Despite the importance of writing, many students are performing below grade level and lack the necessary skills needed to be successful (Zumbrunn & Krause, 2012; Santangelo & Olinghouse, 2009). There are many factors that shape students’ writing development but there are others that contribute to students’ writing problems. According to Graham (2008) and Zumbrunn & Krause (2012), students and teachers both struggle to grasp the concept due to the complex nature of writing and writing instruction. Therefore, many factors hinder student achievement and teachers’ approach to instruction. Teachers must understand why writing is important and its development before trying to teach it. However, many teachers lack this knowledge (Graham, Gillespie, & McKeown, 2012). Most believe that the desire to write comes from basic writing strategy instruction and student motivation. Though motivation plays an important role in learning, the lack of these basic writing strategies results in low motivation (Lan, Hung & Hsu, 2011). Many believe that students should be motivated to write in order for them to be successful, however, Graham (2006) has found that writing development is shaped by all of these factors: strategies, skills, knowledge, and motivation. He defined motivation as “a heightened sense of efficacy about one’s writing capabilities”. Zumbrunn and Krause (2012) found that students need to have the opportunity to write in a nonthreatening classroom that is established by the teacher. Unfortunately, many teachers do not realize how their instructional methods contribute to their students’ lack of motivation. Students’ apprehension towards writing stems mostly from their fear of feedback and evaluation of their writing (Mascle, 2013). In... ... middle of paper ... ...Troia, G. A., & Graham, S. (2003). Effective writing instruction across the grades: What every educational consultant should know. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 14(1), 75-89. Troia, G. A., Lin, S. C., Cohen, S., & Monroe, B. (2011). A year in the writing workshop: Linking writing instruction practices and teachers' epistemologies and beliefs about writing instruction. The Elementary School Journal, 112(1), 155-182. Troia, G. A., & Olinghouse, N. G. (2013). The common core state standards and evidence-based educational practices: The case of writing. School Psychology Review, 42(3), 343-357. Wise, K. (2005). The importance of writing skills. Public Relations Quarterly, 50(2), 37-38. Zumbrunn, S., & Krause, K. (2012). Conversations with leaders: principles of effective writing instruction. The Reading Teacher, 65(5), 346-353.
Stein, Marcy and Robert C. Dixon. "Effective writing instruction for diverse learners." School Psychology Review 23 (1994): 392-406.
Authors Mayher, Lester and Pradl (1983) in their book titled, Learning to Write, Writing to Learn describe writing as a two goal endeavor. First, the only way one can learn to write is by writing. Second, “writing can be a means for learning.” The authors’ views of both goals of writing are not traditional views. Writing serves as an “engaging transaction through which the learner makes her own connections and builds her own meaning.” The addition of the writing standards for science from the Common Core standards mirrors the goals of Mayhner, Lester and Pradl (1983). Writing within the science curriculum allows students to make meaning and learning their own.
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing." NCTE Comprehensive News. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014
In my experiences at the Writing Resource Center, I have found that the biggest area of concern that I have run into is the feeling that I am an ineffective tutor as far as tutoring the students that come in search of writing assistance. I feel that I am a very inadequate means of relief for these people, yet they still come to me for help. In this paper, I will explore these thoughts and try to find out what it is that makes me feel so ineffective.
The Common Core State Standards for mathematics and english language arts have been released for state adoption, but at the moment there is much controversy on the Common Core State Standards ranging from whether these standards will work or whethe...
Elbow opines, “If you are serious about wanting to improve your writing, the most useful thing you can do is keep a freewriting diary” (9). When I recently read Writing Without Teachers for the first time, the assertion that writing a lot is a good thing hit me as if it was completely new. And I think of myself as a writer! But some reflection showed me that my education, from grade school through college, had done very little to actually encourage me to write with any sort of regularity, or to revise what I did write. And so I produced little actual writing - just enough to get by. If this was the case for me, it may well have been the case for others. And if, regardless of our particular philosophical approach to instruction, we are in agreement as teachers of writing that we are trying to get students to write ”better” (however we understand that), then shouldn’t establishing writing as a habit be a priority? It is unlikely that any teacher of writing thinks that less, and not more, practice makes a better writer.
