Writing to Learn: Benefits and Limitations

Abstract

Writing to learn (WTL) is the act of making a subject or topic clear to oneself by reasoning through it in writing; it is a pedagogical approach that uses writing to facilitate learning (Zinsser 1988). Some researchers have reported favorable results associated with the approach (Balgopal and Wallace 2009; Bullock 2006; Hand, Hand, Gunel, and Ulu 2009). However, others have indicated that studies supporting WTL pedagogy tend to lack comparison groups, pre/posttest data, or the rich description that contributes to a rigorous qualitative study (Hübner, Nückles, and Renkl 2010; Kieft, Rijlaarsdam, and van den Bergh 2006; Klein 1999). Thus, existing research about WTL suggests that its effectiveness depends on context, leaving a need for further research to better understand the contexts in which WTL has a favorable impact on student achievement. In response to this need, we designed this mixed-method, quasi-experimental study to include pre/posttests and qualitative analysis of WTL journals. Writing to Learn WTL is based on the foundational idea that writing plays a role in the learning process. Zinsser (1988) explained how it is beneficial: … as a writer I [often] made clear to myself some subject I had previously known nothing about by just putting one sentence after anotherby reasoning my way in sequential steps to its meaning… often the act of writing even the simplest document clarified my half-formed ideas. Writing and thinking and learning were the same process. (p. ix) Given these benefits, it follows that teachers who adopt WTL as part of their pedagogy anticipate that writing promotes student learning. Engaging in the act of writing does not automatically enhance student learning, however; research suggests specific conditions need to be met in order for it to be effective. In a meta-analysis of 48 studies of WTL at the K-12 level, Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, and Wilkinson (2004) found that WTL can have a small to medium effect. They found the effect size increased with longer exposure to WTL experiences and when the writing task required metacognition. Further substantiating the latter finding, Hübner et al. (2010) found that WTL had a positive impact on learning when students were explicitly introduced to "specific cognitive and metacognitive strategies of self-regulated learning" (p. 18) and provided with an example of a WTL journal entry that illustrated those strategies. Kieft et al. (2006) found that WTL was more effective if the writing task matched with students' preferred writing approach. Thus, contextual factors influence WTL's impact on learning, the evidence supporting it is ambiguous, and while WTL has potential, it is not a cure-all (Bangert-Drowns et al. 2004; Newell, Koukis, and Boster 2006.).

La escritura como herramienta de aprendizaje significativo: un cuasiexperimento en la clase de ciencias

“…2 (2016) 653-668 del conocimiento. Consideramos que lo anterior es una diferencia clave entre la presente propuesta de escribir para aprender y las actividades que típicamente se proponen a los estudiantes en esta línea pedagógica, en la que se solicita redactar textos para reflexionar sobre algún contenido de aprendizaje, sin atender las exigencias de un género discursivo particular, ni de una audiencia concreta (Fry y Villagomez, 2012;Nevid, Pastva, McClelland, 2012;Nückles, Hubner y Renkl, 2009;Tracie, Stewart, Myers, y Culley, 2010). A nuestro juicio, dichas actividades, aunque valiosas, no explotan todo el potencial de la escritura como herramienta de aprendizaje ya que se centran en reflexionar sobre lo que ya se sabe, más que en generar significado en torno a ese conocimiento.…”

“…(Gradwohl Nash y Schumacher, 1991;Kieft, Rijlaarsdam, van den Bergh, 2008;Kieft, Rijlaarsdam y van den Bergh, 2006;Newell, 2006;Tynjälä, 1998). Esto se debe, por una parte, a que son escasos los estudios que miden de manera rigurosa (pre/postest) resultados entre grupos de comparación y, por otra, a que solo en algunas ocasiones se reportan diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los grupos (Fry y Villagomez, 2012).…”

“…Sin embargo, a nuestro juicio, dichas investigaciones proponen una aproximación de escribir para aprender que no explota todo el potencial de la escritura como herramienta epistémica. En efecto, las tareas en las que se utiliza la composición textual como medio de aprendizaje suelen consistir en actividades relativamente simples como: redacciones breves sobre un tema de estudio, entradas en journals; protocolos de aprendizaje y reflexiones personales, entre otros (Fry y Villagomez, 2012;Nevid, Pastva, McClelland, 2012;Nückles, Hubner y Renkl, 2009;Tracie, Stewart, Myers, y Culley, 2010). En otras palabras, plantean actividades de escritura "desestructurada" en las que el estudiante escribe para comprender o clarificar conceptos científicos (McDermott, 2010), sin considerar las exigencias de una audiencia y de un género discursivo determinado.…”

Writing Instruction for English Learners: Examining Instructional Practices in Fourth-Grade Classrooms

“…Even though children in upper elementary school are expected to produce a wide variety of increasingly complex texts (Pytash & Morgan, 2014), students most often engage in writing to learn (Gilbert & Graham, 2010). Writing to learn is a term used to describe the use of writing as a thinking tool to enhance one's own understanding of a topic (Fry & Villagomez, 2012). While some research has demonstrated the benefits of writing to learn to enhance student learning in the content areas (Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, & Wilkinson, 2004), writing to learn tasks do not usually focus on apprenticing students into learning to negotiate different text genres.…”

Songwriting to Learn: Can Students Learn A&P by Writing Content-Rich Lyrics?

“…Broadly speaking, students' scientific writing assignments can be categorized as "learning to write" (LTW), where the primary emphasis is on communicating effectively, or as "writing to learn" (WTL), where writing is used more as a tool for learning content (Reynolds et al 2012). For WTL advocates, writing is not merely a process of reporting what the writer already knows, but deepening one's understanding of a topic while attempting to write about it (Fry and Villagomez 2012). To the extent that LTW can be distinguished from WTL, we will focus primarily on the latter.…”