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“Story starters” for articles, op-ed pieces, or news releases that you might write for your campus or local newspaper, your campus’s public relations person, or discussions.

National Survey for Student Engagement findings attest to importance of writing in college

Findings from a national study released today indicate that challenging writing assignments are key to students’ engagement in critical learning activities.

Findings come from questions focusing on writing included for the first time in the 2007-08 National Survey of Student Engagement. Over 23,000 students at 82 institutions nationwide responded to the questions, which ranged from questions about the quantity of writing to the kinds of assignments they received to frequency of feedback.

“The results emphasize the importance of infusing writing across the curriculum,” says Chris Anson, Distinguished Professor of Writing and Speaking at North Carolina State University.

Challenging assignments that ask students to focus on analysis, synthesis and argument coupled with the opportunity to work through drafts of writing with instructor feedback, were especially important for the development of students’ abilities, the report said. Immediate benefits included greater abilities to analyze, synthesize, integrate ideas from various sources, and work through the relevance of ideas in and out of the classroom.

More sophisticated approaches to writing were substantially related to higher-order thinking and integrative learning in general. That is, more expert writing instruction made students better thinkers and learners in addition to better writers.

Additionally, some evidence from a 2007 NSSE report suggests that students who are more engaged in their learning may be more likely to stay at their college than drop out or transfer. NSSE found that “effective educational practices” such as regular and intellectually challenging writing activities play a significant role in retention and academic success.

WRITING INSTRUCTORS/THE WRITING PROGRAM AT XXX INCORPORATES THESE INTO ALL ASSIGNMENTS.

Another take:

How can students become more engaged in learning? Data from the 2007-2008 National Survey of Student Engagement suggest that frequent and challenging writing assignments, feedback from teachers, and application to in and out of school learning might help.

NSSE, as it is known, is administered every spring. Last spring, nearly 380,000 students completed the survey. For the first time, over 23,000 of them responded to questions about how much students write, what their assignments are like, and what kind of feedback they receive.

NSSE findings indicate that the use of challenging writing assignments supported by good instructor practices such as modeling and feedback was linked to increased engagement.

NSSE indicated that some students found they could come to class without completing reading or assignments. But Chris Anson, Distinguished Professor of Writing and Speaking at North Carolina State University, said that the NSSE data might point to a solution. “Frequent writing causes students to have to read, synthesize, and reflect on the course material more fully, which then leads to preparation, learning, and engagement,” Anson said.

AT YOUR INSTITUTION, INSTRUCTORS ARE DOING THAT.

Another take:

How to help students succeed in college and earn good grades? Results released today from the National Survey for Student Engagement may point to answers.

Today’s release of the 2007-2008 NSSE indicates that challenging writing assignments are key to students’ engagement in critical learning activities.

Previously, NSSE researchers found that educationally effective practices, such as sharing models for writing, creating opportunities for peer conferencing, and providing feedback on drafts led to better retention and success as indicated by persistence and higher grades.

Coupled together, these two reports indicate that when students are engaged in learning, they are better able to analyze, synthesize, integrate ideas from various sources, and work through the relevance of ideas in and out of the classroom. These abilities lead students to stay in school longer, and to get better grades.

AT XXX COLLEGE, INSTRUCTORS ARE ACTING ON THESE FINDINGS.

Another take:

Student persistence - also referred to as retention - is a vexing issue at many schools. Evidence from the most recent National Survey of Student Engagement (or NSSE) suggests that students who are more engaged in learning are more likely to stay than they are to drop out or transfer.

<INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR LOCAL CONTEXT HERE, eg, "In Michigan, academic persistence has been identified as a key factor for driving economic growth. Completing post-secondary education, according to the Cherry Commission on Higher Education for Economic Growth, will help Michigan "achieve its economic development goals." At XXX University, academic persistence has also been identified as a key goal.>

NSSE found that  "effective educational practices," such as providing challenging assignments to students that are supported by modeling and timely feedback, play a positive and significant role in retention and academic success. Although NSSE has not yet examined whether writing activities actually drive retention and success, the recently released findings strongly suggest that extensive, intellectually challenging writing activities are one kind of educational effective practice and may therefore be drivers of success and retention.