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Action Research Paper LC Eldridge and Zawislak
Action Research Paper LC Eldridge and Zawislak
Action Research Paper LC Eldridge and Zawislak
From Writer to Author: Does Student Attitude and Ability Increase After Exposure to Lucy
Calkins Writing Curriculum?
By
Oakland University
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………….…………… 2
Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Chapter 1 ………………………………………………………………………………. 4
● Introduction
○ Assumptions and Limitations
○ Research Question
Chapter 2 ………………………………………………………………………………. 8
● Review of Literature
Chapter 3 ………………………………………………………………………………. 13
● Method of the Study
○ Overview
○ Selection of Students
○ Research Design
○ Description of Instruments
○ Data Analysis
Chapter 4 ………………………………………………………………………………. 16
● Results of the Study
○ Triangulation of Data
○ Student and Parent Survey Results
○ Teacher Observations
○ On-Demand Writing Scores from Illuminate
○ Discussion of Results
Chapter 5 ………………………………………………………………………………. 23
● Conclusions and Recommendations
○ Conclusions
○ Recommendations
○ Implications of Future Research
References .…………………………………………….………………………………. 26
Appendices .……………………………………………………………………………. 28
● Appendix A – Administrator Consent Form …….……………………………... 28
● Appendix B – Parent Permission for Student Survey ...………………………... 29
● Appendix C - Student Consent Form …………………………………………... 30
● Appendix D - Student Survey ...………………...……………………………… 31
● Appendix E - Student Survey Results …………………………………….……. 32
● Appendix F - Parent Survey ……………………………………………….…… 34
● Appendix G - Parent Survey Results ……………………………………….….. 35
● Appendix H – Fall On-Demand Writing Scores ……………………………….. 37
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 2
Acknowledgements
The researchers would like to thank our professor, Dr. Lindson Feun, for his dedication
and support throughout the process. We would also like to thank the administration, staff,
students, and parents at Costello Elementary. Special recognition to Dr. Tammy DiPonio for
allowing us to conduct this study with her staff and providing us opportunities to engage in
conversations about the Lucy Calkins curriculum. In addition, the researchers would like to
acknowledge Mrs. Natalie Haezebrook for her support with literacy inquiries, as well as Mr.
Remo Roncone and Dr. DiPonio for their mentorship throughout the program. Thank you to the
Macomb cohort members for their unwavering support regarding our research. Lastly, we would
like to thank our families for all their support and patience along the way.
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 4
Abstract
This action research report examines the influences of Lucy Calkins’ writing curriculum
on fifth graders at Costello Elementary School in Troy, Michigan. The key inquiry is: does
student attitude and ability increase after exposure to Lucy Calkins writing curriculum? Data was
collected and analyzed from teacher observations, student and parent Likert Scale surveys which
included free response questions, and student on-demand writing samples. The data suggested
there was an apparent increase in attitude towards writing. In addition, there was statistically
significant growth in ability for students exposed to the Lucy Calkins curriculum. Furthermore,
it is also challenging to conclude if the curriculum is the reason for the increase in ability and
Chapter 1
Introduction
The Troy School District (TSD) implemented the writing curriculum created by Lucy
Calkins and her Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) colleagues in the fall
of 2016. All twelve elementary schools piloted the program in grade levels Kindergarten through
5th grade.
The TCRWP’s reading and writing curriculum is a research-based curriculum that extended
their research beyond state standards for reading and writing and strived to reach the whole child.
According to their Units of Study webpage (TCRWP, n.d.) their work strives to reflect their core
beliefs and values, “One of the most important of these is that raising the level of literacy for
children is an act of social justice.” They go on to explain the extent of their goals:
Our work aims to prepare kids for any reading and writing task they will face or set
themselves, to turn them into life-long, confident readers and writers who display
agency and independence in their future endeavors. That is, our aims reach beyond
state testing and fulfillment of tasks for schools. We aim to strengthen a generation of
Furthermore, to achieve these student goals, TCRWP’s research included ways to “support
teachers, administrators, and school change agents with professional development, curriculum,
and instructional methods” (TCRWP, n.d.). Since the TSD values collaboration and job-
embedded professional learning, having a curriculum that includes not only the students, but the
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 6
entire educational team made the TCRWP curriculum the overwhelming, literary choice for the
TSD.
During the 2018-2019 school year, the TSD was the 12th largest school district in the state
of Michigan educating approximately 13,000 students. Geographically, the TSD resides in the
city of Troy, which is in southeast Oakland County. Troy is a suburban community whose
residents can be categorized as educated professionals, who are civic and culturally minded. The
district consists of two traditional high schools, four middle schools, and 12 elementary schools.
