Writing instruction: “Hunches and intuition” vs. empirical evidence

From this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: How to Tell Whether Writing Instruction Works:

.....As writing program directors gathered Thursday at the annual meeting of the Modern Language Association [MLA], many voiced confidence that their efforts are making a difference. But at one of the kickoff sessions for the meeting, many of these officials said they worried that views of their success were based more on hunches and intuition than solid evidence. That may be changing, however, as composition scholars described a range of projects designed to test the effectiveness of their efforts. Some said they see a shift in composition away from theory and toward more practical research on student learning and instructor strategies.
.....“For writing centers and programs, the dearth of empirical research is dangerous,” said Linda S. Bergmann, director of the Writing Lab at Purdue University. Too much of what writing instructors believe is based on “lore,” she said. At a time of political demands for assessment and commercial companies promising quick results if they take over tutoring services, writing instructors need evidence of what works, she said.
.....The research projects described at the meeting, in Chicago, are generally small scale, involving one or two campuses each. But those conducting them — and audience members — said there was a need for more such studies, and for efforts to enlarge and replicate some of those being conducted.
.....…Chris Anson, director of the Campus Writing and Speaking Program at North Carolina State University, said that there were many reasons to support such research projects. Politically, he said, writing programs need to be able to defend their programs. But educationally, he said the reality is that research could find flaws in current practice. “We need to be ready to abandon cherished practices if they don’t work,” he said.
.....The projects discussed suggest “a reinvigoration of our research agenda,” Anson said, and that could ultimately get to what really matters, he said: Finding out “what really works and what doesn’t work.”

Product of intuition