Acceso usuarios
Carol Booth Olson, Undraa Maamuujav, Huy Q Chung, Katie Woodworth, Haiwen Wang, Nicole Arshan, Tanya Baker, Rebecca Black, Debbie Dean, Candance Doerr Stevens, Jessica Singer Early, Lee Fisher, Faye Peitzman, Jennifer Sanders, Liz Stephens
In this study, we report findings from a multisite cluster randomized controlled trial designed to replicate and scale up an existing successful professional development program that uses a cognitive strategies approach to text-based argument writing. The Pathway to Academic Success Project worked with partner districts recruited by eight sites affiliated with the National Writing Project in seven states. Informed by a wide body of research on the efficacy of cognitive strategy instruction, the intervention aimed to help culturally and linguistically diverse students in low-socioeconomic status, high needs middle and high schools to improve their argument writing. The study sample includes 4,136 students (n = 2,232 treatment; n = 1,904 control) in Grades 7–11 in the classes of 174 teachers (n = 86 treatment; n = 88 control) in 46 schools. Treatment teachers participated in 28 hr of training and learned how to apply cognitive strategies to help students understand, interpret, and write argument essays about complex texts. Despite disruptions to program implementation during the pandemic, multilevel models revealed that the intervention had a significant positive effect on student writing quality (d = 0.13), content (d = 0.12), structure (d = 0.14), stance (d = 0.12), conventions (d = 0.11), and productivity (d = 0.23). The intervention did not have differential impacts on students’ writing quality for demographic subgroups, underscoring the intervention’s potential to provide equitable learning opportunities for all participants. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
