Learning Landscape

by Craig Pohlman, Ph.D., Senior Clinical Scholar, All Kinds of Minds

Educators often talk about how students shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” In other words, children first have to master the nuts and bolts of reading (like phonics, sight word vocabulary, fluency) and then use reading to access content (such as textbooks and websites).

In my conversation on assessment with Dr. Steve Hooper, who has done a lot a research on written expression, I brought up the possibility that students similarly shift from “learning to write” to “writing to learn.” Clearly, children have a lot to grapple with when learning how to write: letter formation, punctuation, spelling, grammar rules, paragraph structure, etc. But what is some of the current thinking in the field about “writing to learn,” or how the act of writing can develop good thinking?

Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, and Wilkinson (2004) conducted a meta-analysis of 48 school-based writing-to-learn programs and found a small, positive effect on conventional measures of academic achievement; metacognitive prompts and increased treatment length enhanced the effects. More recently, students who had used the Science Writing Heuristic performed better than a control group on conceptual questions and were more likely to describe learning as they were writing (Hohenshell & Hand, 2006).

Writing can get students to systematically appraise ideas, products, points of view, and scenarios, all of which can be described as evaluative thinking or critical thinking. For example, writing promotes critical-thinking and the formulation of scientific concepts; writing about science also gets students to challenge ingrained misconceptions they have (Baker et al., 2008).

Integrating writing and reading boosts comprehension (such as for science or social studies) because reading and writing are reciprocal processes. Teachers can implement strategies before, during, and after reading to get students to interact with text and strengthen critical thinking. Such strategies include learning logs, quick writes, and listen-stop-write; teacher feedback and evaluation are important for writing-to-learn approaches to be effective (Knipper & Duggan, 2006).

Elementary teachers can use writing-to-learn not only to strengthen writing skills but also to deepen reading comprehension, promote active learning, and develop critical thinking. Writing-to-learn provides students with safe writing opportunities and allows teachers to assess student growth, in terms of both writing and thinking. Elementary school students who write-to-learn have more opportunities to become comfortable with writing and to practice skills before secondary school, when writing becomes extremely important (Gammill, 2006).

Here are some ideas for helping students write-to-learn:

• give students practice defending their thinking within their comfort zone, such as a topic of interest (like writing about why their favorite basketball player is the best in the game)
• provide scaffolding, such as guided questions or partially completed outlines or graphic organizers
• precede writing with discussion (with an adult and/or peers) that stretches thinking about the topic

The research supports the notion that writing can be a tool for learning. Often writing is viewed merely as a way to evaluate student knowledge and comprehension, such as on high-stakes tests and essay exams. But writing can and should be used to get students to grapple with ideas, express and defend opinions, delineate concepts, and think critically.

References

Baker, W.P., Barstack, R., Clark, D., Hull, E., Goodman, B., Kook, J., Kraft, K., Ramakrishna, P., Roberts, E., Shaw, J., Weaver, D., & Lang, M. (2008). Writing-to-learn in the inquiry-science classroom: Effective strategies from middle school science and writing teachers. Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 81, 105-108.

Bangert-Drowns, R.L., Hurley, M.M., Wilkinson, B. (2004). The effects of school-based writing-to-learn interventions on academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 74, 29-58.

Gammill, D.M. (2006). Learning the Write Way. The Reading Teacher, 59, 754–762.

Hohenshell, L., & Hand, B. (2006). Writing-to-learn strategies in secondary school cell biology: A mixed method study. International Journal of Science Education, 28, 261-289.

Knipper, K.J., & Duggan, T.J. (2006). Writing to learn across the curriculum: Tools for comprehension in content area classes. The Reading Teacher, 59, 462–470.

• click here for management ideas for writing.
  
• click here for more information about producing and communicating ideas.
• click here for more information about higher order cognition.