1.
TI: FIFTH-GRADE STUDENTS' KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WRITING PROCESS AND WRITING GENRES
AU: . Gillespie, Amy; Olinghouse, Natalie G; Graham, Steve
SO: Elementary School Journal. Jun2013, Vol. 113 Issue 4, p565-588. 24p
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine what students know about the process of writing and the characteristics of stories, persuasive arguments, and informational reports. Participants were 50 grade 5 students. Students responded to questions aboutwriting process and the three different types of writing, and showed a nuanced but relatively unsophisticated understanding of the processes underlying writing and the characteristics of three types of writing. Most of their responses centered on procedures for writing and drafting texts as well as obtaining and organizing information for writing. They described each writing genre by referring to elements specific to it, but these descriptions were not complete for any of the three types of writing. Results of regression analyses revealed that students' knowledgeabout substantive writing processes predicted how much they knew about each type of writing after gender, writing achievement, and emphasis on production procedures during writing were first controlled statistically
2.
TI: Teaching Rhetorical Analysis to Promote Transfer of Learning
AU: Graff, Nelson
SO: Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Feb2010, Vol. 53 Issue 5, p376-385. 10p. 3 Charts.
Abstract:
The article presents an overview of the role that the teaching of rhetorical analysis can play in helping students to develop their knowledge and awareness about writing and in transferring their knowledge about writing to different tasks and contexts both in and out of the classroom. A discussion of research which examined the things that students learned about writing and were able to transfer to different tasks and contexts is presented. A rhetorical analysis program which was used successfully in a classroom is discussed.
3.
TI: Improving the writing performance, knowledge, and self-efficacy of struggling young writers: The effects of self-regulated strategy development.
AU: Graham, Steve; Harris, Karen R; Mason, Linda
SO: Contemporary Educational Psychology. Apr2005, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p207-241. 35p.
Abstract:
Writing is a complex task. Its development depends in large part on changes that occur in children’s strategic behavior, knowledge, and motivation. In the present study, the effectiveness of an instructional model, Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), designed to foster development in each of these areas, was examined. Adding a peer support component to SRSD instruction to facilitate maintenance and generalization was also examined. Struggling, third grade writers, the majority of whom were minority students attending schools that served primarily low-income families, received SRSD instruction focused primarily on learning writing strategies and knowledge for planning and composing stories and persuasive essays. These students wrote longer, more complete, and qualitatively better papers for both of these genres than peers in the comparison condition (Writers’ Workshop). These effects were maintained over time for story writing and generalized to a third uninstructed genre, informative writing. SRSD instruction boosted students’ knowledgeaboutwriting as well. The peer support component augmented SRSD instruction by increasing students’ knowledge of planning and enhancing generalization to informative and narrative writing. In contrast, self-efficacy for writing was not influenced by either SRSD condition (with or without
4.
TI: Writing and Teaching Writing
AU: Turvey, Anne
SO: Changing English: Studies in Culture & Education. Aug2007, Vol. 14 Issue 2, p145-159.
Abstract:
This article investigates the difficulties faced by trainee English teachers when they teach writing. As newcomers to the profession, they are trying to understand the processes involved in becoming a writer. At the same time, they are asked to focus on the forms and features of different kinds of writing as a way to meet 'writing objectives' laid down in a number of curriculum documents. When the student teachers do approach writing as a process, they sometimes see it as a process of progressively acquiring discrete skills, such as 'writing descriptions' or 'using complex sentences'. The experiences of five trainees are examined with a view to understanding how their subject knowledgeaboutwriting might be developed by those working with them, in universities and in schools/
5.
TI: Phonological skills and writingof presyllabic children
AU: Silva, Cristina; Alves-Martins, Margarida
SO: Reading Research Quarterly. Oct-Dec2002, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p466-483
Abstract:
Discusses a study which explored the causal relationship between the development of phonological abilities and progress in knowledgeaboutwriting in preschool children.Conceptual levels of children's knowledge of written language; Evaluation of the intelligence of children; Effects of writing and phonological training on children's phonological skills.
