Changing How Writing Is Taught

Abstract

If students are to be successful in school, at work, and in their personal lives, they must learn to write. This requires that they receive adequate practice and instruction in writing, as this complex skill does not develop naturally. A basic goal of schooling then is to teach students to use this versatile tool effectively and flexibly. Many schools across the world do not achieve this objective, as an inordinate number of students do not acquire the writing skills needed for success in society today. One reason why this is the case is that many students do not receive the writing instruction they need or deserve. This chapter identifies factors that inhibit good writing instruction, including instructional time; teachers’ preparation and beliefs about writing; national, state, district, and school policies; and historical, social, cultural, and political influences. It then examines how we can address these factors and change classroom writing practices for the better across the world by increasing pertinent stakeholders’ knowledge about writing, with the goal of developing and actualizing visions for writing instruction at the policy, school, and classroom levels. This includes specific recommendations for helping politicians, school administrators, teachers, and the public acquire the needed know-how to make this a reality.

The Sciences of Reading and Writing Must Become More Fully Integrated

“…Such instruction appears to have been relatively uncommon, however, based on survey and observational research conducted in the area of writing. In reviewing this literature, I found that most teachers were not adequately prepared to teach writing and that they devoted little time to writing or writing instruction (Graham, 2019). Reading and writing instruction is not effectively integrated when one of the ingredients occurs infrequently.…”

School leadership and whole-school support of struggling literacy learners in secondary schools

“…Place is a central concern in an approach informed by a social ecological model which posits that both social and environmental factors that can relate to place can shape student attainment, achievement, and motivation (Saracho and Spodek, 2006). While there is a gap in literacy attainment between urban and rural schools (Gorur and Wu, 2015), little is known of how place and space impact upon reading and writing skills and attitudes beyond material resourcing, size, and staffing differences (Graham, 2019;Lamb et al, 2014). Analysis of Australian National Assessment Program -Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing data indicate that "students in low socio-economic areas start behind, and make less progress in school," and that "many regional and rural students make up to two years less progress than students in inner city areas between Year 3 and 9" (Goss and Sonnemann, 2016: 2).…”

The Utilization of Twitter for Improving the Writing of Non-native Speakers of Arabic

“…It conveys a message to a reader for a specific reason. However, it is not an easy skill to acquire (Graham, 2019). It becomes further complicated in case of L2 and FL writers (Al Badi, 2015).…”

“…They have many deficiencies in writing accuracy and fluency (Althobaiti, 2015;Althobaiti, 2019). The students also suffer from a lack of motivation and involvement when writing (Graham, 2019).…”