Mardena Creek
CWC Bibliography No. 1, 1991

A Brief Annotated Bibliography:
Writing, Learning, Diversity

This bibliography summarizes six articles that offer practical advice about how to help diverse students learn--and write--in the university. To emphasize common themes that run through the literature, I have intentionally repeated advice offered by several sources. For those of us who have long used many of these approaches, the bibliography should serve as confirmation that our practices are sound. For those of us searching for new approaches, it should offer some useful--if basic--suggestions for effecting positive change. These articles represent only a small portion of our diversity collection. I encourage those interested in pursuing the issue in more depth, to consult our complete bibliography available in the University Writing Program, 378 Voorhies. We will be glad to photocopy any articles that interest you.

Dean, Terry. "Multicultural Classrooms, Monocultural Teachers." College Composition and Communication 40 (Feb. 1989): 23-37.

Dean, who teaches English at U.C. Davis, addresses the effects of "cultural dissonance" on students' abilities to master the conventions of academic discourse. To help students overcome the alienation created by this dissonance, Dean urges writing teachers to develop theories and practices that will "both help students write their way into the university and help teachers learn their way into student cultures" (23). He encourages teachers to build bridges between the home cultures that have shaped students' identities and the academic culture whose language and assumptions students must understand. Although teachers need to devise their own means for helping such students mediate between cultures, Dean suggests the following strategies as places to begin:

1. Assign analytical topics that relate to students' cultural backgrounds. Such topics allow students to write about subjects that are important to them and demonstrate the teacher's respect for the home culture.

    

2. Assign "language-oriented topics" that explore the relationship between language and identity. Having students examine their attitude toward language may help them gain self-confidence and overcome writing blocks.

    

3. Use peer response groups and class newsletters to help students develop a greater sense of audience and to give them a chance to share their special knowledge with others. Fostering a sense of community within the classroom helps students overcome feelings of alienation and allows them to gain confidence in their public voices.

    

4. Make students aware of campus issues and events that directly affect them. Design assignments that ask them to attend relevant campus events or to read campus publications. Making students aware of how they relate to the university and asking them to articulate their responses to this relationship may help them feel more a part of the university community.

    

Farr, Marcia and Harvey Daniels. "Writing Instruction and Nonmainstream Students." Language Diversity and Language Instruction. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1986: 43-85.

After reviewing current research, Farr and Daniels conclude that the most important component of effective writing instruction is the teacher's positive attitude. Teachers who demonstrate respect for the diverse language backgrounds of students and exhibit confidence in their ability to master new language skills are more likely to succeed in the language classroom than are those who focus on error and have lowered expectations. Farr and Daniels also discuss other components of effective writing instruction and make the following suggestions for teachers who wish to improve writing instruction:

1. Focus on the writing process: prewriting, drafting, and revising.

    

2. Assign papers directed to a variety of real audiences for a variety of real purposes.

    

3. Design collaborative activities that allow students to exchange ideas for writing and revising with their peers.

    

4. Schedule regular teacher-student conferences.

    

5. Do less direct instruction in grammar; teach grammar in the context of students' own writing.

    

Goodman, Marcia. "Innocent Impostors: Gender, Genre, and the Teaching of Writing." Visions and Revisions: Research for Writing Teachers 2 (Spring 1990): 37-51. University of California, Davis: Center for Cooperative Educational Research.

Like basic and multicultural writers, women often feel alienated from the forms and stances required by academic discourse. Drawing on her own observations as a writing teacher and on the works of psychologists who have investigated gender differences, Goodman posits that the forms of academic discourse may work to silence women. Pointing to the emphasis these forms place on objectivity, analysis, and linearity, Goodman argues that they privilege male values and male ways of thinking. While many women students admittedly handle these forms masterfully, Goodman notes that such forms allow women little opportunity to articulate their own visions and values.

While Goodman is careful to avoid making "hard and fast distinctions" (45) between how males and females learn and write, she does draw some generalizations about important differences she has observed in their approaches to writing. Women students, she notes, tend to feel more comfortable with exploratory and personal forms of writing than with argumentation, to become more involved in the writing process than do men students, and to choose topics that allow them "to connect their personal feelings, beliefs, and experiences with the course materials" (46). After observing these differences, Goodman urges writing teachers to consider ways to make writing and writing assignments less gender biased and offers the following suggestions:

1. Use models and examples that are "sensitive to questions of gender differences" (49) and that offer a variety of styles and content.

    

2. Offer a wide range of assignments and allow students to choose their own topics and approaches whenever possible.

    

3. Try not to impose rigid rules for writing; rather work to help students discover approaches that achieve their purpose and satisfy their audiences within the context of particular assignments.

