Professional Learning and Events
Argument in Service of Civic Reasoning and Discourse
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 3:30-5:00 p.m. PST
Carol D. Lee, Ph.D.
A recent report by the National Academy of Education, Educating for Civic Reasoning and Discourse, has directed our attention to the complex knowledge, skills, and dispositions students need to engage in civic reasoning and discourse.

Because civic reasoning is essentially about argumentation—with one’s self, in relationships with others, and in the context of our democracy—this webinar will address foundational principles of argumentation that span disciplines, instructional strategies for engaging secondary students in productive discourse, and how to integrate consequential, civically-oriented questions into curricula to foster student’s literacy development, argumentation skills, and civic agency.
Teaching for Justice: Bridging Communities for AAPI Belonging and
Well-Being Conference
We invite K-12 educators and community members to join us for the Teaching for JusticeBridging Communities for AAPI Belonging and Well-Being conference. Teaching for Justice is an intentionally-designed space for all K-12 educators who seek to be in conversation and collaboration with one another. Conference tenets include: deepening content knowledge, supporting classroom implementation, and advancing advocacy. The two-day conference will be held April 28 (virtual) - April 29 (at UCI).
Our Featured Blogs in March

This study examined persuasive writing of middle school students including types of argument and use of connectives in writing... Read more here →

What disciplinary literacy is and what disciplinary literacy is NOT...
New Writing Research and News from Our Team
Carol Booth Olson, Undraa Maamuujav, Jacob Steiss, and Huy Chung

​The stagnation of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Writing scores demonstrates the need for research-based instruction that improves writing for all students, especially English learners. In this article, they synthesize the literature on effective instructional practices for this diverse group of learners and describe how these strategies are leveraged in a teacher professional development program that has been previously shown to improve students’ argument writing.
Steve Graham, Allen G. Harbaugh-SchattenkirkA. Angelique AitkenKaren R. HarrisClarence NgJohn M. Wilson & Jeanne Wdowin 

This study examined the factorial and construct validity of a multi-dimensional measure of motives for writing with middle school students. The Writing Motivation Questionnaire included 28 items assessing seven motives for writing. Students’ writing motive scores predicted writing performance on the District and State tests. Recommendations for future research are provided.
CO-Investigator, Penelope Collins named inaugural FATE fellow

Penelope Collins joins the ranks of the UCI Faculty Academy for Teaching Excellence fellows, a community of faculty from across campus with a shared desire to promote student success through teaching. Acceptance into FATE is an honor bestowed on faculty who have a demonstrated record of developing learning environments that foster student growth. 

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Steve Graham, was awarded the Barry J. Zimmerman Award for Outstanding Contributions to the fields of studying and self-regulated learning research. This award recognizes his exceptional work researching self-regulation and writing instruction and acknowledges the significant impact of his research on countless students and teachers. 
From the National Writing Project
Connect and Inspire with Student-Created Audio Essays

If you are considering podcasting or audio storytelling with students and are not sure how to get started, this workshop is for you! Sign up →
Protecting Ourselves, and Our Most Vulnerable Students, with Words

In this session, Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr., the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, will talk about his experiences advocating for Black, brown, and LGBTQ students in often hostile education environments. Sign up →
Be Our Guest...Blogger
Do you want to share your classroom research, empirical studies, thoughts, ideas, or experiences with thousands of others? Be our guest...blogger! We are accepting submissions for our blog.