How to Tell Whether Writing Instruction Works

Inside Higher Ed: "As writing program directors gathered Thursday at the annual meeting of the Modern Language Association, many voiced confidence that their efforts are making a difference. But at one of the kickoff sessions for the meeting, many of these officials said they worried that views of their success were based more on hunches and intuition than solid evidence. That may be changing, however, as composition scholars described a range of projects designed to test the effectiveness of their efforts. Some said they see a shift in composition away from theory and toward more practical research on student learning and instructor strategies."