In the pedagogical world I have since perceived, the teacher is almost solely in control of the development of his/her students. And more often than not, an encouraging, attentive, positive and guiding teacher will have a class full of blossoming writers. On the other hand, I’ve observed that with negative commentary, harsh judgments and insufficient time and ability to escort them to their writing peak, students may come to a standstill in their development as writers; some may come to detest it because of insufficient guidance which may lead to confusion, and some may come to the conclusion that they have simply failed as writers. The fact that a teacher’s approach, caused and/or influenced by a variety of reasons, which I will elaborate, further on, may be the culprit for the vast amount of students who feel they cannot write, is a grave, grave travesty--but not one we can not combat.
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
There are many forms of assessment but writing is the primary basis upon which a child’s work will be judged and Jennings, Caldwell and Lerner (2010) made emphasis that teachers should focus on writing because reading and writing are intertwined and is used to construct meaning (pg. 338). It becomes important for teachers to teach writing because it is a form of expression of self. We learned in earlier chapters that readers construct meaning as they read likewise Jennings, Caldwell and Lerner (2010) informed that writers construct meaning as they create text (pg. 338).
Throughout my schooling years I've had a lot of teachers, and those teachers have taught me how to write, I've had teachers that have helped me fix my mistakes and helped me to get my paper done and to do a better job, but, I've also had a teacher that has knocked me down, I Just want to say that If one has enough power to suck the passion of writing out of a child, one must be very miserable in their state of life.
Literary competence, simply stated, involves the development of deciphering print and comprehending what it means. (Department of Education, Science, and Training, 2005). Reading is described as a complex developmental challenge that is a combination of many elements that include, responsiveness, memory, language skills, and motivation (Reutzel & Cooter, 2012). When considering ‘reading’ from a teaching perspective there must be many factors that be taken into account. For effective reading instruction to occur, it is important to understand not only the processes of how and when a child learns to read and write, but what inspires them to read. There are multiple notions on the right age and readiness for early literacy learning, but there
Reading and writing are most essential developmental skills in our lives and it is important that us as teachers play a significant role in teaching learners how to read and write properly. Reading and writing correlate with each other and research has found that when learners read extensively they become better writers. Reading different types of genres helps children to learn text structures and language that they can then transfer to their own writing and it also provides learners with prior knowledge they can use when writing. . There are certain stages that can improve learner’s reading and writing that needs to be followed regularly.
Two of the most influential approaches to teaching writing are product and process approaches. In the product approach, writing is seen as a final product and, thus, the evaluation is limited to this product. However, this approach has been mostly ineffective, because improvement of the final product depends on improving the process through which the writer produces the product (Chastain, 1998). In the process approach, however, writing is considered a “non-linear, exploratory, and generative process whereby writers discover and reformulate their ideas as they attempt to approximate meaning” (Zamel, 1983, p. 165). The writing process, according to Leki (1992), includes prewriting (generating and organizing ideas), drafting, revising, and editing. Revision is an integral part of the writing process which requires effective feedback, especially in the earlier stages. Wells, Chang, and Maher (1990) believe that collaboration throughout ...
It is very important for learners how to learn it and how to use it. It is obvious that for learners, writing is a means of recording and reformulating knowledge and developing ideas. It may also be a means of personal discovery, of creating, and of self-expression. Wade (1995, as cited in Al-Hazmi, 2006) persuasively states that writing is an essential ingredient in critical thinking instruction, since it promotes greater self-reflection and the taking of broader perspectives than does oral expression. Suitable written assignments, she believes, can stimulate classroom writers to enhance their active learning spontaneously. Writing, especially the process approach, is, by nature, a self-critical one. It lends itself to the kind of introspection that would prompt students to reflect on their understanding, and to communicate their feelings about what they know, what they are doing, what they are struggling with, and how they are experiencing their learning (cf. White & McGovern,