Pedagogical Determinants of Variability in Course Learning Outcome Attainment in Academic Writing: A Case Study

Abstract

The current study analyzes the differences in attainment of Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for three sections of ENG 102: English Composition 2 at the Modern College of Business and Science. Using a case study approach, the research conducts quantitative examinations of student performance records alongside rubric-based evaluation to identify achievement trends pertaining to four specific CLOs: mastery of the argumentative structure, counterargument development, report writing, and the composition of research papers through both collaborative authorship and source integration as described in CLO 4. The results indicate that although CLO 2 showed relative consistency across sections, CLOs 1, 3, and 4 exhibited significant differences. The higher performance observed in CLO 1 for Sections D1 and D2 may be attributable to the benefits of scaffolded genre-based instruction, while stronger attainment of CLO 3 in Section D7 seems to reinforce the notion that an early, explicit teaching of report writing serves propulsive purposes. On the contrary, the consistently lower performance across all sections in CLO 4 raises concerns about insufficient instructional scaffolding in the guided practice of collaborative research writing and source integration. Though instructional approaches were not directly observed, the conclusions offer opportunities for partially evidence-based hypotheses concerning the possible impact of instructional design and rubric alignment on student performance. To improve the attainment of CLOs in the given context, it is suggested that variability be streamlined by adopting standardized rubrics, collaborating on a skeletal instructional framework across sections, and integrating research writing instruction in the early parts of the course.