Writing: A Collaboration of Teachers, Families and Children

http://goo.gl/WhlgNKDanielle L. DeFauw, Ph.D.

daniellp@umich.eduMichigan Reading Association 58th Annual Conference

March 16, 2014

Items of Discussion

• Background• Extensive Course Description• Mentor Text• Case Study• Next Steps• Questions

Background

• Need to prepare preservice and inservice teachers to teach writing to students of all ages (National Commission on Writing, 2003)

• 27% of 8th graders and 12th graders performed proficiently on the NAEP writing assessment (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012)

• Personal Experience– Course Work– Oakland University’s Reading Clinic

Course Description

• Writing Workshop– Teacher-writers

• (Graves, 1983; Murray,1985)

– 7 weeks

• Writing Clinic– Implement writing instruction– 6 weeks

CAEP (2013)

• Standard 1: – CONTENT AND PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

• The provider ensures that candidates develop a deep understanding of the critical concepts and principles of their discipline and, by completion, are able to use discipline-specific practices flexibly to advance the learning of all students toward attainment of college and career-readiness standards.

CAEP (2013)

• Standard 2: – CLINICAL PARTNERSHIPS AND PRACTICE

• The provider ensures that effective partnerships and high-quality clinical practice are central to preparation so that candidates develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to demonstrate positive impact on all P-12 students’ learning.

Required Reading

Anderson, C. (2000). How's it going?: A practical guide to conferring with student writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Dorfman, L. R., & Cappelli, R. (2009). Nonfiction mentor texts: Teaching informational writing through children’s literature K-8. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Portalupi, J., & Fletcher, R. J. (2004). Teaching the qualities of writing: Ideas, design, language, presentation. Portsmouth, NH: Firsthand. Heard, G. (2002). The revision toolbox: Teaching techniques that work.

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Rief, L. (2003). 100 quickwrites: Fast and effective freewriting exercises that

build students’ confidence, develop their fluency, and bring out the writer in every student. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Young, J. (2010). R is for rhyme. (Illus. V. Juhasz). Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press.

Online Lectures & Articles

Session I•Teach writing! But I hate to write!•Writing Workshop: The what, how, when, and why

– DeFauw, D. L. (2011). A challenge to write. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 374. doi: 10.1598/RT.64.5.11

– Engel, T., & Streich, R. (2006). Yes, there is room for soup in the curriculum: Achieving accountability in a collaboratively planned writing program. The Reading Teacher, 59(7), 660-679.

Online Lectures & Articles

Session II•The Heart of Reading Workshop: The Writing Conference•Writing Details for Fiction Using Mentor Text

– Sturgell, I. (2008). Touchstone texts: Fertile ground for creativity. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 411-414. doi:10.1598/RT.61.5.5

– Rickards, D., & Hawes, S. (2006). Connecting reading and writing through author's craft. The Reading Teacher, 60(4), 370-373.

Online Lectures & Articles

Session III•The art of supporting unmotivated writers•Revision! It’s hard enough to get my students to complete a rough draft!

– Graham, S., Harris, K. R., Fink-Chorzempa, B., & MacArthur, C. (2003). Primary grade teachers’ instructional adaptations for struggling writers: A national survey. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(2), 279-292.

– Smede, S. D. (2000). Interior design: Revision as focus. English Journal, 90(10), 117-121.

Online Lectures & Articles

Session IV•The Details of PoetrySession V•Writing Details for Nonfiction Using Mentor Text

– Morgan, D. N. (2010), Writing feature articles with intermediate students. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 181-189. doi:10.1598/RT.64.3.3

Online Lectures & Articles

Session VI•Authentic Writing for Test Preparation – Is that even possible?

– DeFauw, D. L. (2013). 10 writing opportunities to “teach to the test.” The Reading Teacher 66(7), 569-573. doi:10.1002/TRTR.1161

– Duke, N. K., Purcell-Gates, V., Hall, L. A., & Tower, C. (2006). Authentic literacy activities for developing comprehension and writing. The Reading Teacher, 60(4), 344-355.

– Graves, D. H. (2004).What I’ve learned from teachers of writing. Language Arts, 82(2), 88-94.

