Writing for different audiences: Effects on high-school students' conceptual understanding of biology

Writing-to-learn activities in science classrooms can have an impact on student learning. This study sought to examine if the audience for which students write explanations of biology concepts affects their understanding of these concepts. One hundred eighteen Year 9/10 biology students from four classes participated in the study. There were four different audiences: teacher, younger students, peers, and parents. Students' writing for peers or younger students performed significantly better on conceptual questions than students writing for the teacher or the parents.     

Developing audience awareness in writing

Beginning writers need to consider their audience; but this is only possible when the writer has reached a certain stage of cognitive development, as it is necessary to consider an absent reality (e.g. an audience reading the piece at a later point). Adapting the text to the audience is only possible when the physical task of writing becomes automatic and the writer is no longer absorbed by it. Then the writer is free to pay attention to other aspects of the task without overloading cognitive processes. Procedural facilitation involves the use of external aids to support a simplified version of the processes used by expert writers. It may function as a way of enabling beginning writers to adapt what they write for their audiences. At the same time, as this task becomes automatic, it may be seen as a way of promoting writing development. A quasi–experimental study is described in which a procedural facilitation strategy is used to promote writing skills, in particular, the skill of suiting the text to the communicative context. The study was with fifth and ninth grade Portuguese students. The results of the post–test show significant progress for the experimental groups in contrast to the control groups.     

Influences of Writing Tasks on Students' Answers to Recall and Higher-Level Test Questions

This paper reports on two inter-related studies that examined the use of non-traditional writing strategies within secondary school science classrooms. The first study involved Year 10 students who incorporated one letter writing experience into the learning sequence when studying genetics. The second study was with Year 9 students who used both a non-traditional laboratory writing heuristic and letter writing as part of the learning sequence when studying a topic on light. The same teacher was involved in both case studies. A higher-level analogy question was added to the teacher-prepared tests for each study to examine if students who participated in writing-to-learn activities were able to perform significantly better as a group than a group of students who completed traditional teacher directed laboratory activities and note-taking. Results indicate that for the first study there was not a significant difference using t-test analysis, while for the second study involving two writing treatments there was a statistically significant difference using t-test analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in responses between treatment and control groups when answering low level recall questions for either case study. Student interviews indicated awareness by students of the metacognitive value gained by using the non-traditional writing types.     

Children's patterns of composition and their reflections on their composing processes

This article reports on an Economic and Social Research Council‐funded study into secondary‐aged writers' compositional processes, both as observed in a naturalistic classroom setting and as gathered through post hoc reflections. The sample comprised 38 children drawn from Year 9 and Year 11 who were observed, using an annotated timeline, responding to a writing task in the classroom and were subsequently interviewed, using stimulated recall. The initial analysis of the pause and writing patterns observed during the writing task revealed different writing profiles for different writers, and subsequent analysis suggests tentatively that writers of different proficiency may present differing writing profiles. These patterns of composition are then illustrated further through use of the interview data, indicating the writers' awareness of their own composing processes. Finally, the article considers the pedagogic and theoretical implications of these findings, in particular the need for further confirmatory research.     

Strategic revisions in the writing of Year 7 students in the UK

This article discusses revisions to personal narrative writing made by Year 7 students (aged 11–12) in a UK secondary school. The concept of strategic revision was used as a basis for analysing drafts and revised texts in order to investigate strategies and techniques deployed by students in the process of revision and how these related to expectations student writers had of their readers.

These analyses suggest that, given a reasonably supportive instructional environment, some Year 7 students can revise their own written texts strategically, and that in doing so they may recruit, and perhaps acquire, a range of writing skills and associated procedural knowledge. They also suggest that in the process of revising their texts, some student writers may have altered their expectations of their readers' understanding, ability to interpret and willingness to empathise.

Implications for researching writing processes and for the writing curriculum are suggested, including the use of students' revisions to tap into the complex sets of procedural knowledge which seem to underlie aspects of writing and writing development.     

The effects of being a reader and of observing readers on fifth-grade students’ argumentative writing and revising

Opportunities to read and analyze others?? writing or to observe readers as they analyze writing might enhance one??s own sense of audience and improve one??s own writing. This mixed-methods study investigated whether reader and observer activities in comparison to writing practice activities affected fifth-grade students?? persuasive writing and revising. After writing a first draft of a persuasive letter, 87 fifth-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: being a reader, observing readers, or practicing writing. The reader group read and discussed three persuasive letters, considering whether they were persuasive and why and selecting the most persuasive. The observer group listened to the reader group??s discussions and took notes; then they had their own discussion to generate a list of criteria for what made the letters persuasive. The practice-writing control group practiced writing persuasive letters. Afterwards, all groups revised their first drafts. The reader group produced second drafts that were of better quality and contained more evidence of audience awareness than the control group. The observer group did not differ from either group. The groups did not differ on a transfer task occurring 1-week later. The authors discuss implications for designing writing curriculums that utilize reader and observer activities.     

