Similar to how students go through the process of "learning to read" to "reading to learn," they also shift from "learning to write" to "writing to learn." Considering students' learning styles are as unique as their fingerprints, students need multiple ways to acquire content material as well as multiple ways to represent their knowledge (UDL). One way for students to effectively demonstrate their understanding of content is through writing. Writing encourages the use of higher-order thinking (HOT) skills, necessary for the student to become an independent learner in an ever-changing world.
Students, including myself, can read chapter after chapter in a textbook. However, when asked to recall information, many of us struggle because we failed to interact with the text. Therefore, we may rely on familiar reading comprehension strategies to increase our understanding of material. These may include the K-W-L chart, graphic organizers, and the SQ3R strategy. Although each of these incorporate writing and increase comprehension by requiring the reader to actively engage with the text, writing, in itself, is a strategy that can significantly increase one's understanding of content material.
Writing to learn can take many forms. Just as we should prepare our
minds before we read using the 4Ps, we should also prepare our minds
before we "learn." Writing is an effective way to activate our prior
knowledge before a new lesson. Furthermore, while we should also use what we read immediately i.e. create graphic organizer, we can use what we learned during a lesson by creating an exit slip.
Simply, writing to learn strategies enhances one's understanding of
content material and should be an integral part of every lesson in every
classroom.
Unfortunately, I, like many more students, do not particularly like writing because the focus has always been on mechanics versus content and getting the information down on paper. While writing to learn strategies can inform the teacher about students' writing abilities, students should have opportunities to write without the added pressure of ensuring there are no errors. For this reason, I particularly think quick writes should be a part of every classroom. As a student myself, it is such a relief when I can just put words down on paper without feeling like I have to pick and choose what to write so it is grammatically correct to avoid being penalized. Therefore, I also agree with the use of checklists and rubrics in assessment students' written work. Both of these are intended to provide students with clear expectations as well as assist teachers with the time-consuming task of grading students' work.
As a parent, I have had the privilege of watching both of my children learn to read and write.
With my daughter in third grade, she is now expected to read text and acquire information from the material (reading to learn). However, she has yet to make the writing to learn shift. For example, while assisting her with her science fair project, she had no problems explaining it to me; however, she struggled to write the summary, repeatedly stopping to ask me questions both about how to spell words as well as to clarify her thoughts and increase her understanding. Based on her oral summary, it appeared she understood the experiment, but her writing attempt revealed otherwise, providing me with an opportunity to help her see how writing can actually help us learn and eliminate gaps in our understanding.
Writing serves many purposes across the curriculum. Ultimately, it contributes to our metacognition development which is imperative for us to become independent learners.
QUESTIONS:
1) With the recent implementation of CCSS, it seems the focus is now more on what you write/writing to learn (content) versus how you write/learning to write (grammar, etc.). Is this true?
2) It is 2012 and technology is everywhere. Is it necessary that students actually "write" or could this umbrella incorporate other forms of written expression including typing, texting, etc.?
*For example, I am not looking forward to the writing component of the Praxis II because I do not enjoy writing, particularly because my hand starts hurting. Typing (a form of written expression) is so much more appealing and convenient. It allows me to focus on putting the words on paper versus on the discomfort in my hand. In reality, how many people "write" anymore? We send emails versus writing letters. We take notes on our computer versus in a notebook. We type our assignments versus writing them on notebook paper.