Online Lectures & Articles

Session VII•Writing Rubrics: Inform Your Teaching

– Andrade, H. L. (formerly Andrade, H. G.), Du, Y., & Wang, X. (2008). Putting rubrics to the test: The effect of a model, criteria generation, and rubric-referenced self-assessment on elementary school students’ writing. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 27(2), 3-13.

– Jonsson, A., & Svingby, G. (2007). The use of scoring rubrics: Reliability, validity and educational consequences. Educational Research Review, 2(2), 130-144.

– Hamp-Lyons, L. (2002). The scope of writing assessment. Assessing Writing, 8(1), 5-16.

– Romeo, L. (2008). Informal writing assessment linked to instruction: A continuous process for teachers, students, and parents. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 24(1), 25-51.

– Ruttle, K. (2004). What goes on inside my head when I'm writing? A case study of 8-9-year-old boys. Literacy, 38(2), 71-77.

EXPS 498/598 Course Schedule

• Exploring Writing with Children & Adolescents– Writing Workshop

• 60 minutes– Focus / Mini Lesson

» Mentor Text– Independent Writing (Conferencing)– Share

– Writing Clinic• 6:10 – 7:30

Writing Clinic

• 15 students invited from an elementary school– Academic Service Learning

• EXPS 498/598 students teach the elementary students

• Family members of the elementary students work with the professor– Writing Tips to support home – school connections

Theoretical Framework

• Social Learning/Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977)– Modeling

• Teachers & Families

– Self-efficacy (Graham et al., 2001)• Modeling writing (Atwell, 1998, Graves, 1983,

Murray, 1985)

Research Design

• Case Study (Merriam, 1998)– Particularistic– Descriptive– Heuristic– Comparative

• Constant Comparative Method (Lincoln & Guba, 1985)

• Consistently Reflective Stance & Comparative Description (Stake, 2005)

Teachers

Literature Review

• Few universities require teachers complete a writing methods course (National Commission on Writing, 2003)– Examples (Grisham & Wolsey, 2011; Morgan, 2010)

• Secondary teachers’ experiences (Street & Stang, 2008)• Elementary teachers’ experiences (Fearn & Farnan, 2007;

Pardo, 2006)– Three preservice teachers completed a field experience (Stockinger,

2007)

Questions

• What understandings and perceptions do preservice and inservice teachers have about themselves as writers and teaching writing prior to engaging in EXPS 498/598, Exploring Writing with Children & Adolescents?

• How will preservice and inservice teachers’ understandings and perceptions change by the end of the course?

Data Sources

• Surveys (Gallavan, Bowles, & Young, 2007)– EXPS 498/598 Students (pre & post)– Student Teachers (April 2013 & Dec. 2013)

• Interviews (Street, 2003)• Video & Audio Recordings

– Class Sessions

• Documents

Surveys

• Feelings toward writing process– Personal– Students

• Agree/Disagree: Teacher educators express concerns that teacher candidates are not proficient in their knowledge, skills, and dispositions to [the following writing concerns]:

Survey: Writing Concerns

1. Write correctly and clearly2. Communicate effectively through various

writing formats.3. Teach writing appropriately to preK-12

students.

Survey: Writing Concerns

4. Integrate writing authentically across the curriculum.

5. Guide preK-12 student writing supportively as essential for learning and living.

6. Reflect personally and professionally through writing.

Survey: Items III & IV

• Give a rationale for your response of agree or disagree and/or a reaction to the writing concern.

• Give suggestions to improve this writing-related concern.

Interviews

• Writing History Essay (Morgan, 2010)• Semi-structured questioning (Merton, Fiske, &

Kendall, 1956)• Open-ended nature of questioning (Yin, 1994)

Interview Questions (Street, 2003)

• Describe – yourself as a writer– positive / negative writing experience– easiest / hardest part of writing– kind of writing do you do just for you?

• What makes a piece of writing excellent?• Professional contributions• How do you think you will most help writers?

