Arizona Students Put Texting Aside for “rl txt”

Publication: Arizona State University News
Date: July 28, 2010

Summary: The inaugural summer of the "rl txt" young writers' institute, sponsored by the Central Arizona Writing Project, proved that young people do have "text"—real text, real writing—to share.

Excerpt from Article

Institute directors Donna Miller, a doctoral student in English education and Kathy Deakin, an alumna of the English education doctoral program, designed the program to explore issues of literacy sponsorship. They wondered: What differences might we see in the perceptions of adolescent writers when they have a sense of ownership or personal investment in their writing, when the texts are not teacher-directed, simply prompted and left to their own design? What happens when young writers receive the opportunity to write such real texts in a non-evaluative environment?

The directors conclude that the resources and sponsorship strategies used in the rl txt institute contribute to literacy growth: "While we can't take credit for their creativity, the production of quality writing is clearly not connected to the threat of grades, or to red-pen commentary. It is about powerful prompts, time and opportunity to create."

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