Additionally, there is an alternative high school and an International Baccalaureate high school
that provides specific learning opportunities for interested students. In the TSD, approximately
53% of the student population were Caucasian, 36% were Asian, 5% were African American,
3% were Hispanic descent, and 3% identified with two or more races. Over the past five years,
enrollment in the TSD dipped in 2014-2015 to about 12,500 students, however the student
population increased over the past four years, to reach an all-time high. In that same time, the
Learners increased. Moreover, about 17% of students in the TSD qualified for free or reduced
lunch.
Costello Elementary School is one of the 12 elementary schools in the TSD. Costello is
one of six National Blue-Ribbon schools in the TSD, and all TSD schools are Michigan
Exemplary Blue-Ribbon schools; both high schools are ranked among the top four percent of all
schools in the United States by Newsweek Magazine; student achievement levels are among the
best in Michigan and the nation; and graduates earn consideration from select universities around
the U.S. especially Michigan State University and the University of Michigan because of their
TSD education. During the 2018-2019 school year, Costello Elementary School had a population
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 7
of about 360 students ranging from preschool to fifth grade. According to mischooldata.org,
70.06% of students were measured proficient in English language arts in the 2016–2017 school
year, while 72.26% did so in 2017–2018 school year. The families that contributed to this
elementary school’s population ranged from low-income to high-income households with the
majority of the families being from mid-income households. Miss Eldridge’s classroom had 20
As a 5th grade teacher, at Costello, Julie Eldridge, saw a dramatic increase in student
ability to write after one year of using the Lucy Calkins’ writing curriculum. After two years, she
noticed a positive increase in students’ attitudes towards writing. As a co-author of the study,
Julie teamed with TSD colleague, Brian Zawislak to examine student attitude and ability when
students were exposed to the Lucy Calkins’ writing curriculum. Thus, it was decided to conduct
research to answer the following research question: Does student attitude and ability increase
For the purposes of this program analysis it is assumed that all participants, the classroom
teacher, students, and parents have participated on a voluntary basis and answered honestly. It is
unknown if this resulted in self-selection bias, which is when individuals select themselves into a
group rather than being randomly selected, or if those students and parents who chose not to
participate in the survey did so because they were unhappy with the Lucy Calkins curriculum, or
if they were indifferent about it. Moreover, since the study used self-selected individuals,
interpretation of any inference is limited. Students were surveyed before they received their final
report card. While students were assured that participation in the survey would have no impact
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 8
on their report card, it can be assumed that students felt their answers would in fact have an
impact. Therefore, the self-report data may have resulted in response bias, meaning the
respondents answered the way they thought the experimenters wanted them to answer. We
further assume that participating parents have observed and had an understanding of their child’s
writing. Finally, we assume that teacher observations are limited to the sample of students
Research Question
The primary research question being examined in this program analysis is: Does student
attitude and ability increase after exposure to Lucy Calkins writing curriculum?
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 9
Chapter 2
Review of Literature
Introduction
In Growing Extraordinary Writers, Calkins and Ehrenworth (2016) noted that more and
more schools are realizing that the teaching of writing needs to become a priority. They went on
to add that adults and children are writing more than ever due in large part due to the
technological revolution. Access to texts, tweets, emails, and other forms of social media provide
individuals an opportunity to work on their writing craft. In addition, Wagner (2008) indicated
that the upcoming generation will need seven survival skills to compete in the global economy.
Of these seven skills, Wagner (2008) pointed out that, “The ability to write is paramount to two
of those seven skills.” Furthermore, corporate leaders insist that new hires need to be clearer and
more concise in their writing. So, how can today’s teachers develop writers who are passionate
about improving their craft while meeting the needs of the next generation? To answer this
question, a review of different literacy models was examined including Lucy Calkins Writer’s
Workshop model.
Literature Review
article, Measuring attitude toward writing, teachers face an uphill battle in their attempt to foster
positive writing attitudes in their students. Writing, particularly good writing, takes perseverance
and effort. As a result, “As children move from grade to grade, their attitude toward writing
worsens” (Kear, et al, 2000). So, teachers need a tool to measure student attitude toward writing.
The authors attempted to develop a survey for teachers to monitor the affective growth in
writing; they strive to instill what could be administered individually or to an entire class in a
few minutes. After reviewing other instruments and examining college-level texts used in
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 10
language arts methods courses, the authors developed a 54-item instrument. That instrument was
administered to a few hundred students, and the tool was revised down to 28, reliable items using
a four-point Likert scale and named The Writing Attitude Survey (WAS). From a statistical
perspective, the WAS proved to be highly reliable. However, since it only produces one global
score, it cannot be used to identify causes for poor attitude. Nevertheless, the WAS provided
teachers with knowledge about their students’ attitudes toward writing, which informed their
instruction.
