General Research
In ENGL 506: The Teaching of Writing, students are commonly involved in research projects. In one model, students do two original research projects: one studying the composing processes of a small group of writers (usually 2-3) and one studying a specific aspect of teacher-student interaction. Extending the interdisciplinary implications of this work, students write it up using a social science/education model, with sections for an introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and so forth. Students will sometimes sign on for further independent study with faculty members to continue working on these projects, in some cases with a view toward producing a conference presentation. One such student, for instance, presented a talk comparing computer-assisted and traditional writing instruction at the May 2002 Computers and Writing conference. A group of students also presented research at the October 2002 Watson Conference.