6.
TI: Instruction in a Strategy for Compare-Contrast Writing
AU: MacArthur, Charles A; Philippakos, Zoi
SO: Exceptional Children76.4 (Summer 2010): 438-456.
Abstract:
Students learned a strategy for planning, writing, and evaluating compare-contrast essays. Instruction followed the principles of self-regulated strategy development, which aims to improve knowledge about writing, strategic writing processes, self-regulation, and motivation. Six adolescent students, 3 with learning disabilities in writing and 3 average writers, were taught in pairs in a multiple baseline design. All students made substantial gains in text structure elements (percentage of non-overlapping data [PND] = 100%) and in overall writing quality (PND = 85%). Gains in mean quality scores for individual students ranged from 1.2 to 3.2 on a 6-point scale. Gains in text structure elements were maintained for the 4 students who could be assessed; gains in quality were maintained for 2 students. Self-efficacy increased for all students
7.
TI: Close reading of students' writing: What teachers learn about writing
AU: Limbrick, Libby; Knight, Nicky
SO: English Teaching4.2 (Sep 2005):
Abstract:
A professional development initiative in writing provided a context in which teachers could research their own knowledge about writing, writing assessment and writing instruction. Through close attention to student writing samples, and debate in ascertaining writing levels using the English Exemplars, teachers articulated growing confidence in their knowledge of language and the writing process. This was reflected in an increased confidence in, and ability to articulate, beliefs about writing instruction. The moderation process for ascribing levels to the student samples took place within professional learning communities. The paper identifies some problems in establishing these as productive and positive contexts for teachers as researchers.
8.
TI: Writing Instruction for Teacher Candidates: Strengthening a Weak Curricular Area
AU: Grisham, Dana L; Wolsey, Thomas Devere
SO: Literacy Research and Instruction50.4 (2011): 348-364.
Abstract:
In this case study, two teacher educators in literacy examined teacher candidates' (N = 24) learning of writing instruction across a three-course sequence of literacy methods. Data collected included a survey of candidates' knowledge of writing instruction, their formal observations of writing lessons in their student-teaching placements, a writing lesson co-constructed with a cooperating teacher during their final student-teaching placement, and structured reflections on the observations and lessons. The researchers found that little writing instruction occurred in the schools where teacher candidates were placed and that reading and reading skills dominated observed literacy instruction. Teacher candidates valued particular elements of process writing (focus on student needs, choice, scaffolding, student interest and engagement, and literacy skills). Lesson plans and reflections toward the end of the academic sequence demonstrated that teacher candidates' knowledge about writing instruction increased in complexity and that their beliefs and their practices were somewhat aligned. Implications for teacher education programs include a need to provide scaffolded and distributed instruction for new teachers in the area of writing instruction.
9.
TI: Writing Matters: Back to the Future with Rhetoric
AU: Pare, Anthony
SO: Education Canada, v49 n4 p4-8 Fall 2009
Abstract:
The past four decades have seen dramatic developments in the study and teaching of writing. The result is a body of knowledge about writing that has profound practical and pedagogical implications for teaching, thinking, and learning across the curriculum. This article discusses five things about writing that can have an effect across the curriculum and the grade levels: (1) writing is heuristic; (2) the written text is improved by a well-supported writing process; (3) the finished product is structured in particular ways to have certain types of effect; (4) texts have consequences, they make things happen; and (5) texts (process and product) reflect their contexts. Teachers want their students to grasp the best of what is known in their subject areas, but they also want them to take part in the practices and procedures that make disciplinary knowledge. Writing is central to that process
10.
TI: Teaching Scientific Communication Skills in Science Studies: Does It Make a Difference?
AU: Spektor-Levy, Ornit; Eylon, Bat-Sheva; Scherz, Zahava
SO: International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education7.5 (October 2009): 875-903.