The WAS can be used to develop an initial baseline of data regarding student’s attitude
toward writing, as a pre- and post-measurement score of attitude toward writing, to collect an
attitude profile for a group of students, or to serve as a way to monitor the impact of an
instructional program in writing. In fact, a third-grade teacher collected data using the WAS to
support the implementation of her writing program. Moreover, the pre- and post-measurements
allowed a fifth-grade teacher to observe changes in students’ attitudes regarding writing. Kear, et
al (2000) noted that effective teaching strategies and engaging opportunities to write successfully
can make real inroads in student perspectives. So, teachers can use the WAS to learn how to
better help their students become better writers while developing a love for writing.
How do we motivate students to write and to write well? Guay et al. (2010) stresses the
importance of distinguishing among types of school motivation towards specific school subjects
in the early elementary years. Their research found that older elementary students are more self-
motivated than younger elementary students. They believe this could be a result of students
becoming more experienced with school subjects over the years. Additionally, they discovered
that “girls are more intrinsically motivated towards reading and writing and are more regulated
Dallas Price (2012), an educator at an elementary school for gifted children, discovered
that his middle-school aged students were more motivated to write nonfiction when technology
was involved. This made sense in a world where technology has infiltrated daily routines. Even
young students can be heard talking about their own social media accounts or hosting their own
YouTube channels. To Price, it made sense to transform their nonfiction assignment into a
historical documentary production. Students were in groups of three and worked together to
move through the writing process together. They collected research from online sources,
planned, and wrote the script for their documentary. Students were also engaged in the critique
and revision processes. “Communication skills such as writing, speaking, and presenting have
communicate precisely when they know their writing is being read by multiple peers. They strive
for the best product because their work will be shown to audiences outside of the classroom”
In addition to motivation, our research indicated that the methods educators use to teach
writing is highly significant to a student’s success in writing. According to literacy experts Lucy
Calkins and Mary Ehrenworth (2016) educators must teach students to write the way
professional writers write. We educate students about the scientific method and to use the
method as a process when testing out ideas in science. Writing is a learned skill and educators
need to teach the writing process; collect and organize data, draft essays, revise, and edit, with
the same intentions as teaching the scientific method. Moving through the process in any order
Time for writing is extremely important and must be protected. Calkins and Ehrenworth
(2016) recommend educators of writing to utilize the Writers’ Workshop method every day
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 12
which includes at least a half-hour of independent writing time. On their website (TCRWP,
2014) the TCRWP described in detail what a writer’s workshop entails for grade levels
During the writing workshop, students are invited to live, work and learn as writers. They
observe their lives and the world around them while collecting, drafting, revising, editing,
and publishing well-crafted narrative and expository texts. Students receive direct instruction
in a mini lesson, during which the teacher explicitly names a skill proficient writers use that
is within reach for most of the class, then demonstrates the skill and provides students with a
brief interval of guided practice using it. Students then have time to write, applying the
repertoire of skills and strategies they’ve learned, while receiving feedback through one-to-
one conferences and small group instruction designed to move them along trajectories of
development.
Calkins and Ehrenworth (2016) also emphasize the importance of choice, feedback, and
setting goals. When students are allowed to choose topics, they are highly interested in they are
more motivated and more successful in transferring their ideas to paper. If students are provided
a topic then students should have the freedom of choosing subtopics and how they gather
information. Having students write in their own way paves the way for their own voice to come
out of their writing. Frequently throughout the writing process students need to receive feedback
from their peers and the teacher. Receiving feedback is an effective method for accelerating any
learning. From the feedback, students create goals for their next steps to raise the level of their
writing.
