Four Disciplines. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, REPORT NO ISBN-8141-5424-7 PUB DATE 90 NOTE 281p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1131 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 54247-0015; $14.95 members, $19.95 nonmembers). PUB TYPE Collected Works - General (020) -- Reports - Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC12 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Business Education; *Critical Thinking; Higher Education; History Instruction; Naturalistic Obselvation; Psychology; Science Instruction; *Teacher Behavior; *Teacher Expectations of Students; *Writing Across the Curriculum; *Writing Instruction; *Writing Processes IDENTIFIERS *Academic Discourse Communities; Writing Contexts ABSTRACT Offering insights into the effective use of writing to teach students to think like professionals in various fields, this book is the result of a 7-year naturalistic study. The book documents how a writing specialist paired with an experienced professor in another discipline (business, history, psychology, and biology) to study:(1) teachers' expectations about "good" writing and thinking in each discipline;(2) the kinds of difficulties students encountered in trying to meet those expectations; and (3) how teachers' methods and students' strategies helped or hindered progress. Chapters in the book are: "Preview of the Book" (Barbara E. Walvoord and Lucille Parkinson McCarthy); "Research Theory and Methods" (Lucille Parkinson McCarthy and Barbara E. Walvoord); "Managerial Decision Making: Sherman's Business Course" (Barbara E. Walvoord and A. Kimbrough Sherman); "Argaing and Debating: Breihan's History Course" (Barbara E. Walvoord and John R. Breihan); "Using Social Science to Help Oneself and Others: Robison's Human Sexuality Course" (Barbara E. Walvoord and Susan Miller Robison); "Conducting and Reporting OrigInal Scientific Research: Anderson's Biology Class" (Virginia Johnson Anderson and Barbara E. Walvoord); and"Conclusion" (Barbara E. Walvoord and Lucille Parkinson McCarthy). A primarytrait analysis for Anderson's biology class, 1 table of data, anda list of 154 references are attached. (RS) *********************************************************************** Repcoductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. **************************************w* ***** **** ***** ***N*********x*** .;/ ''. t r, . .4? / 1 ''-, 't5i. )4 ,0' ' .71 p , "- , ., ' , rC3f.,.'. IVIT'Kellfr it , "' 'S w Y. S , t 41 4" i. .!re 5 s's7. y.r .1;1 NP4 11.4 t 1,t - an. 1%. `,1 , 1414kik.;1.j 41,4. ... 4 "PERM(BSIO EPRODU 1 MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Office ot Educal6o4aI Reeearch and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) a/AAA-01 0 This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organttation originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve BEST COPY AVAILABLEd reproduction quality _ TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of we,* or opmions staled in this docu- men( do nol noccsaarily represent official ERIC ." Enegr College Section Committee Tilly Warnock, Chair, University of Northern Arizona Lil Brannon, SUNY at Albany Doris 0. Ginn, Jackson State University Brenda M. Greene, Medgar Evers College, CUNY Linda H. Peterson, Yale University James F. Slevin, Georgetown University Joseph F. Trimmer, Ball State University Art Young, Clemson University James Raymond, ex officio, University of Alabama H. Thomas McCracken, CEE Representative, Youngstown State University Janet Emig, Executive Committee Liaison, Rutgers University 3 Thinking and Writing in College A Naturalistic Study of Students in Four Disciplines Barbara E. Walvoord Loyola College in Maryland Lucille Parkinson McCarthy University of Maryland Baltimoic County In collaboration with Virginia Johnson Anderson Towson State University John R. Breihan Loyola College in Maryland Susan Miller Robison College of Notre Dame of Maryland A. Kimbrough Sherman Loyola College in Maryland National Council of Teachers of English 1111 kenycm Road, Urbana, IL 61801 NCTE Editorial Board: Richard Abrahamson; Celia Genishi; Richard Lloyd- Jones; Joyce Kinkead; Gladys Veidemanis; Charles Suhor, ex officio; Michael Spooner, ex officio. Staff Editor: Mary Daniels Cover Design: Doug Burnett Interior Book Design: Tom Kovacs for TGK Design NCTE Stock Number 54247-3020 © 1990 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE and its journals and other publications to provide a forum for open discussion of ideas concvrning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of po'icy, where such ondorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thinking and writing in college : a naturalistic study of studerts in four disciplines / Barbara E. Walvcord . let al.]