Teaching Writing in the Content Areas

173 Pages·2005·1.531 MB·English

by  Urquhart, Vicki;McIver, Monette

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Urquhart,Vicki,1950-
Teachingwritinginthecontentareas/VickiUrquhartandMonetteMcIver.
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Includesindex.
ISBN1-4166-0171-6(alk.paper)
1. Languagearts—Correlationwithcontentsubjects.2. Englishlanguage—Compositionandexercises—Studyandteaching. I.
McIver,Monette,1964-II.Title.
LB1576.U742005
808’.042’071—dc22
2005002997
_________________________________________________
1211100908070605121110987654321
Teaching Writing
in the Content Areas
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Section 1. The Role of Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Section 2. The Role of Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Section 3. The Role of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Section 4. The Role of the Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Section 5. Strategies for Teaching Writing
in the Content Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
About the Authors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Acknowledgments
Asistrueofallpublications,ittakesateamefforttoseeadocumentto
itsconclusion.Thispublicationisnodifferent.Theauthorsgratefully
acknowledgetheteameffortofcolleaguesatMid-continentResearchfor
EducationandLearning(McREL).Inparticular,wethankthefollowing
McRELstaffmembers:TerryYoungandBeckyVanBuhlerforlocating
andreviewingresearchstudies,LindaBrannanforoverseeingcopyright
permissions,HelenApthorpforsharingherknowledgeandunderstand-
ingofresearch,JenniferNorfordforhermeticulousreview,andBrian
Lancasterforhisgraphicdesigncontribution.AdrienneSchure,the
book’seditor,insightfullyandpatientlyguidedtheauthorsfromthe
beginning.Inaddition,PaulTurelliandCindyO’Donnell-Allenpro-
videdinvaluableinsightsthroughtheirexternalqualityassurancereviews
ofthemanuscript.
v

INTRODUCTION
Why a Guidebook for
Teaching Writing in the
Content Areas?
A
swecompletedwritingthefirstsectionofthisguidebook,Vicki
sharedastoryfromheryearsintheclassroom.Sherecalledthat
whenherfamilymovedfromthecitywhereshehadtaughthigh
schoolfor10years,thestudentsinoneofherclassesgaveherasmall,
attractivejournalthattheyhaddutifullypassedonetotheother.Eachhad
pennedafewlinesfromafavoritepoemorbookandwrittenagoodbye
wish.Asyoumightexpect,itisoneofhergreatesttreasurestothisday.In
thissimpleact,herstudentstoldherthattheyhad“gotten”theiryear
together.Theyunderstoodwhatthereading,discussing,writing,revising,
andpresentinghadbeenabout.Moreimportant,theyvaluedit.
Sheisnotaloneinhavingstorieslikethis—allteachershavethem,
whethertheyteachphysics,French,orworldhistory.Throughwriting,
Vickicametoknowherstudents,whattheywerethinking,andwhatthey
were(orwerenot)learning.Teachingwritingisuniqueinthisway.Itben-
efitsbothteacherandstudent,servingascommunicationvehicle,assess-
menttool,andintellectualexercise.Admittedly,thiswaspartofher
rationalefordevelopingthisguidebook.
Knowingthateducatorswantandneedthisguidanceisanevenmore
compellingreasonfordoingit.Wecontinuetohearfromthem:the
instructionalcoordinatorwhosaidthatshehasbeenwaitingforjustsucha
guidebookforyears,thelanguageartsinstructionalspecialistwhoputher
nameonawaitinglistbecauseherdistricthasanewwritinginitiative,and
thescienceteacherwhosimplysaid,“I’vealwaysbelievedthatifyouwrite,
youthink.”Otherscienceeducatorsacknowledgetheneedforcreative
ideasintheirsubject,andinturn,forallsortsofwritingtoreflecttheideas
ofscience.
Althoughweexpectthisguidetobeusefultocurriculumspecialists
anddistrict-levelcoordinators,itistothethirdeducator,whointuitively
understandsthefundamentalrelationshipbetweenthinkingandwriting,
2
Introduction 3
thatwespecificallyaddressourdiscussionabouttheresearchbehindtheteaching
ofwriting.Highqualityresearchwillbestprepareteachersforthefuture.Anditis
thefuturethatisatstake.Increasingly,werecognizehowvitaleffectivewritingisto
successineducationandintheworkplace.A2003reportfromPublicAgenda,a
nonprofitorganizationthatconductsnationalopinionpollsonvariousissues,
reflectsthissentiment:
Forfiveconsecutiveyearsbetween1998and2002,largemajoritiesofemployers
andprofessorshavebeenreportingprofounddissatisfactionwiththeskillsof
recentpublicschoolgraduates.Theyareespeciallycriticalofyoungsters’com-
mandofgrammarandspelling,theirabilitytowriteclearlyandtheircapacityto
dosimplemath.Andprofessorsandemployersarenotalonewhenitcomesto
theseconcerns.Justonehighschoolteacheroutoffivesaysstudentsinhisor
herownschooltypicallylearns“tospeakandwritewell,withproperpronuncia-
tionandgrammar.”(p.22)
Resultsfromthe2002NationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)writ-
ingassessmentdrawfurtherattentiontotheteachingofwriting.Despiteshowingsome
overallgainsfromthe1998scoresatthe4thand8thgradelevels,about80percentof
studentswhotookthe2002NAEPwritingassessmentcouldwriteonlya“basic”
response,leavingmorethantwo-thirdsofthenation’sstudentsstillperformingbelow
theproficientlevelinwriting(NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,2003).