According to her website (Heinemann, 2019), Lucy Calkins has authored or coauthored
College, Columbia University, and her Units of Study are used in tens of thousands of
However, there are always critics who believe otherwise. Barbara Feinberg (2007), an author and
child advocate, is one such critic. In her research, Feinberg found no research to back the
efficacy of Calkin’s work. She argues that there is no one way to teach literacy; Calkins’ Units of
Research does, however, show that the writer's workshop method is a successful teaching
strategy. One that Lucy Calkins utilizes in her Units of Study. Joyce Cicalese (2009), a writing
coach in Georgia, reported student growth when the fifth-grade teachers she coached
implemented a writer’s workshop. The teachers were spending 45 minutes, three times a week
teaching writing and grammar and many teachers, who were not writers themselves, were
disengaged in the lessons. Cicalese encouraged the teachers to implement a 60-minute writers’
workshop, five days a week. As a result, students were more engaged in writing, students
enjoyed choosing their own topics, writing stamina increased, and student voices became
Chapter 3
Method of Study
Overview
The purpose of the study was to examine the Lucy Calkins Writing Curriculum that is
utilized by elementary and middle schools in the Troy School District (TSD). Lucy Calkins
Writing Curriculum provided structure and support for students in the TSD as they developed
their writing craft and style. Moreover, it is a system which hopes to turn students into life-long,
confident readers and writers. The Lucy Calkins team has worked with thousands of schools
across the country and around the world for more than 30 years. Lucy Calkins Writing
Curriculum was in its third year in the TSD and there are no signs for it to be replaced or
seriously adjusted.
Selection of Students
Selection of subjects for the purpose of the study was a matter of convenience. All
participants shared their time and experiences voluntarily and were self-selected.
Research Design
This study was conducted beginning in the fall of the 2018-2019 school year when
students first completed an, on-demand writing sample in October. For the assessment, students
were given brief directions and reminders prior to planning, writing, and revising their own
essay. The teacher, who has been trained to reliably evaluate writing samples using the Lucy
Calkins’ rubrics, assessed the samples as a way to develop baseline information for each student.
Students completed a second on-demand writing sample in March so that the teacher could
measure student growth. After completing the first on-demand writing sample, the teacher was
provided additional training about the Lucy Calkins Writing Curriculum at a district-provided
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 15
professional development in October. Furthermore, the teacher worked with the district’s
elementary reading specialist for a Teachers College institute in November. In the institute, the
specialist modeled the way teachers should interact with students to personalize instruction, so
each child’s individual learning needs were met. Next, the teacher attempted to explicitly teach
the strategies that were modeled and was provided feedback on their instruction by the literacy
specialist. Then, in February of 2019, a search was done to find scholarly journals and research
about Lucy Calkins. Following the second on-demand writing sample, students were surveyed in
May of 2019 about their writing experience in their fifth-grade class. Beyond this, parents were
also surveyed at the same time. All along, the teacher had been making observations about the
Description of Instruments
As was stated before, the students produced two writing samples. One in October, and
one in March. During these writing samples, the students were prompted with brief directions
and reminders. The students were then given 45 minutes to plan, write, and revise their own on-
demand essay. On the day prior to the on-demand performance assessment, students are notified
that they will be completing a specific style of writing to tell, persuade, or inform others about a
special moment, topic, or experience they were passionate about along with other brief reminders
about what was expected for the specific writing style. Following the one writing workshop
session, teachers collected, and used the writing samples as a formative assessment that informed
The student survey itself contained three demographics questions about gender, academic
ability, and race, as well as 20 Likert-style questions used to identify a student’s attitude and
ability about writing. At the end of the survey, students had an opportunity to complete two
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 16
open-ended questions that focused on what the student enjoyed most about their writing
experience and what they think could be improved about the writing experience. The parents
worked through an extremely similar survey about their perceptions of their child’s attitude and
ability about writing. They also answered three demographic, 20 Likert-style, and two open-
ended questions.
Data Analysis
Student and parent responses to surveys, which includes demographic, Likert, and open-
ended questions were linked with the teacher’s observation notes, and scores from student on-
demand performance writing assessments to develop themes about the students’ writing
experience. These themes were then used to make recommendations for program improvement.
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 17
Chapter 4
Results of Study
Triangulation of Data
The sources of data used to triangulate the resources were student surveys, parent
surveys, and teacher observation. Students in Miss Eldridge’s classroom were invited to
complete a voluntary survey to capture their opinions about their own ability and attitudes
regarding their writing experience with exposure to the Lucy Calkins writing curriculum.
Prior to students completing the survey, parent permission was requested for students to
participate in the survey. Parents were also invited to complete a voluntary survey to capture
their thoughts about their student’s ability and attitudes toward the Lucy Calkins writing
curriculum.
Miss Eldridge also included observations she made during the 2018-2019 school year.
Personal opinion and interpretation are useful when evaluating the attitudes and abilities of
students in writing.
Additionally, we analyzed the data collected in an online data collection program called
Illuminate. The TSD requires elementary teachers to record student writing scores of the on-
demand writing samples in the fall and the spring. The scores were recorded to Illuminate. The
scores are evaluated using a rubric created by the Lucy Calkins curriculum. The teacher then
used the scores to determines if a student is below, on, or above grade level.