A follow-up study of students using portable computers at a secondary school

This paper reports on the findings of a 1999 study that set out to investigate the current perceptions of students and teachers towards the use of portable computers at a secondary school. The aim was to compare these with the findings of a 1995 study carried out by the researcher at the same school. Data were collected from 102 Year Twelve students (17 year old), 104 Year Eight students (13 year old) and 40 teachers. The results indicated that for the Year Twelve students the computers had been of limited value while the Year Eight students appeared to be divided with about a quarter indicating negative attitudes. For the younger students the computers appeared to be used more often and for a greater range of tasks. Many teachers indicated concerns about the management of computers in the classroom and linking computer use to learning outcomes. These perceptions underline the need for targeted professional development, systematic support for the development of student computer-related skills, and changes in the curriculum towards more learner-centred approaches.     

Examining the Value of a Scaffolded Critique Framework to Promote Argumentative and Explanatory Writings Within an Argument-Based Inquiry Approach

This study investigated the value of using a scaffolded critique framework to promote two different types of writing—argumentative writing and explanatory writing—with different purposes within an argument-based inquiry approach known as the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach. A quasi-experimental design with sixth and seventh grade students taught by two teachers was used. A total of 170 students participated in the study, with 87 in the control group (four classes) and 83 in the treatment group (four classes). All students used the SWH templates as an argumentative writing to guide their written work and completed these templates during the SWH investigations of each unit. After completing the SWH investigations, both groups of students were asked to complete the summary writing task as an explanatory writing at the end of each unit. All students’ writing samples were scored using analytical frameworks developed for the study. The results indicated that the treatment group performed significantly better on the explanatory writing task than the control group. In addition, the results of the partial correlation suggested that there is a very strong significantly positive relationship between the argumentative writing and the explanatory writing.     

Teaching good communication/proposal-writing skills: Overcoming one deficit of our educational system

Good communication skills require: (1) an understanding of one's audience and the subtle interactions between writer and reader, (2) organizational skills to methodically progress through the necessary stages of a project (e.g., writing a proposal), and (3) certain basic communication (writing/speaking) skills, i.e., a facility with the basic elements of transmitting information clearly. The task of writing a grant proposal in response to a specific set of instructions is used to illustrate the analysis and responses necessary to complete a major written communication project. The concept of focusing on—and writing for—the reader (in this case, the proposal reviewer) is emphasized. Although good communication skills affect life-styles, productivity, and economics in our society, the communication skills of the American pubic are sorely lacking—even among people with high levels of education—because students receive little training in these skills in the United States educational system. However, such skills can be taught to younger students as well as to adults.     

Writing short messages in English: Out-of-school practices of Malaysian high school students

For Malaysian adolescents, writing in English covers various forms and serves a range of purposes. Outside the formal school context, students engage in more personalized forms of writing. This paper examines one such form, namely, the writing of short messages, using a sociocultural perspective of literacy as a social discursive practice that implicates identity construction. This paper draws on a larger qualitative study which looked at school and personal writing by a class of Form 4 (Year 10) students in an urban school in Malaysia. Data were taken mainly from student interviews and students’ written products during six months of fieldwork. Findings from the study showed students’ informal writing involved new hybrid forms of English and included the use of a mixture of short forms, “Penang English” and Net English. This study has implications for the English literacy education of Malaysian high school students learning ESL while immersed in a contemporary digital and Internet culture.     

Peer tutoring in writing: a school systems approach

In this study seven 10‐year‐old to 11‐year‐old students peer‐tutored seven six‐year‐old students in writing over a 10‐week period. Tutoring took place over 20‐minute sessions four times per week in the six‐year‐old students' regular classes during their usual writing time. The first author trained the tutors to assist tutees to (1) produce a writing plan, (2) use the plan to develop a piece of writing with help from the tutor, (3) proof‐read writing samples for meaning and accuracy, and (4) prompt tutees to make editing changes to their writing by asking appropriate questions. Samples of the writing of tutors and tutees were compared at baseline, intervention and follow‐up phases and the attitudes of participants towards the programme were evaluated. Unlike most peer tutoring programmes the study relied largely on intrinsic motivation for student participation, and utilised a procedure that required responsive feedback by tutors and a problem‐solving approach rather than a constrained linear methodology. Results indicated gains in terms of writing rate, accuracy, and audience ratings of clarity of message and enjoyment of writing, for tutors and tutees. Issues of programme maintenance and generalisation within the school system are discussed in addition to the implications for inclusive educational practice.     

