Research has documented that low-level writing skills among postsecondary students are an ongoing concern and contribute to the lack of persistence and degree attainment for community college students (Karp, 2011; Perin, 2013). Since academic writing is a process that develops over time (Perin, 2003), many students require writing support beyond remedial course work for long-term success in more advanced courses (Karp, Hughes, & O’Gara 2010; Perin, 2013; Tapp, 2013). The current study used a Community of Practice (CoP) framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991) to create a content-based peer feedback intervention to examine two key ways in which a content-based peer feedback writing intervention may contribute to community college students’ academic success: supporting improvement of academic writing, and fostering feelings of belongingness in the academic community.
The study population comprised students who were randomly selected from 24 class sections (10 from each). 12 of the sections were randomly assigned to the treatment condition, the other 12 to the control condition. Participants’ writing quality was measured through drafts and final writing submissions. Students’ feelings of belongingness were measured by the Classroom Community Scale (Rovai, 2002) through pretest and posttest. Demographic results indicated that the treatment and control did not differ on age, years attended college, ethnicity, home language, other family members college experience, and remedial course work. Results showed changes over time in students’ writing scores and feelings of belongingness were statistically significant in the content-based peer feedback treatment condition, but not in the business as usual, self-editing control conditions. Other findings and data suggest areas for future research. Instructional and classroom applications are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Research has documented that low-level writing skills among postsecondary students are an ongoing concern and contribute to the lack of persistence and degree attainment for community college students (Karp, 2011; Perin, 2013). Since academic writing is a process that develops over time (Perin, 2003), many students require writing support beyond remedial course work for long-term success in more advanced courses (Karp, Hughes, & O’Gara 2010; Perin, 2013; Tapp, 2013). The current study used a Community of Practice (CoP) framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991) to create a content-based peer feedback intervention to examine two key ways in which a content-based peer feedback writing intervention may contribute to community college students’ academic success: supporting improvement of academic writing, and fostering feelings of belongingness in the academic community.</p> <p>The study population comprised students who were randomly selected from 24 class sections (10 from each). 12 of the sections were randomly assigned to the treatment condition, the other 12 to the control condition. Participants’ writing quality was measured through drafts and final writing submissions. Students’ feelings of belongingness were measured by the Classroom Community Scale (Rovai, 2002) through pretest and posttest. Demographic results indicated that the treatment and control did not differ on age, years attended college, ethnicity, home language, other family members college experience, and remedial course work. Results showed changes over time in students’ writing scores and feelings of belongingness were statistically significant in the content-based peer feedback treatment condition, but not in the business as usual, self-editing control conditions. Other findings and data suggest areas for future research. Instructional and classroom applications are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gilken, Jennifer M"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Educational Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Helen L. Johnson"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["David Rindskopf","Daisuke Akiba","Janice Walters","Caterina Almendral"],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:26Z","subjects":["Adult and Continuing Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Educational Methods","Higher Education","Community College","Peer Feedback","Belongingness","Academic Writing"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2633","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Helen L. Johnson"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["David Rindskopf","Daisuke Akiba","Janice Walters","Caterina Almendral"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gilken, Jennifer M"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-04-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Adult and Continuing Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Educational Methods","Higher Education","Community College","Peer Feedback","Belongingness","Academic Writing"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2633"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Research has documented that low-level writing skills among postsecondary students are an ongoing concern and contribute to the lack of persistence and degree attainment for community college students (Karp, 2011; Perin, 2013). Since academic writing is a process that develops over time (Perin, 2003), many students require writing support beyond remedial course work for long-term success in more advanced courses (Karp, Hughes, & O’Gara 2010; Perin, 2013; Tapp, 2013). The current study used a Community of Practice (CoP) framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991) to create a content-based peer feedback intervention to examine two key ways in which a content-based peer feedback writing intervention may contribute to community college students’ academic success: supporting improvement of academic writing, and fostering feelings of belongingness in the academic community.
The study population comprised students who were randomly selected from 24 class sections (10 from each). 12 of the sections were randomly assigned to the treatment condition, the other 12 to the control condition. Participants’ writing quality was measured through drafts and final writing submissions. Students’ feelings of belongingness were measured by the Classroom Community Scale (Rovai, 2002) through pretest and posttest. Demographic results indicated that the treatment and control did not differ on age, years attended college, ethnicity, home language, other family members college experience, and remedial course work. Results showed changes over time in students’ writing scores and feelings of belongingness were statistically significant in the content-based peer feedback treatment condition, but not in the business as usual, self-editing control conditions. Other findings and data suggest areas for future research. Instructional and classroom applications are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Examining the Effects of a Content-based Peer Feedback Writing Intervention in Community College Classrooms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Helen L. Johnson"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["David Rindskopf","Daisuke Akiba","Janice Walters","Caterina Almendral"],"dc:creator":["Gilken, Jennifer M"],"dc:date.available":["2019-04-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Research has documented that low-level writing skills among postsecondary students are an ongoing concern and contribute to the lack of persistence and degree attainment for community college students (Karp, 2011; Perin, 2013). Since academic writing is a process that develops over time (Perin, 2003), many students require writing support beyond remedial course work for long-term success in more advanced courses (Karp, Hughes, & O’Gara 2010; Perin, 2013; Tapp, 2013). The current study used a Community of Practice (CoP) framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991) to create a content-based peer feedback intervention to examine two key ways in which a content-based peer feedback writing intervention may contribute to community college students’ academic success: supporting improvement of academic writing, and fostering feelings of belongingness in the academic community.
The study population comprised students who were randomly selected from 24 class sections (10 from each). 12 of the sections were randomly assigned to the treatment condition, the other 12 to the control condition. Participants’ writing quality was measured through drafts and final writing submissions. Students’ feelings of belongingness were measured by the Classroom Community Scale (Rovai, 2002) through pretest and posttest. Demographic results indicated that the treatment and control did not differ on age, years attended college, ethnicity, home language, other family members college experience, and remedial course work. Results showed changes over time in students’ writing scores and feelings of belongingness were statistically significant in the content-based peer feedback treatment condition, but not in the business as usual, self-editing control conditions. Other findings and data suggest areas for future research. Instructional and classroom applications are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2633"],"dc:subject":["Adult and Continuing Education","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Educational Methods","Higher Education","Community College","Peer Feedback","Belongingness","Academic Writing"],"dc:title":["Examining the Effects of a Content-based Peer Feedback Writing Intervention in Community College Classrooms"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:26Z"}