Analyzing the results of the survey developed by the researchers, the twenty-three
questions were divided up into six specific categories that focused the analysis on the percentage
of students who responded positively to the questions. Thirteen students and nine parents were
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 18
surveyed, and all the students and parents completed the survey. Responders to the survey used a
five-point Likert scale including the choices strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly
disagree. A positive response is considered strongly agree or agree. The survey was administered
Statements 1 – 3 gathered demographic info on the students. Their questions were about
gender, ability level, and the race the students identified with. Fifty-four percent of the students
were male. In addition, two-thirds of the parents who responded had a male son. In terms of
ability, 69% of the students responded on grade level, while 23% were above grade level and 8%
were below grade level. Parents who responded were equally divided between the on and above
grade level, and only 11% of the parents were below grade level. The community is very diverse
and as a result, the race statement reflects that. Thirty-one percent of students answered
Caucasian, 23% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 8% were Chaldean, and 8% were biracial. The
other 31% chose not to respond to the question. However, parent respondents were not as diverse
as 89% of the parents were Caucasian and 11% were Asian/Pacific Islander.
Statements 4 and 5 pertain to the student and parent perception of their students’ ability
in different aspects of writing. These include, can they get started and improve their writing. For
both of these questions, 85% of the students have a positive view of themselves. Seventy-nine
percent of parents think their child can focus on writing, and 89% think their child can raise their
level of writing.
Statements 6 – 8 looked at the students’ ability to write different parts of an essay. More
specifically, what is the students’ perception about writing the beginning, middle, and end of an
essay. Of the three parts, students do not feel as strong about writing the beginning of the essay
compared to the body of the essay, 61% compared to 92% respectively. While 85% of students
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 19
responded positively to writing the conclusion of an essay. Similarly, parents responded very
positively to these three questions as well. Eighty-nine percent of parents believe in their child’s
ability to write the beginning and middle of an essay, and 78% believe they can write a
conclusion. Interestingly enough, data suggested that students believe they struggle with
beginning an essay while parents think the conclusions could use more work.
essays. These included persuasive, informational, and narrative. As with other topics, students
enjoyed working on topics which were important to them, and this was no different in this case
in which 92% of students responded positively to writing a personal narrative. On the opposite
end, students did not perceive themselves to be good science writers as only 31% responded
positively to that. Nevertheless, 69% of students believed they were good persuasive and
historical writers. Parents on the other hand all responded positively in their child’s ability to be
able to write to inform or to produce a personal narrative, however 78% responded positively to
writing a persuasive essay. It’s interesting to note that data suggested that students said they
struggled to write about science, but every parent believed that their child could write about
Statements 13 and 14 looked at the students’ perceptions about using proper mechanics in
their writing. More students, 77% compared to 62%, responded positively to using punctuation
compared to spelling correctly. Parent perception of the same content correlated with that of
students. Parents also responded more positively to punctuation compared to spelling yet at a
slightly lower level at, 67% to 56%. Furthermore, a third of the parents felt like their children do
writing. More students respond positively to teacher feedback than to peer feedback, 92% to
85%, however some students noted that they enjoyed socializing with classmates in the learning
space via writing. Parents also responded positively about feedback, but they felt like their child
preferred either method since both statements had an 89% positive response.
Statements 17 – 23 evaluated the students’ enjoyment of writing. For statement 17, 62%
of students responded positively to the statement, “I enjoy writing,” but only 11% of parents
responded positively to the same question. For statements 18 – 23, less than half of the students
responded positively to all of the statements, which include writing more in school, sharing their
writing with others, writing in their spare time, and career aspirations in writing. Parents did
however feel like their child enjoyed sharing their writing with others. Furthermore, neither
students or parents responded positively to the statement, “I want to be a journalist,” and parent
data suggested that all of their children would rather do math homework than write.
The final part of the survey provided the students an open-ended opportunity to explain
what they liked about their writing experience, and what could be changed. Some overall themes
emerged from the responses. Overall, the students said they enjoyed the different types of writing
they have done while at Costello, and they appreciate the ways the teachers have encouraged
them to raise their level of writing. Parents also concurred with these statements, but they also
added that the focused feedback from the teacher has made a huge impact on the students’
writing. Nevertheless, students and parents suggested additional freedom to be able to have
chosen what it is they wanted to write about. Moreover, parents were more in tune to the
Teacher Observations
Over the last two years, Miss Eldridge noticed that student ability and attitude have
increased during writers’ workshops. The greatest increases she noticed were stamina, talking
about their writing, and the volume of writing. Students were expected to write for 40 - 60
minutes. Most students had strong writing stamina for the whole time. Few students needed
redirection once they were distracted. As students worked on their writing, Miss Eldridge
conferred with students. While conferring, Miss Eldridge asked students what they were working
on and instead of telling her that they were “working on writing,” students were able to name the
specific strategy they were working on to raise the level of their writing. Finally, students'
writing volume had increased during the school year. In the fall, students were writing a
paragraph or two during the 40 - 60 minutes. In the spring, students were writing several pages.