Documents: Graded Assignments*Assignment EXPS 498 EXXPS 598Writing History Essay No Grade No Grade*Writer’s Notebook with Try-It Tasks 5% 5%*Group Unit of Study / Focus Lessons / Mentor Texts

20% 10%

Publishing Opportunities 5% 5%Conferencing Notebook 20% 10%LibraryThing.com 5% 5%*Narrative Piece 5% 5%*Expository Piece 5% 5%*Poetry Piece 5% 5%Model Focus Lesson NA 5%*Field Note Journal 10% 5%M-Portfolio / Reflection 20% 10%Final Project NA 30%

Documents

• Formative Assessment Freewrites– Concept Mapping– Personal Letter– Top Ten Points Learned

Results

• Pre- & Post-Study Surveys• Pre- & Post-Study Interviews• Audio & Video Recordings – transcribed• Documents• Student Teacher Surveys

Survey

• Data for Item I: Teacher Candidates’ Feelings About Writing and the Writing Process– How do you feel about writing and the writing

process? (pre/post); (50 student teachers)• Highly Value (5/5); (90%) Somewhat value (1/0); (10%);

Do not value (0/0); (0%)

– How do you feel about writing and the writing process for your students? (pre/post); (50 student teachers)

• Highly Value (5/5); (94%) Somewhat value (1/1); (6%); Do not value (0/0); (0%)

Survey Continued

Data for Items II & III•Write correctly and clearly. (pre/post); (50 student teachers)

– Agree (2/3); (72%); Disagree (4/2); (28%)A: “Educators are continuously progressing their

knowledge and skills…PD, PLC, etc.”D: “I feel like there is not enough preparation for

teachers to teach writing.” “There are no courses related to writing – to teaching it.”

Survey Continued

Data for Items II & III•Communicate effectively through various writing formats. (pre/post); (50 student teachers)

– Agree (1/3); (64%); Disagree (5/2); (36%)• A: “Teachers communicate effectively daily with their…

instruction.” “Teachers are able to communicate through various formats.”

• D: “Teachers are not provided enough information on teaching writing and…[so they] teach how they were taught.” “The candidates may not be familiar with the formats or may misinterpret the directions.” “I have received many emails…poorly written.”

Survey Continued

Data for Items II & III•Teach writing appropriately for preK-12 students. (pre/post); (50 student teachers)

– Agree (3/1); (45%); Disagree (2/4); (55%)• A: “Teachers are able to teach writing…they may not feel…

prepared for it.” “Depends on the subject area and grade…” “You can’t sum all teachers in one summary.”

• D: “Some teachers have learned to lecture instead of model.” “We are simply thrown ‘the latest and greatest’ new tool without much instruction in how to use it.” “…not enough training in how to teach writing and/or do not write enough for themselves.

Survey Continued

Data for Items II & III•Integrate writing authentically across the curriculum. (pre/post); (50 student teachers)

– Agree (1/1); (45%); Disagree (5/4); (55%)• A: “…through their various forms of informal assessments,

writing notebooks, letters to the community…”• D: “time consuming”• D: “We’re told to do it and not how.”

Survey ContinuedData for Items II & III•Guide preK-12 student writing supportively as essential for learning and living. (pre/post) (50 student teachers)

– Agree (2/3); (54%); Disagree (4/2); (46%)• A: “All of us stress the importance of…writing as a key…of

survival in the world.” “…connecting real-world concepts…” “Writing goes to the wayside when teachers get busy.”

• D: “Writing can seem like…a dueling task…to many teachers who are not comfortable with it.”

• D: “Teachers tend to ‘grade’ writing instead of offering guidance.”

Survey ContinuedData for Items II & III•Reflect personally and professionally through writing. (pre/post); (50 student teachers)

– Agree (3/4); (78%); Disagree (2/1); (22%); No response (1/0)

• A: “I write 2 weekly blogs reflecting on my personal and professional experience.” “There is not a lesson that I am not expected to reflect on.”

• D: “Teachers view writing as busy work rather than an opportunity to reflect (as witnessed at PDs).”

• D: “Some may write ‘robotically’ in a dry manner as to appear professional.”

Survey Continued

Data for Item IV•Give suggestions to improve this writing-related concern.

– Provide professional development and courses on writing workshop & professional communication.

– Teach writing strategies• Integrate across the curriculum

– Writing assignments for reflection and in various genres

– Allow for more collaboration

Pre-Interview

Participants Attitudes Toward Writing

Self-Confidence Regarding Writing

School Writing Experiences

Shelly improving but reluctant

developing generally poor until college

Elizabeth improving but reluctant

developing generally poor until college

Megan improving but anxious

developing positive

Debbie improving with excitement

developing generally poor until this course

Avery positive high generally poor

Julie positive high positive

Positive & