I have always thought that all students, not just the top performers, genuinely want to learn, and I have worked my entire teaching career to engage those students who for whatever reason are not succeeding. My action research project allowed me the time and tools to delve more deeply into the causes of failure and to try some new tools to help "struggling writers" find their voice and succeed. I knew as I began my action research project that all of the students in my writing support class struggled to express themselves in writing. Where my thought and practice had to evolve, however, was in critiquing and changing the ways in which the students are asked to write. Essentially, all of these struggling writers felt as though there was no room in an English class essay for their thoughts, insights, and feelings. Indeed, they have been discouraged from using personal pronouns in their writing, and all of the formal writing tasks they are required to engage in seem to them to have nothing to do with them or their lives. So, my project became not just about using digital tools to engage students, but to come up with writing assignments that held meaning for the students. This, in turn, as resulted in me revising essay assignments for my 9th grade ELA classes. Whether they doing literary analysis on a short story they read, or attempting to persuade, they need to have a way to make it meaningful and relevant to them.
The use of digital tools for writing just makes sense to me, and not just to word process a final draft, but to brainstorm and share ideas and critiques. Where the true evolution of thought has happened is in seeing the utter pointlessness of the abstract writing assignments I and so many other ELA teachers assign. Asking students to write without their "voice," is like asking a man to drive without a vehicle!