Teaching the Writing Processes

The following post is reflective of the last section of Pietro Boscolo's chapter 19, Writing in Primary School found in Charles Bazerman's Handbook of Research on Writing: History, society, school, individual, text.

During the 1980s the process approach gained significance due to the work of Donald Graves (1983) and Donald Murray (1985). When the writing process is viewed through this lens, the process is taught using a recursive stance rather than a linear perspective in which “prewriting and revising” (p. 299) is valued. There are four components to the process approach with the first being the emphasis on small group instruction. Second, students select their own topics on which to write. The third element involves the teacher as listener during conferencing as students share their developing written work. The fourth and final component emphasizes the social aspect associated with sharing the finished creation with one’s peers. This is aligned with Boscolo’s three dimensions and challenges of writing; continuity, complexity, and social activity (p. 293-4).

Boscolo discusses cognitive writing development based on two theoretical perspectives. The first is a neo-Piagetian outlook that indicates student difficulty with processing and organizing information into categories makes the writing process a challenging endeavor. The difference between “knowledge telling” and “knowledge transforming” that differentiates beginning and more experienced writers is the second theoretical stance. In knowledge telling, novice writers share information in an uncomplicated manner for the purpose of fulfilling an assignment. With knowledge transforming, expert writers understand that the knowledge they share is multifaceted and useful when applied to other forms of understanding.

Learning to Write

In my last posting, I discussed Pietro Boscolo’s primary school writing from chapter 19 in Charles Bazerman's text, Handbook of Research on Writing. Boscolo mentioned the three dimensions and challenges for the teaching of writing: Continuity, complexity and social activity (p. 293-4). In this post, I will discuss Boscolo’s take on the concept of emergent literacy, the debate between phonics and whole-language approach and his discussion of Berninger’s studies on early writing (p. 294-8).

Says Boscolo, “Emergent literacy is the name given to the child’s various contacts and relations with printed matter and related activities in kindergarten, and in his or her family life prior to schooling, that are the developmental precursors of formal literacy” (p. 294). In other words, children come to school with “funds of knowledge” (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992) that help to prepare them for the knowledge acquisition that occurs in the classroom. Writing literacy occurs on a continuum beginning with scribbling and invented spelling efforts as a child progresses towards independent writing.

Literacy experts have been debating the phonics versus whole language approach to reading and writing for decades. The conflict stems from different philosophical approaches that entail a focus on skill acquisition for phonics instruction as opposed to a more constructivist stance from the whole language people. More recently, balanced literacy instruction has been embraced by literacy professionals (Rasinski & Padak, 2001).

Berninger et al. (2002) devised a writing study with a group of third graders who had poor “compositional fluency.” Four treatments were used: spelling, composition, spelling and composition, and control. The researcher’s findings were that successful writing occurs with several components including phonics, self-regulation, reflection, and composition practice.

Learning to write begins in the home and continues within the school classroom. As a child learns to construct language in the written form, she or he is gaining control over the useful and powerful medium of language. Teachers must reflect upon currently used effective strategies as they consider new research to enhance existing writing curriculum.

Writing in the Primary School

Pietro Boscolo discusses primary school writing in chapter 19 of Charles Bazerman's text, Handbook of Research on Writing. He frames his discussion with three dimensions and challenges for the teaching of writing: Continuity, complexity and social activity (p. 294-5).

In continuity, students possess an understanding about their own writing that is progressive in nature. The ability to write occurs on a continuum that is constantly expanding and changing. During these changes, student ability to realize what they are doing and why they are doing it becomes known to them. Students understand both the importance and the purpose of the writing process.

With the dimension of complexity comes the “product versus process” debate. The product side of the argument emphasizes the acquisition of a gradually more complex group of writing skills. Emphasis is placed on getting it right with writing being evaluated according to the end result of written text. With an emphasis on process comes the understanding that student learning is imperfect and idiosyncratic.

Social activity is the final dimension mentioned in this chapter. According to Boscolo, “writing is a tool for making them (students) members of the classroom community” (p. 294). Students use writing as a way to connect with other students within this population of learners.

These three dimensions: continuity, complexity, and social activity are interdependent as students gain increasing proficiency with writing behaviors. Students engage in meaningful interactions as they participate in writing tasks that they share with their peers. This is indicative of a constructivist classroom where students take an active role as they question, examine, and practice during the learning that takes place.

Local Literacies~Socially Constructed

In Ways with Words, Shirley Brice Heath details her ethnographic research completed by Brice some forty years ago in the Piedmont Carolinas. She investigates the acquisition of literacy and how one’s surrounding cultural environment influences the way language is learned. Educators are encouraged to recognize student cultural background and appreciate how potential differences might affect learning in the classroom.

In Local Literacies, David Barton and Mary Hamilton document the lives of several residents of Lancaster, England during the 1990s. “This book is a study of what people do with literacy: of the social activities, of the thoughts and meanings behind the activities, and of the texts utilized in such activities. It is about how a particular group of people use reading and writing in their day-to-day lives” (page 3).

Language is a tool that we humans use as a way to communicate. Through reading, writing, speaking, and listening we are engaging in the exchange of ideas. During this making of meaning, the participants involved all bring to the table their own thoughts, feelings, and knowledge that influence the interchange of ideas. After exchanging ideas with another, it is often difficult to think about the concept in the same manner…the “other” has informed our thinking in one way or another.

Harry had many that he mentioned who had influenced his literacy development. Harry’s father brought the local paper home so that his parents could read the paper daily. Harry remembered reading the comic strips regularly and sharing with the other children in his neighborhood. During his work with the fire service, Harry encountered many people during the investigative interviews and had to teach himself how to write the reports. (Harry later shared that information with beginning firefighters.) Later Harry would write employment references for former firefighters who had asked him. The library was a great source of enjoyment where Harry found newspapers and books that he that he enjoyed reading and “swapping” with his friends. Harry enjoyed helping his grandchildren and other children from the neighborhood with their homework. During all these encounters, Harry was engaged in meaning making with one or more individuals.

Social constructivism is based on the concept that learning occurs as a socially or culturally constructed practice (Bruner, 2009; Dewey, 1996, 1933; Vygotsky, 1962, 1978). As a child interacts with others, s/he is participating in a collective knowledge construction or socialization. This making of meaning is an essential component of the continuation of one’s culture. Beliefs and practices are communicated between individuals through the use of language.

Both John Dewey and Len Vygotsky believed that language was one of the cultural tools used by human beings as they interacted and exchanged information (Garrison, 1995; Smidt, 2009). The knowledge transfer that occurs when individuals speak to each other during social interactions is essential to the growth and development of children as they increase their ability to verbally communicate with others. During the socialization process, children build and exchange understandings about the culture in which they inhabit.

Those who impacted Harry’s life certainly changed the way he thought about reading and writing, as Harry impacted the lives he touched. The social activities and the "thoughts and meanings behind the social activities" were used to build and further develop the culture that existed in Lancaster, England during the 1990s.