Additionally, students would edit previous entries and rewrite sections over and over until they
were happy with the level they raised their writing to.
Student writing scores were entered into Illuminate using a rubric created by the Lucy
Calkins curriculum. The teacher used the rubrics to determine if a student is below, on, or above
grade level. The rubric was designed with end of the year writing expectations. In the fall, 19 out
of 20 students were below grade level. One student was on grade level. In the spring, seven
students were below grade level, twelve students were on grade level, and one student was above
grade level. In utilizing a matched pairs correlated t-test with a 0.05 level of significance, the
parameter was defined as the mean difference between the Writing Pathways score in October to
March. Since the mean in October was 37.3% compared to a March mean of 58.4%, the study
examined the possibility of an increase in the difference. The data produced a t-statistic of 5.084
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 22
and a p-value of 0.000033. Although the sample was not a simple-random sample, the normal
condition was met, as well as the independence condition, however one should proceed with
caution with the results. Nevertheless, this means there is a 0.000033 probability of producing
the results of the study, assuming that there is no difference between the October and March
scores. Therefore, the students demonstrated significant growth from pretest to posttest.
Consequently, the student writing experience, which included the Lucy Calkins Curriculum as a
The student and parent surveys indicated a high regard for ability in writing as the
students progressed from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Several students noted
that the instruction provided them with opportunities to raise their level of writing. Moreover, the
parents indicated that the feedback and direction provided by the teacher using the Lucy Calkins
curriculum had a huge impact on the students’ writing. In addition, the teacher indicated through
her observations that student stamina, volume, and ability to talk about their writing increased as
well. Furthermore, the results of the on-demand essays indicated that the students’ ability did
increase after exposure to the Lucy Calkins curriculum. Seventeen of the 20 students
demonstrated growth from their fall essay to their spring essay. Furthermore, 13 of the students
demonstrated so much growth that their score was classified into a new category.
Beyond their increase in their ability levels, survey results and teacher observations also
indicated that students responded positively regarding their attitudes about their writing. High
percentages of students responded positively to writing different parts of an essay, getting started
on an essay, and raising their level of writing, and parents agree. This optimistic attitude helped
the students write for other purposes like persuading, informing in other content areas, and for
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 23
personal narratives. In fact, more than half of the students marked that they enjoyed writing,
however most are not choosing to do it in their spare time. In addition, most students do not see
themselves writing for their career, such as an author or a journalist. Their parents concurred
with all of these statements too. Furthermore, the teacher’s observations about the students
wanting to improve their writing through conferencing, peer feedback, and edits suggested that
the students enjoyed the process for writing, which means they did have a good attitude about it.
Overall, data suggested that student attitude and ability increased with exposure to the
Lucy Calkins curriculum. Moreover, ability level, as measured by the on-demand writing scores,
was statistically significant. However, more responses would be needed to determine if there was
challenging to conclude if the curriculum itself is the reason for the statistically significant
increase in ability and apparent increase regarding attitude about writing. The curriculum did
provide the framework for developing stamina and volume, and it also provided a focus on the
process of the writing over the product of the writing, yet the stamina and volume could have
naturally developed as students matured. Moreover, it would be interesting to examine the results
of the data with a group of students who had a different teacher. Many of the comments made by
both parents and students highly praised the work of the teacher, so it would be interesting to
look at data from another group of students who were exposed to the curriculum, but who had a
different teacher.
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 24
Chapter 5
Conclusion
The data compiled from surveys, on-demand writing, and teacher observations indicated
that Costello Elementary fifth-grade students in Miss Eldridge’s class, who were exposed to the
Lucy Calkins curriculum, were positively impacted by the framework in several different
aspects. From the survey, parents and students both responded overwhelmingly positive to the
idea that the students were able to focus on and improve their writing. Furthermore, the groups
also concurred that students were able to write different types of essays, use proper mechanics,
and give and receive feedback regarding their writing. However, student enjoyment for writing
was not as favorable. Some feedback from the open-ended part of the survey indicated that
providing more choice might have made the experience more enjoyable. The on-demand essay
data that was collected in this study showed a statistically significant increase in student ability
in the writing process. Furthermore, the teacher collected evidence of student gains in stamina
and volume so much so that students went from writing a few paragraphs to writing a few pages
in the same amount of time. Plus, the students worked to refine their work until they were
Recommendations
These findings enhanced understanding about how the Lucy Calkins curriculum can
impact a student’s writing experience. It is recommended that the TSD continues to utilize the
curriculum, however it is believed that more can be gleaned about how student learning is
impacted by the curriculum by diving deeper into the information. The first recommendation is
to expand the footprint of the study to other fifth-grade classrooms around the TSD. Doing so
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 25
will increase the sample size and ultimately provide more data to answer the research question.