Forcollege-boundstudentsinterestedinaprofessionalcareer,beingableto
writewellismoreimportantthanever,regardlessofthefield.However,collegefac-
ultyareconcernedthathighschoolgraduates’writingfallsbelowpar.Middle
schoolandhighschoolteachers,regardlessofcontentareaspecialization,helppre-
pareallstudentsforcollegeandbeyondwhentheyinfusewritingintoinstruction.
Writingisaprocessofexplorationthatoffersbenefitstostudentsandcontent
areateachersalike.Asstudentswritetomaketheirideasclearandcomprehensible,
theyexperiencethefunofdiscovery,andsodotheirteachers.
The Research Base
Most of the research suggests that students benefit by writing in all content
areas—that it enhances critical thinking; allows students to take greater
responsibility for their own learning; promotes reflective thinking and ques-
tioning; and helps students make connections between events, people, and
ideas. Of course, students need to acquire content, but it is just as crucial for
them to develop the reading and writing skills that apply to learning that
content. For example, when a student in a mathematics classroom writes an
explanation to others about how to solve a numerical problem, he or she is
doing much more than acquiring content and demonstrating mastery of a
4 Teaching Writing in the Content Areas
benchmark—thisstudentiscommunicatingandproblemsolving.Studentstend
tothinkofmathematicsintermsofrules,facts,numbers,andsoon.Unfortu-
nately,manystudentsneverseethepossibilitiesforproblemsolvingthatmathe-
maticsofferstheworld.Whenstudentsposetheirownquestionsandwrite
aboutpossiblesolutionsusingtheskillsofsymbolizing,organizing,interpreting,
andexplaining,theybegintoseethosepossibilities.
Thequestionsforalleducatorsthenbecomethese:Whataretheeffectsofwrit-
ingonlearning?Doesresearchsupportthebeliefthatwritingandthinkinggo
handinhand?Theanswersarecontainedinmorethan30years’worthofeduca-
tionresearch,someofitquiterigorous,aboutwhatworksandwhatdoesnot.For
instance,wecanturntotheresultsofameta-analysisontheeffectsofschool-based
writing-to-learninterventionsonacademicachievement.Bangert-Drowns,Hurley,
andWilkinson(2004)reportedthatwhentheyexaminedtheeffectsofwriting-to-
learnprograms,theyfoundthat(1)writingcanbeexpectedtoenhancelearningin
academicsettings,(2)writingtasksneednotbeelaboratetobeeffective,and(3)
teachingwriting“isnotapotentmagic”(p.53).Ofcourse,apotentmagiciswhat
wewouldreallylike!Shortofthat,however,wehaveinsightsintowhatworks,and
althoughambiguitiespersist,someresearchfindingsareclear.
Asaresultoftheir1963bookResearchinWritingComposition,Braddock,
Lloyd-Jones,andSchoer(ascitedinHillocks,1986)spreadtheideathatteaching
grammarhasanegligible,orevenharmful,effectonimprovingwriting.This
watershedideacausedlanguageartsteacherstoviewgrammarinstructiondiffer-
ently,andasaresult,theybegantochangetheirpractice,relyinginsteadongood
piecesofwritingasmodelsofcorrectgrammar.
Withanassistfromcognitivepsychologists,contemporarywritingresearch
beganbreakingnewgroundintheearly1980s.Someresearcherslearnedmore
abouthowthebrainprocessesinformation,includingwritingtasks:“Forthefirst
timeinthehistoryofteachingwritingwehavespecialistswhoaredoingcontrolled
anddirectedresearchonwriters’composingprocesses”(Hairston,ascitedin
Graves,1999,p.11).Instructorsatthepost-secondarylevelwastednotimeapply-
ingsomeofthenewresearchandadoptedanapproachcalledWritingAcrossthe
Curriculum,orWAC.Unfortunately,thisideaofwritinginallcontentareasonly
trickleddowntohighschoolsandmiddleschools,andmanyteacherssimplydidn’t
receiveanyinstructionorguidanceinhoworwhytoteachwritinganywhereother
thananEnglishclassroom.
Yetonepositiveinfluenceoflinguisticresearchandresearchintothecomposing
processwasthatamajorityoflanguageartsteachersbegantofocusontheprocess
ofwritingratherthantheproduct.Inthepast,teachershadassumedthat
Introduction 5
1. Writersbeginwithaformfororganizingcontentbecausetheyalwaysknow
whatthey’regoingtowrite,
2. Composingisalinearprocess,and
3. Teachingeditingisteachingwriting.
Incontrast,recentassumptionsreflectteachersbeginningtounderstandwriting
asbothanintellectualactivityandamethodoflearningandinstruction.Direct
andindirectreferencestotheseassumptionsappearthroughoutthisbook:
1. Writingisarecursiveprocess,whichmeansstudentsrevisethroughoutthe
process,frequentlymovingbackandforthamongthestages.
