Highlights + Positive Trends

In many of the conversations that I had with students (both multilingual and just English-speaking), I noticed how students enjoyed writing. While I initially set out to investigate where SCU's course models could better support students, I decided to frame this project in the "highlights" and "lowlights" of the interviews I conducted. In the highlights section, or the 'positive trends,' I found it necessary to note how students have felt that their writing skills have grown at SCU. 

Mainly I noticed three major themes in these positive writing experiences: 

Enjoying writing creatively (in multiple languages) 

Feeling engaged and impacted and interested in the content of writing classes 

Finding a sense of self and ability to communicate through writing

The engagement that students feel in their writing courses and written projects came through in a few of my interviews. Mainly, one student from Seattle, Washington noted how the confidence they felt in their writing helped them continue to be eager to write more and more. This confidence, for them, stemmed from the positive experiences they had writing in high school and the feedback/direction they received in Santa Clara writing courses. These positive experiences fed off of one another, building this student up to be more confident and making writing more enjoyable for them. 

Creative writing has also been an evident outlet for the students that I have interviewed. One student (Student 3) from Beijing mentioned their love for writing creatively in Chinese. They expressed their interest in writing short stories and past assignments that challenged them to write longer form chapters of their own book. Although they are learning to write in English, they find the same sense of curiosity and interest in writing in another language. And while the original focus of this project was academic writing, it was exciting to see how students were engaging with personal writing for fun and enjoyment (in multiple languages!)