Conclusion

Reflections about the three main assignment clusters (Writer’s Journals, Analytical Synthesis Papers, and the Collaborative Group Project) as well as discussion about what I have learned from the findings of the classroom research project can be found in those sections of the portfolio where the topics are discussed. Hence, I do not wish to rehearse them here. Instead, I would like to reflect briefly, by way of conclusion, on the lessons I have learned by conducting formal classroom research and writing this course portfolio.

Perhaps the most important lesson for me has been the confirmation of student learning in areas that matter to me most (key writing skills and intellectual growth vis-à-vis the course topic). As I have taught the course and revised it over the years, I always sensed that students were indeed learning what I wanted them to learn, but without objective assessment, I could never be sure. The classroom research and the analysis of its data have reassured me that students are, in fact, improving their writing skills and learning to think in a more sophisticated fashion with respect to our consumerist/capitalist economic system. This reassurance is important to me emotionally as a teacher, whose work is guided by a deep commitment to student learning. It is also important for me to be able to demonstrate in objective terms to others that students have learned something of substance on my watch.

The classroom research project has also forced me to recognize and accept the skill level of the average LAMP sophomore entering L216. When I taught the course for the first time, I naively thought (and even told students) that I would not have to teach writing skills at all; I thought – erroneously – that all my time could be spent on the fun stuff: connecting ideas, interpreting texts, and critiquing the American economic system. The classroom research project taught me beyond a shadow of a doubt that these first assumptions were faulty. As I structured the project, wrote the rubrics, read and re-read students’ work, and finally wrote about their work, I came to realize that students need much more help and practice with basic writing skills than I had anticipated. Although entering L216 students can all write competently at the sentence level, they need active instruction and guided practice in putting solid paragraphs together and organizing a coherent essay. In other words, classroom research and reflection about it have helped me to realize that I must back up and meet students where they are with respect to their writing skills. I can no longer justifiably operate from an assumption that LAMP students – because they are high achievers and work hard -- do not need help with core writing skills.

I believe that more time spent on basic writing skills will in the end help students to make greater advances in the key components of college writing such as fashioning strong theses and using evidence effectively. At the same time, I think more instruction and practice with writing basics will allow students to express their thoughts more clearly, more persuasively, and more coherently. Thence, students will be able to demonstrate their intellectual growth even more conclusively that they did in this study.