Furthermore, the larger pool will increase survey responses so that a statistical inference can be
used to determine if attitudes towards writing have changed as a result of exposure to the
curriculum. The expansion of the study will also include more teacher feedback regarding
student stamina and volume with writing, as well as feedback to the curriculum as a whole. To
provide further evidence regarding ability level, it is recommended that the TSD examine
standardized test scores in ELA prior to the implementation of the Lucy Calkins curriculum
compared to current scores. Once this data has been collected, it is recommended that the TSD
continue to collect data to develop a longitudinal study to track both ability and attitude as
When looking at the data and learning that has happened as a result of the study, it is
effortless to think about other matters the Lucy Calkins curriculum might be able to answer. First
off, one of the mantras of the framework from Lucy Calkins herself is, “Teach the writer, not the
writing!” The framework provides so many different techniques that it would be interesting to
study whether a particular skill used has a greater impact on the writing experience. Another
aspect that might be investigated could involve evaluating how the curriculum impacts students
of different ability levels. Researchers might study students who typically score lower in writing
compared to those who are average and above average to see if the curriculum impacts them
differently. They might even expand further to investigate students with special needs, students
with 504’s, or students who are English learners. Further research could also be done to increase
understanding about how students perceive themselves as writers over time when exposed to the
Lucy Calkins curriculum. Finally, it would be interesting for researchers to identify similar
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 26
school systems, one of which uses Lucy Calkins and compare ability, attitude, and teacher
feedback to another school which does not utilize the curriculum. Identifying different aspects of
Lucy Calkins, how it might impact for the better and the positive sway it could have on the
References
Calkins, L., and Ehrenworth, M.. “Growing Extraordinary Writers: Leadership Decisions to
Raise the Level of Writing Across a School and a District.” Reading Teacher 70.1
Cicalese, J. (2009). “The Implications of Writers’ Workshop in Fifth Grade,” The Corinthian;
Feinberg, B. (2007). “The Lucy Calkins project: Parsing a self-proclaimed literacy guru.”
Education Next.
Guay, F., Chanal J., Ratelle, C., March, H., Larose, S., Boivin, M., (2010). Intrinsic, identified,
and controlled types of motivation for school subjects in young elementary school
Heinemann. (2019). About Lucy Calkins and Co-Authors. Biographies. Retrieved December 9,
Kear, D., Coffman, G., McKenna, M., Ambrosio, A., (2000, September). The reading teacher;
Measuring attitude toward writing: A new tool for teachers; 54, 1; Research Library Core
10.
Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information. (2018) Proficiency Overview
for Oakland Schools, Troy School District, Costello Elementary School, 5th Grade and 5th
https://www.mischooldata.org/SchoolIndex2/Proficiency.aspx
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 28
Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information. (2019) Proficiency Overview
for Oakland Schools, Troy School District, Costello Elementary School, 5th Grade and 5th
https://www.mischooldata.org/SchoolIndex2/Proficiency.aspx
Price, D. (2012). Documentaries: Motivating the tech generation to research and write. Gifted
Teachers College Reading And Writing Project. (2014). Professional Development in Schools.
development/writing
Teachers College Reading And Writing Project. (n.d.). Units of Study Research Base. Retrieved
Wagner, T. (2008). The global achievement gap: Why even our best schools don’t teach the
new survival skills our children need - and what we can do about it. New York, NY:
Basic.
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 29
We are part of an educational specialist cohort from Oakland University conducting action research on
student attitudes and abilities toward writing. Our research question is: Does student attitude and ability
increase after exposure to Lucy Calkins curriculum?
We are seeking permission to survey both parents and students in Miss Eldridge’s 5th grade classroom.
Our focus group will be Miss Eldridge’s 5th grade students. We would like to conduct our surveys in
April 2019. Prior to conducting the survey, we will be getting consent from parents and students. Their
participation will be voluntary, and all information will remain anonymous. There is no risk in taking this
survey. Refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefits and subjects may discontinue
participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits.