非实时在线同侪互评环境下学生作者读者意识变化研究

本研究旨在探讨非实时在线同侪互评（ ALN-based peer assessment）促进学生作者读者意识的可行性。借助非实时在线同侪互评,学生作者接收同侪评价的同时,也对同侪的写作实施评价与参考,使其具备作者与读者双重角色,实现在线写作社群的构建,为培养读者意识提供所需的读者群。研究结果显示,学生的写作收到同侪较高频次的显性评价与非显性拜访,写作初稿与终稿的比对结果表明写作质量获得提升,体现出较高的互评频率和互评效能,因而判断有效在线写作社群得以构建。试验后问卷调查表明,有效在线写作社群的构建和该社群中学生作者评价同侪写作的倾向与学生读者意识的提高相关。     

Redundancy and expertise reversal effects when using educational technology to learn primary school science

Two experiments using the science topics of Magnetism and Light were conducted with younger learners (Year 5) who had no prior knowledge of the topics, and older learners (Year 6) who had studied the topics previously. Half of the learners were presented the information in auditory form only while the other half were presented the auditory information simultaneously with a visual presentation. Results indicated that older students with prior knowledge of the topic learned more from the auditory only presentation. For these students, the addition of visual information was redundant and so they were disadvantaged by the use of an audio-visual presentation. However, for younger students with no prior knowledge of the topic, the difference between means reversed. Some of these students might require a visual presentation to make sense of the auditory explanation. These two sets of results were discussed in the context of the redundancy and the expertise reversal effect.     

Examining the effect of multiple writing tasks on Year 10 biology students’ understandings of cell and molecular biology concepts

This paper reports on a study that examined the cumulative effects on students’ learning of science, and perceptions of the role of writing in learning, when the students engaged in multiple writing tasks with planning strategy support. The study was conducted with Year 10 biology students who completed two consecutive units on Cells and Molecular Biology. A mixed method study was implemented using a pre-/post-test design with a focus on student performance on higher order conceptual questions, and semi-structured interviews with treatment students after the completion of each unit of study. Results from the quantitative component indicated that multiple, non-conventional writing had a significant benefit in helping students learn Molecular Biology. The results for the Cell unit were not so conclusive suggesting the strategies are most useful for novel content. The interviews with students demonstrated that they understood and engaged successfully with both the conceptual and linguistic demands of the tasks. These findings, taken as a whole, confirm that multiple writing tasks can support effective student learning, provided various pedagogical conditions are met.     

Utilising social networking sites to improve writing: a case study with Chinese students in Malaysia

With the advancement of technology, writing in English is no longer confined to the classroom as nowadays students are exposed to various forms of writing on the Internet. Specifically with Generation Y in mind, online writing is a new method that needs to be implemented to enhance Malaysian students’ writing skills. This article aims at identifying what motivates English as a Second Language students to write in English on Facebook. Ten Chinese-speaking students from a private urban school were selected for this study. These students had just started secondary education after being educated in Chinese-vernacular elementary schools for six years. The students were required to participate in an ongoing discussion on their Facebook class page in order to complete a writing task. Data for this study comprised both online discussions and interviews. The findings suggest that peer influence and school surroundings motivated the students to write better in English on Facebook. The findings also imply that the use of technology in writing tasks made students write better in English owing to the exchanges of feedback and ideas that took place through this social networking site.     

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.     

Teaching Elementary Students Who Speak Black English Vernacular to Write in Standard English: Effects of Dialect Transformation Practice

Although nonstandard dialects of English are legitimate forms of spoken language used by many Americans, students in U.S. schools must acquire writing competence using Standard English (SE). Participants in this study were 3rd- and 4th-grade African-American students who exhibited Black English Vernacular (BEV) features in their written work. Six syntactic features differing in BEV and SE were targeted. Students received one of three treatments to increase their use of the SE features in their writing: (1) exposure to SE features in stories; (2) story exposure plus explanation of SE rules; and (3) story exposure, SE rule instruction, and guided practice transforming sentences from BEV to SE features. The third treatment proved most effective in enabling students to translate BEV sentences into SE forms and to employ the targeted SE features in their free writing. Results indicate that having students practice translating nonstandard sentences that typify their own writing and providing corrective feedback are effective for teaching them to use SE forms in their writing. Findings are interpreted to support a social-cognitive view of self-regulated learning. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Writing skills training for engineering students in large classes

First Year engineering students at the University of Edinburgh are taught Writing Skills as part of aProfessional Engineering Module. Particular difficulties are presented by the large class sizes and the generally low standard of writing skills among native English speakers at entry to the course. The course aims not only to give students the skills to communicate effectively with any readership but also to teach the conventions of engineering writing. Writer-centred, genre-centred and reader-centred approaches to the teaching of composition skills are all seen as necessary means of helping students to get the most out of their writing, for themselves and for their readers, and of motivating students to improve their writing during the four years of their degree course and beyond. The merits of lectures, handouts, surgery hours and feedback were assessed by means of a questionnaire, student interviews and analysis of feedback proformae. The indications are that structured feedback provides the key to helping individual students evolve and maintain a personal development programme for improving their writing skills to a level which meets the needs of their profession.