* This student's data was removed because it exerted too great an influence on the normal curve of the data.
Total sample = 457
Number of students who did not respond to the question = 44 (9.6% of total sample)
Amount of writing
A little over half of the students surveyed (55.9%) reported that they wrote more in their writing fellow assisted course than they did in their other courses. About one-third of the students reported that the amount of writing they did in their writing fellow assisted course was about the same as it was in their other courses.
Table 2. Students' response to the question "The amount of writing I have been doing in this course is ____ the amount of writing I usually do in other courses."
Amount of writing reported |
Number of students reporting |
Percentage of total sample |
Much less |
8 |
1.9 |
Less |
35 |
7.7 |
About the same |
140 |
30.6 |
More |
125 |
27.4 |
Much more |
107 |
23.4 |
Total sample = 457
Number of students who did not respond to the question = 42 (9.4% of total sample)
Drafting before and after WAC
Students' reported that they wrote non-required drafts of their papers more often after exposure to WAC than they did before it. Moreover, statistical analysis showed that this difference was statistically significant; the number of student who did not draft decreased after WAC exposure, and the number of student who did draft increased. Survey results showed a 5.25% decrease in students who reported never drafting prior to WAC exposure, and a 13.79% decrease in those who reported almost never drafting. In contrast, students who reported almost always drafting increased 3.94% andstudents who reported always drafting increased 7.22%.
Table 3. Comparison of student's self-reported drafting before and after WAC
Drafting reported |
Before WAC |
After WAC |
Percent change |
Never |
45 |
21 |
-5.25 |
Almost never |
84 |
41 |
-13.79 |
Occasionally |
120 |
134 |
3.64 |
Almost always |
95 |
113 |
3.94 |
Always |
68 |
99 |
7.22 |
Help understanding course material
A very small minority of students (9.8%) reported that writing did not help their understanding of course material*. But, in general students overwhelmingly reported that writing increased their understanding of course material. Ninety percent of the students surveyed felt that writing somehow improved their understanding of course material.
Table 4. Students' response to the question "The writing I have done for this course has _____ my understanding of the material."
Amount of writing reported |
Number of students reporting |
Percentage of total sample |
Slightly interfered with |
4 |
1.0 |
Had no impact on |
36 |
8.8 |
Slightly increased |
177 |
43.4 |
Greatly increased |
191 |
46.8 |
* One student's data was removed because it exerted too great an influence on the normal curve of the data - i.e. acted as an outlier.
Total sample = 457
Number of students who did not respond to the question = 48 (10.5% of total sample)
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