The bright and dark side of writing motivation: Effects of explicit instruction and peer assistance

The authors investigated the impact of explicit instruction and peer-assisted writing on students' writing motivation and self-efficacy for writing. Eleven teachers and their 206 fifth- and sixth-grade students participated in a 2 (explicit instruction vs. writing opportunities without explicit instruction) × 2 (peer-assisted writing vs. writing individually) experimental intervention study with a pretest-posttest design. The four experimental conditions were compared with a business-as-usual (BAU) condition. The five-week interventions were implemented in authentic classes by regular class teachers, who received a prior professional development training. Multilevel analyses showed that students who wrote with a peer were more autonomously motivated at posttest than BAU students. Additionally, BAU students and students receiving explicit instruction were more controlled motivated than students who were offered ample writing opportunities while practicing individually. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed in view of realizing a bright pathway towards autonomous writing motivation.     

Effects of writing beliefs and planning on writing performance

White and Bruning (2005) distinguished two sets of writing beliefs: transactional and transmissional beliefs. In this paper we analyse their beliefs scale and suggest two hypotheses about how such beliefs relate to writing performance. The single-process hypothesis treats the beliefs as different amounts of engagement, whereas the dual-process hypothesis claims that the beliefs represent different types of engagement. We then describe the results of an experiment with 84 university students as participants that assessed the relationship between writing beliefs, different forms of pre-planning and different aspects of writing performance. Our results support the dual-process hypothesis, and suggest that transactional beliefs are about the preference for a top-down strategy or a bottom-up strategy, while transmissional beliefs are about the content that is written about. These beliefs interact in their effects on text quality, the amount and type of revision carried out, and the extent to which writers develop their understanding. They also moderate the effectiveness of outlining as a strategy.     

英国现代社会救助制度反贫困效应研究

作为社会福利体系的一个重要组成部分,英国社会救助制度的功能定位于解决贫困的最后一道社会安全网.在英国,社会救助津贴支付水平很高,社会救助津贴领取率估计值从50%到97%不等,"从福利到工作"的积极就业政策对劳动力市场产生了积极影响.     

E-books as support for emergent writing with and without adult assistance

The question posed in the current study is whether software alone is a sufficient tool for supporting young children’s emergent writing. We researched the effect of reading an electronic book (e-book) on kindergarten children’s emergent word writing with and without adult support. Ninety-six 5 to 6 years old children from low socioeconomic status (SES) families were randomly assigned to one of three groups (32 children each): (1) independently reading the e-book; (2) reading the e-book with adult support; (3) receiving the regular kindergarten program (control). Each intervention group received four e-book reading sessions. The children’s emergent literacy was assessed before and after the intervention and included letter-name recognition, phonological awareness and emergent word writing. Reading the e-book with adult assistance supported the children’s phonological awareness and emergent word writing more significantly than reading the e-book without support and more than the control group. Reading the e-book without adult support did not differ from the control group. Furthermore, the children’s initial emergent literacy level and reading the ebook with adult assistance contributed the most to the children’s emergent word writing. Educational implications are discussed.     

中世纪早期英国的社会救助——以救助者为出发点

中世纪的西欧在基督教的影响下,无论是基主教、修道院院长、修士以及其他基督教会的基层组织的人员,还是在基督教影响下的封建世俗君主与一部分的富裕女性都进行了社会救助的活动。但那时社会救助还不普遍,大多以个人名义开展。本文就以资助者为线索对中世纪社会救助做一简要论述。     

Effects of motivational regulation strategies on writing performance: a mediation model of self-regulated learning of writing in English as a second/foreign language

Motivational regulation has long been recognized as an essential but insufficiently investigated aspect of self-regulated learning (SRL), especially in relation to learning English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writing. This study intends to fill the gap by investigating the predictive effect of motivational regulation strategies on EFL students’ writing performance mediated by SRL strategies. Data were collected from undergraduate students in mainland China (N = 512) through self-report questionnaires and an English writing test. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed a partial mediation model in which motivational regulation strategies, as a whole, not only had direct and indirect effects on students’ writing performance but were also significantly correlated with their reported use of SRL strategies relating to cognition, metacognition, and social behavior. In addition, only cognitive and metacognitive strategies were found to be significant mediators in the model while social behavior strategies were not. The findings suggest that cumulative knowledge of motivational regulation is an antecedent of the reported use of other SRL strategies in affecting EFL writing performance. The inclusion of SRL strategies in the mediation model also contributes to a clear understanding of L2 writing processes within the SRL mechanism for improving writing outcomes.     

Effects of test media on different EFL test-takers in writing scores and in the cognitive writing process

The effects of computer and paper test media on EFL test-takers with different computer familiarity in writing scores and in the cognitive writing process have been comprehensively explored from the learners’ aspect as well as on the basis of related theories and practice. The results indicate significant differences in test scores among the test-takers who are less familiar with computers, showing that the computer test medium has greatly impacted this group of test-takers’ writing scores. From the perspective of the cognitive process, they are not significantly different in such stages as ‘goal-setting’, ‘generating ideas’ and ‘reviewing’, while their ‘organising ideas’ and ‘translating’ stages were greatly different, owing mainly to the nature of the test medium itself.     