Abstract:
This study explores the impact of "Scientific Communication" (SC) skills instruction on students' performances in scientific literacy assessment tasks. We present a general model for skills instruction, characterized by explicit and spiral instruction, integration into content learning, practice in several scientific topics, and application of performance tasks. The model was applied through an instructional program that focuses on the following learning skills: information retrieval, scientific reading and writing, listening and observing, data representation, and knowledge presentation. Throughout the 7th-8th grades, 160 students learned the whole program or one of its components: "structured instruction (SI) of SC skills," or "performance tasks" (PT). A comparison group of 42 students did not receive instruction of SC skills. Students' performances were assessed through a questionnaire and a complex task that measured students' scientific content knowledge, SC skills, and the quality of the final products. Results indicated that students who learned the whole program or one of its components achieved higher scores in all categories than the comparison group students. High achievers can benefit from just one component of the program: either structured instruction (SI) or learning from practice (PT). However, they can hardly acquire SC skills spontaneously. Low and average achievers require both components of the SC program to improve their performances. Results show that without planned intervention, the spontaneous attainment of SC skills occurs only to a limited extent. Systematic teaching of skills can make a significant difference. The explicit instruction of skills integrated into scientific topics, the opportunities to implement the skills in different contexts, the role of performance tasks as "assessment for learning"--all these features are important and necessary for improving students' scientific literacy. Our general model of skills instruction can be applied to the instruction of other high-order skills. Its application can lead to the realization of the central goal of science education: literate students possessing scientific knowledge
11.
TI: Concurrent and Longitudinal Neuropsychological Contributors to Written Language Expression in First and Second Grade Students
AU: Hooper, Stephen R; Hooper, Stephen R; McBee, Matthew
SO: Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal24.2 (February 2011): 221-252.
Abstract:
The primary purpose of this study was to examine several key questions related to the neuropsychological contributors to early written language. First, can we develop an empirical measurement model that encompasses many of the neuropsychological components that have been deemed as important to the development of written language? Second, once derived, will the neuropsychological components of this model remain stable over first and second grades or will the model change in its composition? Third, will the strength of the relationships between neuropsychological components and writing outcomes be constant over time, or will the strength of the relationships change over time? Finally, will the derived empirical model show significant concurrent and predictive relationships with written expression? The sample included 205 first grade students recruited from a single school district who were followed into the second grade via two cohorts: Measures were aligned with major neuropsychological components as extracted from theoretical models of written expression and available empirical findings examining the neuropsychological contributors to writing in children. These domains included fine-motor speed, language, short-term memory, long-term memory, and various attention/executive functions including working memory. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) and longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM) methods documented that three core latent traits were present and stable at both grades 1 and 2: Fine-Motor, Language, and Attention/Executive Functions. The overall model was highly related to written expression and spelling at both grades 1 and 2, with the first grade latent traits accounting for 52 and 55% of the variance in second grade written expression and spelling, respectively. At both grades, the Language and Attention/Executive Functions latent traits were more highly associated with written expression and spelling than the Fine-Motor latent trait.
12.
TI: DEVELOPING WRITTEN TEXT PRODUCTION COMPETENCE USING THE READER-RESPONSE METHOD
AU: Demény, Paraschiva
SO: ActaDidactica Napocensia5.3 (2012): 53-60.