    

4. Discuss writing as a process of discovery, a way to learn and to understand, as well as to communicate. Use journals and informal writing assignments that allow students to explore their ideas without threat of censure.

    

5. Examine the fears and anxieties students may have about writing; share recent research on writer's block with them and let them know that it is a common problem.

    

6. Use writing texts that demonstrate sensitivity to gender issues. Try to avoid those that use "he" exclusively or rely primarily on male models of good writing.

    

7. Develop a variety of ways to evaluate and respond to students' writing.

    

O'Hearn, Carolyn. "Recognizing the Learning Disabled College Writer." College English 51 (March 1989): 294-304.

In an attempt to help composition teachers identify learning disabled students, O'Hearn enumerates the distinctive features of these students' in-class writing. According to O'Hearn, this writing is characterized by frequent spelling errors of the following three types: confusion of homonyms and near-homonyms, transposed letters, omitted letters and syllables. Thus learning disabled students might write "witch" for "which," or "as" for "has," "dose" for "does," or "arond" for "around." They might also have trouble with the conventions governing punctuation and capitalization.

O'Hearn emphasizes that it is the pattern and frequency of such errors that separate the writing of a learning disabled student from that of a careless writer or a writer who does not speak standard English. Understanding the difference between a learning disabled student and a careless or indifferent one, O'Hearn points out, is essential if we wish to evaluate learning disabled students fairly and humanely. In addition, identifying students who may have learning disabilities is the first step in helping them obtain the extra assistance they may need to succeed in the university. While O'Hearn empahsizes that teachers are not equipped to diagnose learning disabled students, she argues that they are equipped to recognize the types of writing errors that often signify the problem.

Sedlacek, William E. "Teaching Minority Students." Teaching Minority Students. Ed. J. H. Cones, J.F. Noonan, and D. Janha. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. San Francisco: Josey-Bass, 1983: 39-50.

Addressing the low retention rate of minority students in predominantly white institutions, Sedlacek's article isolates seven "noncognitive variables" that help determine the academic success of minority students. According to his research, supportive adults, a positive self-concept, the ability to set realistic goals, and the opportunity to demonstrate non-traditional knowledge are among the more important predictors of minority students' academic success. Based on these findings, Sedlacek offers the following suggestions for teachers interested in improving the education of minority students:

1. Initiate contact with minority students and provide information that goes beyond the classroom. Often such students do not understand how the system works and thus may fail to fulfill its requirements.

    

2. Be willing to serve as a mentor, a person who supports and encourages the student in his or her academic pursuits.

    

3. Have high expectations for minority students. Research suggests that faculty "tend to expect less of minority students" (41). While it is important to understand the cultural dissonance they may experience when trying to adapt to the academic world, lowered expectations rob students of their self-respect and deny them the chance to succeed equally.

    

4. Help students to set and to meet realistic goals. Hand out a syllabus at the beginning of the quarter that communicates your expectations, list due dates for major exams and papers, and clarify your grading standards. Give students the chance to fulfill a series of short-term goals in the process of working toward a long-range goal. [For example, give frequent quizzes to help prepare for exams, assign proposals before research projects, require outlines or rough drafts due in advance of longer papers.] Fulfilling these short-term goals increases students' confidence and teaches them how to organize their time.

    

5. Give more frequent feedback and use different methods of evaluation:
   
   • Increase the frequency of exams
   • Use essay questions as well as multiple choice questions
   • Return exams promptly and offer to explain the results in conference
   • Use testing to help students learn course materials as well as to measure how well they have mastered this material.

    

6. Structure classes to include class participation, group work, and oral presentations. Such activities give minority students a chance to interact with other students and to gain confidence in their own abilities.

    

7. Try to design assignments that give students the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge gained in non-traditional ways.

    

Winningham, Beth. "How Language Minority Students Learn in the Content Areas." The Quarterly of the National Writing Project and the Center for the Study of Writing 12 (Winter 1990): 4-6.

Winningham examines how ESL (English as Second Language) students learn in the content areas and concludes that the teacher-dominant, lecture-style classroom fails to meet their particular needs. She suggests that content area teachers who wish to enhance the learning of their ESL students should adapt the following techniques.

1. Design small group activities, assign oral presentations, and encourage class discussion to give students the chance to practice oral communication skills.

    

2. Use an overhead projector and other visual aids when presenting information. Speak slowly when lecturing or giving instructions and use examples to make your points.

    

3. Structure presentations and assignments carefully. Make sure that your expectations are clearly stated and enforced.

    

4. Give students immediate and frequent feedback on their work.

    

5. Schedule individual conferences and give students as much individual attention and encouragement as possible.

    

Mardena Creek
CWC Bibliography No. 1, 1991