交流净化电源主回路计算机辅助分析

本文分析了交流净化电源主回路的工作原理，并将主回路看成一个控制系统，根据输入——输出电压关系式，推导主回路的传递函数G(S)，应用计算机辅助分析方法对其调压特性进行了仿真，并分析了频率特性和系统稳定性。     

《周礼》中社会救助思想略论

在《周礼》中已建立起了一套完整的社会救助制度,其救助对象主要有幼儿救助、老人救助、残疾人救助和疾病救助等。《周礼》中的这些社会救助思想在当时的社会中已得到普遍的实施,对后世中国古代社会的社会救助思想产生了深远的影响。     

安徽省农村社会救助体系发展现状和对策

分析安徽省农村社会救助体系发展现状,从完善社会救助法律体系、建立社会救助工作综合协调机制、拓展社会救助资金渠道、建立社会救助工作监督机制、建设基层社会救助工作队伍等方面出发,通过单项制度优化、以低保为入口、分类型区一体化、救助方式整合等方式建立农村社会救助体系建设的过渡模式,以此过渡到城乡统筹的目标模式。     

Effects of self-evaluation training on narrative writing

Despite the burgeoning use of alternate assessment, few studies have examined effects on students. In this study, 148 students in 15 grade 4–6 classrooms were taught over an 8-week period how to evaluate their work (control N = 148). Treatment group students became more accurate in their self-evaluations than controls. Contrary to the beliefs of many students, parents and teachers, students' propensity to inflate grades decreased when teachers shared assessment responsibility. Treatment students also outperformed controls on narrative writing, but the overall effect was small (ES = 0.18). Weaker writers also improved their writing much more if they were in the treatment than the control group (ES = 0.58). Improvements consisted of increasing integration of story elements around a central theme and the adoption of a narrative voice. In contrast conventions of language were relatively unchanged. The results of the treatment were attributed to the focusing effect of joint criteria development and use, and the heightened meaningfulness of self-evaluation over other assessment data.     

重庆市社会救助财政筹资机制研究

通过对重庆市近年来社会救助经费保障问题进行分析．有针对性地提出了完善社会救助财政筹资机制的对策。     

表面式换热器实验台及计算机测控系统的构建

阐述了搭建换热器实验台对建筑环境与设备工程专业发展的重要性,构建了表面式换热器自动测量与控制硬件系统,设计了测量控制软件.该软件能实现参数自动测量、查询历史数据、将数据导出到Excel表格供进一步分析、生成不同工况报表、打开历史报表等功能.其中控制子系统采用以"作用模糊子集"为推理方法的模糊控制器控制换热器进口空气温度.实验数据证明,该系统大大减少了系统稳定所需时间.     

Developing grass roots writing resources: a novel approach to writing within the social work discipline

In this case study, we report on the development of a writing-specialist position, the ‘Writing Resource Coordinator (WRC)’, in a school of social work at a large state university in the southern USA. Such programs are facing increasing budgetary pressures at the same time as their growing enrollments strain available resources. Students who arrive under-prepared or un-acculturated to the discipline often suffer high writing-related anxiety, putting them at risk for low performance, or dropping out altogether. The WRC provides discipline-specific ‘grass roots’ writing assistance to the most at-risk students through a program aimed at both students and faculty, providing a two-pronged service strategy including: (a) individual consultations and (b) group-oriented seminars and workshops. We describe the implementation of this resource and offer recommendations for improving upon and adopting this approach in social science programs at comparable institutions.     

Learning to compose digitally: the effect of prior computer use and keyboard activity on NAEP writing

Writing is critical for college and career readiness, yet secondary students in America are not good writers (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Unfortunately, researchers know relatively little about secondary students’ writing skills, and even less about their digital writing. In this study, we explored prior computer use, keyboard activity during writing, and their relations to writing achievement using the 8th grade 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress writing assessment, the first national computer-based writing assessment for U.S. secondary students. We found that prior computer use predicted students’ writing skills directly (0.08) and indirectly (e.g., keypresses, 0.14) via keyboard activity during the test. We found differential effects for certain groups including current English learners and disadvantaged students. We also found a small positive interaction effect of prior use and keypresses on writing. That is, the benefits of prior computer use for school writing and the value of students’ additional keypresses on writing achievement were amplified when both were present.

     

Write Now! Using reflective writing beyond the humanities and social sciences

Writing is an important teaching and learning tool that fosters active and critical thinking. There are multiple pressures for disciplines outside the humanities and social sciences to integrate writing in their courses. The shift from teaching solely discipline-specific skills to including writing in a meaningful way can be a daunting process. An instructor and education reference librarian at a public, four-year research university infused an urban planning course with reflective writing exercises. The collaboration proved effective in increasing students’ perceived writing abilities and active thinking via increased immediacy, frequency of writing and active learning.     

河东风土与文思培育--关于写作的一项体会

弘扬民族文化中的优良传统,离不开对风土文化中宝贵遗产的继承和发展.以河东风土文化为参照系数,在不同风土文化的相互印证中,启发文思,梳理文化发展的脉络,有利于激发创作思路,启迪灵感.     

Effects of writing instruction and assessment on functional composition performance

In this study the relationships between writing instruction and functional composition performance were analyzed. The data were obtained in a national assessment on the language proficiency of students in the third year of Dutch secondary education (age ±15). Multivariate multilevel analysis showed that 10 out of 36 instructional characteristics were related to functional composition performance. The effective instructional characteristics included: instruction and exercises in writing functional texts, writing for a specific purpose, tailoring to a particular audience, global rating of writing products by the teacher, and frequent evaluation of Dutch language proficiency through teacher-made tests and written assignments. No effects were found for the rather popular subskill exercises on idiom, syntax, spelling and punctuation, and for pre-writing activities, text revisions and peer-review. Furthermore, the effect of instructional characteristics was often different on one task than on another. Finally, there was little differential effectiveness for different groups of students. If one instructional characteristic was more effective than the other, this was generally true, to an equal degree, for boys and girls and for promoted and non-promoted students.