When the research is complete, the findings will be made public, but no student information will be
identifiable as the survey is being completed anonymously. The information from our research will
benefit future students and staff as we plan on improving our delivery of the Lucy Calkins curriculum.
We would appreciate your approval for this project. Please indicate your permission on the form below
and return it to Julie Eldridge. If you have specific questions regarding this research project please contact
Julie Eldridge at extension 3704, Brian Zawislak at extension 2732, or Lindson Feun, Ph.D., Faculty
Sponsor, Oakland University, 248-623-9233.
Sincerely,
_________________________________________ _______________
Administrator Signature Date
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 30
Dear Parent,
We are part of an educational specialist cohort from Oakland University conducting action research on
the attitudes and abilities of students in writing. Our research question is: Does student attitude and
ability increase after exposure to Lucy Calkins curriculum?
Your child’s feedback is very valuable to us. We will be asking fifth grade students in Miss Eldridge’s
class at Costello Elementary School to complete a survey. Your student’s participation is completely
voluntary. No names will be request on the survey. There is no risk to your student in taking the survey. It
will not impact his/her grade. You or your child can withdraw the consent to participate at any time. Any
additional data will be collected and analyzed for the study only. In order for your child to participate in
this survey we need the permission slip at the bottom of this letter returned no later than May 3, 2019.
The information used from this survey will benefit future students as we plan for improving our delivery
of teaching in the fifth-grade class.
When the research project is complete, the findings will be made available to the public, but no student
will be identifiable as the surveys are done anonymously. Please contact Julie Eldridge, Teacher, Costello
Elementary (248) 823-3704, Brian Zawislak, Assistant Principal, Troy High School at (248) 823-2732
with questions regarding the research or consent. Or you may contact Lindson Feun, Ph. D., Faculty
Sponsor, Oakland University, (248) 623-9233. For questions regarding the rights of human subjects in
research you may contact Dr. Christine Hansen, Chair, Oakland University Institutional Review Board,
(348) 370-2552.
Sincerely,
_______ Yes, my child may participate in the writing attitude and ability action research survey.
_______ No, my child cannot participate in the writing attitude and ability action research survey.
**Please keep one copy of the consent and have your student return the signed form to Miss
Eldridge
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 31
Dear Student,
We are part of an educational specialist cohort from Oakland University conducting action research on
the attitudes and abilities of students in writing. Our research question is: Does student attitude and
ability increase after exposure to Lucy Calkins curriculum?
We are seeking your consent to have you fill out an anonymous survey about your attitude and ability in
writing. The survey will be available to you on May 3, 2019. All data from the survey will remain
anonymous. Participation is voluntary and you can withdraw your consent at any time without risk or
penalty. There is no risk to you if you choose to take this survey or choose not to take the survey. This
will not impact your grade. If you agree to participate, please sign the consent form below. If you choose
not to participate please recycle this form. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Please contact Julie Eldridge, Teacher, Costello Elementary (248) 823-3704, Brian Zawislak, Assistant
Principal, Troy High School at (248) 823-2732 with questions regarding the research or consent. Or you
may contact Lindson Feun, Ph. D., Faculty Sponsor, Oakland University, (248) 623-9233. For questions
regarding the rights of human subjects in research, you may contact Dr. Christine Hansen, Chair, Oakland
University Institutional Review Board, (248) 370-2552.
**Please keep one copy of the consent and have your student return the signed form to Miss
Eldridge
ACTION RESEARCH ON THE LUCY CALKINS WRITING CURRICULUM. 32
Appendix D - Student Survey (The following survey was administered through Microsoft Forms)
Student Survey on Writing
Costello Elementary
This survey is to help us understand your feelings towards writing and your ability to write. The
information that you provide is confidential, so please do NOT include names in your responses. When
answering these questions, please keep in mind your writing experience in fifth grade. Thanks for your
honest responses.
1. I am a: Male Female
2. Currently, I am writing: Above grade level On grade level Below grade level
3. Which race do you identify with? Caucasian Asian/Pacific Islander African American
Latino/Hispanic Chaldean Arabic Multi-racial
For the questions 4 - 23, SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree, N = Neutral, D = Disagree, and SD = Strongly
Disagree.
Appendix F - Parent Survey (The following survey was administered through Microsoft Forms)
Parent Survey on Writing
Costello Elementary
This survey is to help us understand your feelings towards writing and your ability to write. The
information that you provide is confidential, so please do NOT include names in your responses. When
answering these questions, please keep in mind your writing experience in fifth grade. Thanks for your
honest responses.
For the questions 4 - 23, SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree, N = Neutral, D = Disagree, and SD = Strongly
Disagree.