“We Have to Find What We're Doing Right to Move Forward”
Enacting Secondary Level Writing Reform in a Sea of Change
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21644925 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mellinee Lesley (0000-0001-8301-8748, Texas Tech University Lubbock Texas USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1081-3004 • E-ISSN: 1936-2706 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jaal.70055 |
| OpenAlex | W7162489112 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
Despite calls for writing reform over the past two decades, few of the recommendations from this work have made their way into high school classrooms in the United States where concerns about the paucity and quality of writing instruction remain. To gain deeper insights into the reasons for this phenomenon, this study examined a dialogic and iterative approach to embedded professional development focused on writing instruction that included a university partnership. Using the methodology of portraiture to explore empirical data, the study examined the process of revamping writing instruction in ninth and tenth grade English and how teachers with varying backgrounds of knowledge and experience teaching writing navigated writing instruction in a context of changing demands. The findings highlight the daily challenges of implementing writing reform, emphasize the importance of structural stability to sustain such reform, and illustrate the need for co‐constructed dialogic learning with teachers and leadership striving to improve writing instruction. Two narrative portraits, assembled as a montage exemplifying persistent issues of contending with teacher turnover and changes in state mandatory testing, capture the struggle and potential of dialogic professional development to reform instructional practices. This study also queries the potential role of university researchers as engaged partners committed to long‐term inquiry in support of educational reform
Academic writing · Dialogic · Faculty Development · Narrative · Ninth · Professional development · Professional writing · Writing process · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Literacy, Media, and Education · Writing and Handwriting Education
Teacher Professional Learning and Practice for Writing Instruction
Investigating meaningful impact in adolescent writing achievement within a high‐stakes testing context
Guidelines for Effective Professional Development on Writing Instruction
Transcultural Montage
Own Your Walls
IP oetry
Uncovering Substance
Freshmen and Five Hundred Words
Reimagining writing
Writing Instruction for Adolescents in the Shadow of the Common Core State Standards
Differentiating Digital Writing Instruction
A Brave New World Requires Courage
Forum
At Last
The ethical turn in writing assessment
Aligning the Science of Reading With Adaptive Teaching
Beating the Odds
Teachers’ Voices
Does Teacher Learning Last? Understanding How Much Teachers Retain Their Knowledge After Professional Development
Collage Portraits as a Method of Analysis in Qualitative Research
| Highly cited | No |
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