Effectiveness of a Writing Intervention in History Classrooms: Do They Vary by Teacher and Student Factors?

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Abstract

This study investigates how the effects of a one-year professional development (PD) intervention for source-based argumentative writing are influenced by teacher- and student-level factors. Three-hundred eighty nine secondary students from 20 teachers wrote source-based essays at the start and end of the school year. Hierarchical Linear Modeling revealed that teacher-level variance accounted for one-fourth of the variance in students' post-test scores, controlling for pre-test scores. Additionally, no significant differences were observed among students with different EL statuses. Some teacher fidelity measures also emerged as significant predictors of student writing growth, although the effects were small in magnitude. Overall, these findings underscore the crucial role of teachers in facilitating argumentative writing growth through interventions.

Authors

• Youngsun Moon, Stanford University

• Jacob Steiss, University of Missouri - St. Louis

• Jiali Wang, University of California - Irvine

• Penelope Collins, University of California - Irvine