Arizona Christian University: Case Study

Eight core commitments outline the foundation of Arizona Christian University. These are the basis for every school-related decision. The fifth commitment states that ACU will teach students to communicate clearly and effectively. English professors across campus strive to teach this skill in the most efficient way possible. To help ACU students write to their fullest potential, an English class website is essential. This website would not only enhance students’ ability to communicate by learning from their peers, but also create community across campus and start meaningful conversations. Managed by an English professor, this site would include several features to assist and benefit the students. The main heading page would describe the purpose of the site: to provide examples for those searching for guidance and to encourage students to learn from one another’s work. Additionally,

Providing student-written examples would help other students perfect their own writing. Proven in multiple studies, teaching by example is clearly the most effective method. Education professionals John Sweller, Paul Kirschner, and Richard Clark discovered that “exploration practice (a discovery technique) caused a much larger cognitive load and led to poorer learning than worked-examples practice. (Clark)” In previous studies, Sweller showed that learning from examples led to better outcomes: “Algebra students learned more studying algebra worked examples than solving the equivalent problems. (Clark)” The site would also give lower scoring students a goal to accomplish and a sense of pride when they achieve it, consequently raising their grades. Not only would students refine their writing, but they would form a community of encouragement. Through reading the work of a peer, students would bond with each other in many