Smarthinking

At the UNC Teaching and Learning with Technology 2008 Conference in Raleigh on March 12-14, 2008, Dr. Barry L.Berman presented research documenting the effectiveness of Smarthinking’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) online tutoring service used by students in over 1000 educational institutions.

Kapiolani and the Broward County Community College conducted a two-year study to document learning gains as a result of tutoring through Smarthinking’s OWL. Results published in the Journal of Applied Research in the Community College show student success rates in Developmental English class improved from 67% to 75%.

Additional data suggests that Smarthinking may have a positive influence on student retention. Sharon Bittner, Director, Tutoring Center at Des Moines Area Community College, Iowa, found that retention rates increase 10-12% for students who used Smarthinking.

Dr. Berman believes WSSU could achieve similar learning gains and retention improvement with Smarthinking. He notes that “It is more expensive to recruit a student than to retain one” and that increased retention rates at WSSU will generate more revenue for the university.

A new textbook, Evergreen: A Guide to Writing with Readings, 6th edition, by Susan Fawcett, was adopted this fall for the ENG 1300 Introduction to College Writing course. This book comes bundled with Smarthinking’s Online Writing Lab and allows students to submit papers for a professional tutor’s comments. Students may then revise the paper before submitting the final draft to the instructor. Overview comments are given in paragraph form and additional comments are embedded throughout the paper. A summary of revision steps is provided, along with additional resources in Smarthinking’s online library, including student handbooks with information about writing, grammar, and usage.

The Writing Center suggests that ENG 1300 faculty design their course syllabus with multiple due dates for drafts. This would allow enough time for students to submit an early draft to Smarthinking. Turnaround time may take upwards of 2 or 3 days. Students would then be encouraged to bring Smarthinking’s E-structor Response Form with embedded comments to the Writing Center at which point peer tutors in the Writing Center could provide additional explanations to help the student understand suggested revisions. Combining instructor guidance with both professional tutor and peer tutor input could provide significant critical thinking and composition support for our students.

Elizabeth S. Priest
Writing Center Director