Dear Colleagues-

I am embarking on an in-depth study to understand more about how basic writing is taught from varying perspectives – from graduate students teaching the course for the first time to experienced professors nearing retirement. Understanding more about how and why we teach this course and these students could help writing teachers learn more about the teaching of writing in general and more specifically, how to engage with at-risk students as they proceed through their curriculum.

Marilyn Sternglass’ 1997 Time to Know Them, which profiled basic writing students over six years, is one of the most influential studies of college writers, especially underprepared writers, to ever have been written. My study aims to replicate some of the methods used by Sternglass, not only to update what she learned about basic writing students in the 1990s, but to develop a rich understanding of those who have been teaching and teach them now.

8/14/18: Potential participants have completed a pre-screening survey and are in the process of being contacted.

Thank you for your interest in this project!

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS (PHONE 724.357.7730).