2. Studentsshouldlearnstrategiesforinventionanddiscovery,andteachers
shouldhelpstudentsgeneratecontentanddiscoverpurpose.
3. Audience,purpose,andoccasiondefinealltypesofwriting.
4. Effectivewritingfulfillsthewriter’sintentionandmeetstheaudience’s
needs.
5. Allteacherscanusewritingtoimprovecontentlearning.
Ofcourse,researchdoesnotanswerallthequestions,andsomedisputesare
ongoing.Forexample,atboththecollegeandhighschoollevel,educatorsdis-
agreeaboutwhatkindsortypesofwritingtoincludeinthecurriculum.Some
educatorsassertthatstudentsdonotdoenoughwritinginvolvingoriginal
inquiry,somesaythatteachersneglectargument,andotherssaythattheyover-
emphasizenarrative.Itseemscertainthatwewillcontinuetodebatemanyques-
tions,buttheresearchwehaveavailablecanhelpusmakedecisionsnow.
Our Approach
Threeimportantfactorstoconsiderinadiscussionofteachingwritingareresearch,
theory,andstrategies.Itmightbehelpfultothinkofthemintheseterms:
• Research:Sincethe1980s,mucheducationresearchhasbeenqualitative,
usingmethodsadaptedfromthesocialsciences,includingsystematicobserva-
tionandinterviews.Quantitativeresearchreliesmoreonstatisticalprocedures
tocompareeffectsofonetreatmentwithanother.Researchersaredividedon
whichapproachisbest.Throughoutthisguide,wepointouttheidentifying
characteristicsoftheresearchcited.
6 Teaching Writing in the Content Areas
(cid:127) CognitiveLearningTheory:Educatorsknowmorethanbeforeaboutthe
mentalprocessesinvolvedinlearning.Cognitivepsychologistshavecompiled
agreatdealofnewinformationaboutthinkingandlearning.Thesetheories
groundthesuggestionswemakeregardingwritinginstruction.
(cid:127) Strategies:Theseclassroompracticesandmethodsworkinanycontentarea
andincorporateresearchaswellastheory(seeSection5).
Today’sclassroomsincludestudentsfrommanydifferentethnicandracialback-
grounds,includingnon-nativeEnglishspeakerswhoarestrugglingtolearnand
studentswithdisabilitiesorwhoneedextrahelpwithreading.Researchsupports
whatmostteachersalreadyunderstand—thepowerofhavingandcommunicat-
inghighexpectationsforallstudents,includingthosewhoareethnicallyor
socioeconomicallyoutsideofthemainstream.Whenteachersexpectallstudents
tosucceedandprovidethekindofinstructionthatwillhelpthemmeethigh
standards,theyhelpstudentsdispelafearofwriting,gainconfidence,andbuild
asenseofself-worth.Langer’s(2000)researchintothesuccessofhigh-perform-
ing,high-needsschoolsfoundthatwhenstudentsaretreatedasiftheycanand
willmakesenseofthematerialtheyreadandwrite,theyaremoresuccessful.
Thisistrueinallcontentareas,andeducator-researchersnowviewliteracyin
broadertermsthaneverbefore,usingtheterm“disciplinaryliteracy”tosignify
thatalldisciplinesrequirereading,writing,andthinkingskills:“Disciplinarylit-
eracyisthecivilrightofthetwenty-firstcentury.Disciplinaryliteracyprovides
accesstolearninginallsubjectmattersand,bysodoing,opensupanarrayof
lifeopportunitiesforyoungpeople”(Lee,2004).
Writingisacomplexprocess,andmostoftheresearchliteraturerecognizesthe
difficultyitposesforstudents.Itseemsreasonabletoexpect,then,thattheteach-
ingofwritingiscomplexaswell.Asteachers,researchers,andwriters,werecognize
this,andweinviteyoutousethisguidebooktohelpyouintegratewritinginstruction
intoyourcontentarea.Ifyoualreadyarealanguageartsinstructor,wechallengeyou
tofindwaystoimproveyourinstructionandshareyourdiscoverieswithothers.
The Structure of this Guidebook
TheNationalCommissiononWriting(2003)addressesthechallengeofteach-
ingwritinginTheNeglected“R”:TheNeedforaWritingRevolution,areporton
thestateofwritinginU.S.schoolsinwhichthenation’seducatorsandwriters
extolthepowerandvalueofwriting.Furthermore,thecommissioncallsfora
nationalagenda,suggestingthatnothingshortofarevolutionwillgetteachersin
everycontentareatoteachwriting.Theirintentistostirschoolsandteachersto
action;ourintentistoinformactionwithresearch.However,wedoagreewith
thefourcriticalareasthatthecommissionidentifiesasframingtheissueof