The aim of the study at hand is to generate knowledge about what pupils aged nine to ten years old need to discern in order to develop the ability to write stories with a well-developed, exciting and coherent plot, and how teaching can make it possible for the pupils to develop this ability. The theoretical framework has been Variation Theory. It is a theory of learning that focuses on how discernment of aspects affects the way we perceive our world and how variation can be used to promote learning. A basic assumption is that we learn by seeing differences, not by seeing sameness. Learning Study was used to answer the research questions. It is an interventionist approach, where the focus is on an object of learning, in this case the ability to write stories with a well-developed, exciting and coherent plot. In the research process the aim was to find out which aspects were critical for the pupils to discern in order to develop the ability, and how these could be made visible in the teaching. Together with a group of teachers, lessons were planned, implemented, evaluated and refined in an iterative process. Interview data, pupils’ texts written before and after the lessons and video recordings from the lessons were the basis of the analysis. It was found that in order for these learners to handle the object of learning, they needed to discern eight critical aspects that can be related to two different areas: (a) discerning the perspective of a reader and (b) seeing that a plot consists of several problems and solutions. The aspects were made discernible by using contrast as a pedagogical tool. The result of the study contributes to previous research by identifying and specifying what the pupils need to discern, what it means in a classroom setting and how it can be taught in a powerful way.

Professional growth is a complex process that requires thoughtful planning, persistence in execution, collaboration, and a common goal if it is to be successful. Classroom teachers have many opportunities to participate in professional development, but experiences vary and it is important to determine which have the greatest effect. The purpose of this comparative study was to examine the strengths and differences of three models of professional learning communities involved in a three-year project to improve writing instruction in kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms. Based on the work of Routman (2008a), professional staffs at treatment schools were involved in a multi-year, inter-divisional, professional learning community. Teachers and principals in the project participated in one of three experiences of varying intensity. Results are compared to a control group of schools. The study design takes a pragmatic worldview and utilizes mixed methodology to conduct an ex post facto, quasi-experimental analysis. Artifacts collected from 2009 to 2012 include questionnaires, written self-evaluations, and samples of student writing, that were examined to determine the degree and nature of change in principals’ increased perceptiveness of the school literacy team, teachers’ increased sense of efficacy in writing instruction, and significant changes in student writing. These are compared to samples from a control group of schools that were not involved in the experience. Several aspects of this multi-year project bring to light three critical observations. First, real-time, live experiences with an expert facilitator have a dramatic effect on teacher learning. Second, students in the first four years at school are capable of much more sophistication in writing than is generally expected. Third, principals’ involvement as educational leaders is critical to enduring teacher change and ongoing student improvement. / February 2017

This study aims to investigate the effects of the &ldquo / PLEASE&rdquo / (a general paragraph writing strategy ) writing strategy instruction through the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model on descriptive writing of fifth grade English language learners studying in a private primary school in Istanbul. The current study specifically focuses on if instruction on pre-writing planning through the SRSD model results in improvements in students&rsquo / written products, planning behaviors and self-beliefs as writers. For the study, eight fifth grade students participated in a writing club activity offered by the researcher at school. They were taught strategies for planning and drafting descriptive paragraphs, and the procedures for regulating the use of these strategies and the writing process itself. The data collection tools included comparison of students&rsquo / final pieces of writing in terms of overall quality and length, retrospective verbal protocols, individual interviews, and questionnaires all of which were conducted both at the pre-intervention and the post-intervention phases. As a result, the pre-test and the post-test writing scores indicated that each student experienced improvement in terms of overall quality and length of the written products. The strategy training helped students become more aware of the need for pre-writing planning and they started to engage in planning prior to writing in real practice. After the treatment, the students also experienced increased self-confidence.

Includes vita. / Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 323 pages. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: Peer response in which students work together in dyads or small groups to critique and provide feedback on one another's writing is compatible with communicative approaches to foreign language teaching and process approaches to the teaching of writing. Computer-mediated communication has been considered a viable tool for both the teaching of languages and the teaching of writing. There is, however, scant information on how computer-mediated peer response functions in the foreign language classroom. This dissertation investigated how college Spanish learners provided feedback to their peers and the impact of feedback on revision. It also examined the factors that influenced how students wrote their comments, and how they perceived the use of computers for peer response. Case study methodology was used to collect and analyze data from two writing tasks performed as part of a semester-long course. / ABSTRACT: Data sources consisted of written feedback, first and second drafts, interview transcripts, learning journals from 12 participants and the teacher-researcher field notes. Analysis of data indicated that peer response is a complex event, influenced by a variety of contextual factors. Results also indicated that the participants used feedback depending on their needs. Students used reacting, advising and announcing language functions when providing feedback, and focused mostly on content. The revisions made by the participants contradicted the idea that peer feedback directly influences revision; more than half of the revisions made by the participants originated in the writers themselves and not in the suggestions given by their peers. Analysis of the revisions made, based on peers' suggestions indicated that the impact of peer response was strong on the length of the essays, limited on their language below the clause level, and weak on the essays' communicative purpose. / ABSTRACT: The participants' language proficiency and the characteristics of the writing task were perceived by the participants as factors that influenced how they wrote feedback for their peers. Finally, although the students considered that using the word processing language tools allowed them to learn about language and focus on content, the role of technology was perceived as supplementary to oral peer response / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This dissertation presents the findings of an on-line survey completed by 222 FYC (First Year Composition) instructors at universities and community colleges across the United States along with supplemental information derived from multiple open-ended interviews with seven FYC instructors in Arizona. Both survey and interview questions were designed to accomplish three primary goals: to determine which conventions of academic English FYC instructors identify as most important; to understand the common problems encountered by instructors in teaching those conventions, and; to solicit instructors' perceptions about ways in which learning outcomes might be improved. Results indicate general consensus among FYC instructors on which skills are both the most critical to academic English proficiency and the most difficult for their students to learn. At the same time, the survey and interview responses reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the ways in which academic English sequences are currently structured, apparently related to the instructors' common perception that the sequences are only "somewhat" successful in terms of preparing students for successful academic writing. Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of FYC instructors suggest changes for increasing the effectiveness of their programs; however, there is surprisingly little agreement among them on what those changes should be. The concluding section of this study presents pragmatic suggestions - congruent with a number of the instructors' observations - for reconfiguring FYC sequences. Additionally, it is argued that, aside from the targeted skills addressed by the instructors, the survey and interview responses indicate that academic English has been implicitly invested with culture-specific values which should be made explicit in instruction and which, given the gatekeeping status of FYC courses, the increasing diversity of student populations and the growing divide between the academic and wider cultures, require critical examination.

This study was aimed at addressing the adolescent learners’ writing needs by assessing teachers’ needs on writing instruction across the disciplines in Grades 9 and 10 in one school in Southwestern Ontario. The research employed a mixed-methods approach using qualitative data from focus group and one-on-one interviews, and quantitative data collected through document analysis. The data revealed that there is a range of beliefs about writing instruction and that participating teachers offer many valuable writing opportunities to their students; however, there is a reluctance to provide more instructional time on writing according to the content area. The findings also pointed to the influence school administrators have in leading the instructional program. These findings concur with existing literature on writing instruction and the role principals play in literacy instruction.

This study was aimed at addressing the adolescent learners’ writing needs by assessing teachers’ needs on writing instruction across the disciplines in Grades 9 and 10 in one school in Southwestern Ontario. The research employed a mixed-methods approach using qualitative data from focus group and one-on-one interviews, and quantitative data collected through document analysis. The data revealed that there is a range of beliefs about writing instruction and that participating teachers offer many valuable writing opportunities to their students; however, there is a reluctance to provide more instructional time on writing according to the content area. The findings also pointed to the influence school administrators have in leading the instructional program. These findings concur with existing literature on writing instruction and the role principals play in literacy instruction.

