Crossing the Boundaries: A Case Study of One Remedial Student's Transformation into a College Writer

• Published in: Research & teaching in developmental education 2005-10, Vol.22 (1), p.27-42
• Main Author: Best, Linda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Basic writing; College students; Course Content; Critical thinking; Curricula; Education; Educational Strategies; Essays; Learning; Learning Processes; Literary criticism; Student writing; Teachers; Teaching; Writers; Writing; Writing assignments; Writing instruction; Writing tests; Written composition
• ISSN: 1046-3364

The author offers highlights from a semester-long exploratory study of an innovative and intensive double-period composition course for students entering at the remedial level. She focuses on one developmental writer, aiming to capture her successful transition to college level writing. The case is a retrospective account based on the review of authentic classroom data—from essays to conferencing notes, survey responses, and email. These sources document the student's progress, allowing for discussion about learning processes, curriculum, and instructional strategies. This case is the first in a series of reports describing the different performance patterns, successful and unsuccessful, of developmental students' efforts to acquire college-level skills in a new curriculum designed to eliminate the stigma and shortcomings of the non-credit developmental course structures offered previously at the institution.