. p. cm. Includes bibliographica' references and index. ISBN 0-8141-5424-7 1. Thought and thinkingStudy and teaching (HigheilUnited States.2. English languageRhetoric--Study and teachingUnited States.3. ReasoningStudy and teaching (Higher)United States. 4. Learning.I. Walv000rd, Barbara E. Fass ler, 1941- I.B2395.35.T47 1991 378.1'7dc20 91- 18272 CIP To Mina P. Shaughnessy, who taughtus to respect the "intelligence and will" that students bring to theiracademic writing, and who helped us see our world through students'eyes. She gave us a vision of teachers and researchers who"look at students' diffi- culties in a more truitful way" andhence who learn "to teach anew." MM. Mh.-- CI Contents Acknowledgment5 xi 1. Preview of the Book 1 Barbara E Walvoord Lucille Parkinson McCarthy Purposes of the Book The Need for Our Studs' 3 The Team's Research Questions 3 Similarities among The Four Classrooms 6 Organization of the Four Classroom Chapters 15 2. Research Theory and Methods 17 Lucille Parkinson McCarthy Barbara L. Walvoord The Researchers and the Students 17 Our Inquiry Paradigm and Rese:ach Assumptions 19 Data Collection Methods 22 Data Analysis Procedures 33 Our .leam's Shared Assunwtions and Was of Working 44 Ensuring thu -Trustworthiness of Our -Feam's Findings and interpretations 48 3. Managerial Decision Making: Sherman's Business Course 30 arbara 1. \talvoord A. Kimbrough Sherman Sfierman's Expectations 31 Difficulties with Gathering SuffiL lent Specific ir.formation VII viii Contents Difficulties with Constructing the Audience and the Self 66 Difficulties with Stating a Position 71 Two Interrelated Difficulties: Using Discipline-Based Methods to Arrive at (and Support) a Position; Managing Complexity 74 Difficulties with Organizing the Papers 88 Pre-Draft Writing 90 Sherman's Response to Drafts 92 Sherman's and Walvoord's Conclusions 94 4. Arguing and Debating: Brelhan's History Course 97 Barbara E. Walvoord John R. Breihan Breihan's Exi..c,:tations 99 Difficulties with Stating a Position 102 DifficulOes with Managing Complexity: Counterargument 111 Difficulties with Using Discipline-Based Methods to Arrive at (and Support) a Position 120 Breihan's and Walvoord's Conclusions 141 5. Using Social Science to Help Oneself and Others: Robison's Human Sexuality Course 144 Barbara E. Walvoord Susan Miller Robison Roles in Robison's Course 144 Robison's Expecta tions 150 Difficulties with Constructing the Audience arid the Self 153 Three In+orrelated Difficulties: Stating a Position; Usiry, Discipline-Based Methods to Arrive (and Support) a Position; Managing Complexity 165 Pre-Draft Writing 168 Responses to Drafts 171 Robison's and Walvoord's Conclusions 175 Contents ix 6. Conducting and Reporting Original ScientificResearch: Anderson's Biology Class 177 Virginia Johnson Anderson Barbara E. Walvoord Anderson's Expectations 178 Anderson's 1983 Teaching Methods 189 Our Methods of Data Collection and Analysis 191 Difficulties with Constructing the Audience and the Self 193 Four Interrelated Difficulties: Stating a Position; Using Discipline-Based Methods to Arrive at (and Support) a Position; 1' lanagingComplexity; Gathering Sufficient Specific Information 200 Difficulties with Organizing the Papers 219 Anderson's and Walveord's Conclusions 225 7. Conclusion 228 Barbara E. Walvoord Lucille Parkinson McCarthy Teachers' Expectatiens 228 Areas of Difficulty 231 1 low Students' Strategies and Teachers' Methods Appeared to Affect the Difficulties 232 What Classroom Research Meant to Us 242 Appendix A: Primary Trait Analysis for Anderson's Biology Class 243 Appendix B: Characteristics of Entire Classes and Focus Groups 248 Works Cited 250 Index 260 The Research learn 268 Acknowledgments At crucial points in the planning and drafting of this book, busy people who didn't owe us anything gave us the precious gift of their time and attention. Lee Odell of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute listened to us and encouraged us at convention hotels over several %/ears. lie also reviewed the manuscript, helping us especially with consistency and organization. Carol Berkenkotter of Michigan Technological Uni- versity, rooming with some of us at a convention, spent, literally, clays and nights questioning, challenging, and supporting us. Later, she read the manuscript and helped us especially with our research