Tidigare forskning visar att användandet av datorer gynnar elevers skrivande genom den hjälp de kan få av olika ordbehandlingsprogram. Forskning har också visat att det finns en risk att lärare väljer bort datorn i undervisningen om de egna kunskaperna eller det egna intresset inte tycks vara tillräckligt. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka faktorer lärare upplever påverkar dem att använda datorer i undervisningen för att utveckla elevers skrivande i åk 4-6. För att besvara studiens syfte ställs följande frågeställningar: Vad beskriver lärarna påverkar dem att använda datorer i sin undervisning? Vilka faktorer behöver, enligt lärarna, utvecklas eller förändras för att arbetet med datorer ska bli mer gynnsamt för elevernas skrivutveckling? Studien är en kvalitativ studie genomförd med semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex  verksamma lärare i ämnet svenska i årskurs 4-6. Studien inspireras av den sociokulturella teorin. Resultatet visar att det är flera faktorer som påverkar. Bland annat tillgången till datorer men också lärares intresse och kunskaper. / Previous research has shown that the use of computers in education is good for students’ writing development. Research has also shown that there could be a risk that teachers choose to not use computers in education because of their own lack of knowledge and interest. The aim of this study is to explore what factors teachers experience affect them to use computers in teaching to develop students’ writing in grades 4-6. To answer this, the following questions were asked: •What do the teachers describe influence them to use computers in their teaching? • What factors, according to the teachers, need to be developed or changed in order for computer work to be more beneficial for students' writing development? This study is a qualitative study based on interviews with six teachers in the Swedish subject in grade 4-6. The study is inspired by the sociocultural perspective. The result shows that there are several factors that affect. For example, access to computers but also teachers’ interests and knowledge.

Creative writing is a well-established approach to teaching English in the L2 classroom, with the Swedish curriculum including it among its core contents section. There is however a lack of research done on the field, especially when it pertains to learner engagement. As such, this study investigates to what extent engagement in learners can be fostered and facilitated for creative writing. The method used is an analysis of the empirical studies performed on the subject to this date, with the aim of making conclusions based on their findings. Some of the conclusions made from those are that learner engagement can be fostered and facilitated in creative writing, but any exercise should take into concern the learners’ own interests and capabilities. The results also suggest including feedback and revision in every creative writing exercise to extend the time spent on any given project, leading to higher engagement levels in the given exercise. The results of the analysed studies do suggest a clear picture of the advantages of creative writing for engagement, but the lack of research on the subject, both in a Swedish and international context, coupled with creative writing’s central role in the classroom suggests more research needs to be done on the subject.

Peer response in which students work together in dyads or small groups to critique and provide feedback on one another's writing is compatible with communicative approaches to foreign language teaching and process approaches to the teaching of writing. Computer-mediated communication has been considered a viable tool for both the teaching of languages and the teaching of writing. There is, however, scant information on how computer-mediated peer response functions in the foreign language classroom. This dissertation investigated how college Spanish learners provided feedback to their peers and the impact of feedback on revision. It also examined the factors that influenced how students wrote their comments, and how they perceived the use of computers for peer response. Case study methodology was used to collect and analyze data from two writing tasks performed as part of a semester-long course. Data sources consisted of written feedback, first and second drafts, interview transcripts, learning journals from 12 participants and the teacher-researcher field notes. Analysis of data indicated that peer response is a complex event, influenced by a variety of contextual factors. Results also indicated that the participants used feedback depending on their needs. Students used reacting, advising and announcing language functions when providing feedback, and focused mostly on content. The revisions made by the participants contradicted the idea that peer feedback directly influences revision; more than half of the revisions made by the participants originated in the writers themselves and not in the suggestions given by their peers. Analysis of the revisions made, based on peers' suggestions indicated that the impact of peer response was strong on the length of the essays, limited on their language below the clause level, and weak on the essays' communicative purpose. The participants' language proficiency and the characteristics of the writing task were perceived by the participants as factors that influenced how they wrote feedback for their peers. Finally, although the students considered that using the word processing language tools allowed them to learn about language and focus on content, the role of technology was perceived as supplementary to oral peer response.