The dual problem space model of writing (Scardamalia, Bereiter and Steinbach,
1984) shows how writers develop their knowledge and understanding of the world
by reflecting on problems of substance and problems of presentation in planning a
composition. Reflective thought is attributed to a two-way communication
between a content problem space and a rhetorical problem space. The content
space involves the development of ideas, while the rhetorical space is concerned
with achieving various purposes in composition.
This thesis reports an instructional experiment comparing alternative approaches to
teaching the self-regulatory strategies required for the two-way process of
reflection. The experiment compared the dialogue approach of current practice,
which relies on the teacher to provide the linking operations between the two
problem spaces, with two experimental approaches which promote development of
self-regulatory strategies of reflection, so that students are able to sustain such a
two-way process independently. The experimental approaches are described as a
guided discovery approach proposed by Evans (1991) and an approach described
as cognitive apprenticeship developed by Scardamalia, Bereiter and Steinbach
(1984).
Three instructional programs were prepared by the author to represent the three
alternative approaches examined in the present study. The control program utilised
the dialogue approach of current practice in which the dialectical process is carried
on between teacher and student. The two experimental programs focused on promoting processes of self-questioning rather than questioning by an external
agent such as a teacher. The guided discovery program consisted of activities
which prompted self-questioning processes. The cognitive apprenticeship program
employed scaffolding in the form of procedural facilitation cues to stimulate the
self-questioning process.
A pre-test and post-test control group design was used involving three groups, two
experimental (guided discovery and cognitive apprenticeship) and one control
(dialogue), with instructional method as the independent variable and rated
reflectiveness of writing as the dependent variable. Instruction was concentrated on
teaching the two-way problem formulating and problem solving strategies of the
reflective process for opinion essays and factual exposition essays. The experiment
compared the effectiveness of programs by measuring changes in overall
reflectiveness of writing. Significant improvements were obtained for the
experimental teaching methods withrespect to opinion essays. This research
provided some support for the hypothesis that instruction which fosters self-regulation
of the planning process through processes of reflection results in more
reflective writing than instruction in which such regulation is prompted by the
teacher.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218741 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Agafonoff, Annabel, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Professional & Community Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Annabel Agafonoff |
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