Abstract:
The first part of the present paper deals with the analysis of the literary theory and linguistic background of the reader-response method, respectively with the presentation of the process of composition and its psychological components. The reader-response textual interpretation method can take several different approaches of literary theory, sometimes the borders being so fade, that they cannot be distinguished, they melt into each other. In the context of hermeneutics, Gadamer and Ingarden state that a literary work is finished by the reader, as the process of reading is carried out through the interaction between reader and literary work. In Iser's opinion the hiatus of the work is filled in by the imagination of the reader. The father of practical literary science, Richards says that meaning, sense is tied to the inner and outer status of the individual, thus it is a relative thing. According to transactional literary theory (Rosenblatt) meaning is born within transaction. From the linguistic point of view, the semantic approach states that meaning is the dynamic interaction between language and reality, thus it is relative, as the individual interprets the world through her/his own experiences. Sociolinguistics analyzes the cultural influences, presenting how a certain culture raises its system of conventions, and the individual is adapted through the process of socialization, and all this influences her/his points of view. Through the psycholinguistic approach I have outlined the principle of word association. It can be seen how the reader-response method can be seen from different perspectives, in fact different tendencies have different approaches of the same principle: meaning is created by the reader. Concerning the components of the abilities of expression in writing I am presenting the model of Hayes, according to which these abilities are influenced by individual and environmental factors. The former include motivation, short-term and long-term memory, cognitive psychological processes, while the latter include the factors of social and physical environment. I have sketched the process of composition regarding the specificities of age. About the teaching of composition I have presented the steps of the process.The second part of the paper includes the presentation of my research, the formulation of the results and of the conclusions, which confirm that applying reader-response in textual interpretation is a huge gain
13.
TI: MNEMONIC STRATEGIES: CREATING SCHEMATA FOR LEARNING ENHANCEMENT
AU: Goll, Paulette S
SO: Education125.2 (Winter 2004): 306-312.
Abstract:
"Mnemonic Strategies: Creating Schemata for Learning Enhancement" investigates the process of remembering and presents techniques to improve memory retention. Examples of association, clustering, imagery, location, mnemonic devices and visualization illustrate strategies that can be used to encode and recall information from the long-term memory. Several memory games offer the opportunity to test your skills as you explore the strategies
14.
TI: Math Disabilities: A Selective Meta-Analysis of the Literature
AU: H Lee Swanson; Jerman, Olga
SO: Review of Educational Research76.2 (Summer 2006): 249-253,255,257-274.
Abstract:
This article synthesizes published literature comparing the cognitive functioning of children who have math disabilities (MD) with that of (a) average-achieving children; (b) children who have reading disabilities (RD); and (c) children who have co-morbid disabilities (MD+RD). Average achievers outperformed children with MD on measures of verbal problem solving, naming speed, verbal working memory (WM), visual-spatial WM, and long-term memory (LTM). Children with MD outperformed co-morbid children on measures of literacy, visual-spatial problem solving, LTM, short-term memory (STM) for words, and verbal WM. Children with MD could be differentiated from children with RD only on naming speed and visual-spatial WM. Differences in cognitive functioning between children with MD and average achievers were related primarily to verbal WM when the effects of all other variables (e.g., age, IQ, and other domain categories) were partialed out.
15.
TI: What Brain Research Suggests for Teaching Reading Strategies
AU: Willis, Judy
SO: The Educational Forum73.4 (2009): 333-346
Abstract:
How the brain learns to read has been the subject of much neuroscience educational research. Evidence is mounting for identifiable networks of connected neurons that are particularly active during reading processes such as response to visual and auditory stimuli, relating new information to prior knowledge, long-term memory storage, comprehension, and memory retrieval. This article offers strategies that build on current research showing the correlation of brain structure and literacy development, providing interventions for educators.
16.
TI: Linguistic structure with processing in second language research: is a 'unified theory' possible?
AU: Selinker, Larry; Selinker, Larry;
SO: Second Language Research20.1 (Jan 1, 2004): 77-94.
Abstract:
We investigate a unique attempt at working out a unified theory of second language acquisition (SLA), Carroll's 'Autonomous Induction Theory'. This theory integrates SLA traditions that often ignore each other and adds a learning theory where novel information gets created to resolve learning problems. Cognitive universals, modularity theory, universal grammar, inductive learning, initiation of learning, working and long-term memory, top-down and bottom-up processing, input, errors, correction and feedback, language transfer, fossilization, restructuring of interlanguage are amongst the concepts reviewed. This project thus spans multiple domains but leaves many unresolved issues. However, since these issues appear in one framework, we have found that altogether, it provides excellent discussion material for advanced students. Finally, we suggest some ways in which the burden of the denseness of the material might be lightened.