The National Writing Project: Five Key Evaluation Findings (Slide presentation)

Authors

Mark St. John, Laura Stokes, Inverness Research

Purpose

This is a presentation that Mark St. John, Laura Stokes and Judy Hirabayashi of Inverness Research Associates prepared for Members of Congress and their staff during the National Writing Project’s April 2003 Spring Meeting in Washington D.C. There are five key evaluation findings that Inverness Research Associates believe are most indicative of the value of the National Writing Project. Collectively, these findings make a strong case for continued federal investment in the NWP.

The content of the presentation is the key evaluation findings that illuminate the contributions of the National Writing Project to the improvement of the teaching of writing in the nation’s schools. Each of the five findings is supported by data, usually in graphical form. When accessed via Microsoft® PowerPoint®, each slide in the presentation also has a set of notes which comprise the script for each slide.

This document is available in two different formats:

• PDF format for Adobe® Acrobat®–This provides a read-only version of the slide presentation, which is best for viewing and printing. It can be printed (partial or complete) and distributed.
• Microsoft® PowerPoint® format–This provides a file that is best accessed in MS PowerPoint 2000 or higher, though other formats may work. See Distribution Policy section below.

Intended Audience

The National Writing Project, Federal and state policy makers, Funders, Educators, Teachers, Reform Leaders, and general public.

Disclaimer

Any and all errors are claimed by the authors of this document, Inverness Research Associates

Date published

April 2003

Distribution Policy

This document is available in two formats with differing policies:

• PDF format for Acrobat Reader: Inverness Research Associates grants permission to print and distribute copies. To access the PDF file, click here.
• MS PowerPoint format: Inverness Research grants permission to re-order slides and/or to use a subset of the entire slide presentation, and further permission to print and otherwise distribute copies. However, Inverness Research requests that you do not change the content of any slides, including all text and graphics, or the attendant notes accompanying each slide. To access the PowerPoint file, click here.

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Directions and Link

Adobe® PDF format

Distribution Policy

PDF format for Acrobat: Inverness Research Associates grants permission to print and distribute copies.

Recommended Configuration

PDF format is accessed using Acrobat Reader. This format provides a read-only version of the slide presentation, which is best for viewing and printing. It can be printed (partial or complete) and distributed.

View & Print Report

These links will launch an Acrobat Reader document. Use the Back button on your Browser to return from the Acrobat document. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, click the button shown above.

PDF: The National Writing Project: Five Key Evaluation Findings (pp. 35)

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Directions and Link

Microsoft® PowerPoint® format

The link below provides a file that is best accessed in MS PowerPoint 2000 or higher, though it may be possible to use other formats.

Distribution Policy

MS PowerPoint format: Inverness Research grants permission to re-order slides and/or to use a subset of the entire slide presentation, and further permission to print and otherwise distribute copies. However, Inverness Research requests that you do not change the content of any slides, including all text and graphics, or the attendant notes accompanying each slide.

How to Download

Read ALL of the following directions before you perform download.

1. Click on the link below. The file will begin downloading. This may take several minutes, depending on your modem speed and other factors.

2. Once the first page of the slide presentation appears in your browser, go to the File menu of the browser and choose 'Save As…'.
Note: If you have problems with this step, click here for troubleshooting.

3. The Save As dialog box will appear. Navigate where you would like to save the file; your 'My Documents' folder is a good choice. In order to access all of the file information, the file must remain in MS PowerPoint format.
Note: If you have a previous version of MS PowerPoint 2000, use the drop down list labeled 'Save File as Type' to determine the best format to save it into.

4. Choose the Save button on the dialog box. The file will be saved where you specified.

5. Open 'My Computer' or Windows Explorer and navigate to where you saved the file. Double-click on the file and it should open in PowerPoint. To view all aspects of the file (the outline, slides and notes), choose Normal under the View menu.
Note: If the file comes up in 'Read-Only' format, simply save under a different name.

If you had any problems with the above set of steps, click here for troubleshooting tips.

Note: Clicking the Back button in the browser will get you out of the first page of the slide presentation. See notes below on viewing the file.

View & Print Report

While you may choose to view the slide presentation via this MS PowerPoint file within your browser, you are limited in the fact that the slide show can only advance forward by clicking your mouse on the screen; that is, you cannot go backwards or navigate to a specific place. Therefore, for viewing and printing of the file, we recommend using the PDF version of this document, which will allow you to navigate the slides freely and to partially or completely print the slides (pages).

MS PowerPoint: The National Writing Project: Five Key Evaluation Findings (pp. 35)

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Troubleshooting tips

If you do not see a 'Save As' command in the File menu, realize that the command may sometimes appear with slightly different wording such as: Save Target As, Save Link As, etc. Try any command you see in the File menu with the words Save As.

If you do not see any command that reads 'Save As', most likely the machine you are using does not have the application Microsoft Powerpoint® installed on it. The recommended configuration for downloading and using the presentation is to have MS PowerPoint application on the machine that you are using. (Note that some configurations will still allow you to save the MS Powerpoint file without the application being installed on the machine you are using, but not all will. Furthermore in order to access the file, you will need to eventually open it within MS Powerpoint.) See below alternative download method.

Once you click on the link to download the file, a screen appears that wants you to type in a User ID and Password. This happens for some configurations depending upon settings in your browser or in your operating system. There is no password required to access the file. Click the CANCEL button and the file should continue downloading. Then keep following the directions given on previous page.

Alternative Download Method

Read ALL of the following directions before you perform download.

1. Return to the following page by clicking the Back button on your browser.

2. Right-click on the link for downloading the MS Powerpoint file. A menu will pop up.
If you have never done this, here's how:
a) Place your mouse pointer so that it is hovering over the link.
b) Click the right button of your mouse on the link.
c) A menu will pop up.

3. In the pop-up menu, click the 'Save As…' command. This may read variously as 'Save Target As', 'Save Link As', etc.

4. The file will begin downloading. This may take several minutes, depending on your modem speed and other factors. You will likely see a dialog box showing the progress of the downloading process.

5. The Save As dialog box will appear. Navigate where you would like to save the file; your 'My Documents' folder is a good choice. In order to access all of the file information, the file must remain in MS PowerPoint format.
Note: If you have a previous version of MS PowerPoint 2000, use the drop down list labeled 'Save File as Type' to determine the best format to save it into.
Also note that if there is only one choice in this list, choose that one and save the file.

6. Choose the Save button on the dialog box. The file will be saved where you specified.

7. Open 'My Computer' or Windows Explorer and navigate to where you saved the file. Double-click on the file and it should open in PowerPoint. To view all aspects of the file (the outline, slides and notes), choose Normal under the View menu.
Note: If the file comes up in 'Read-Only' format, simply save under a different name.

Note: Clicking the Back button in the browser will get you out of the first page of the slide presentation. See notes on viewing the file.

Caveat

Inverness Research has attempted to test these download procedures and technical tips on a variety of configurations. However, since there are so many variables, we cannot always ensure that the download will be successful in all cases. If you have tried all the available methods mentioned here, please contact us at Inverness Research regarding this file and we will do the best we can to accommodate you.

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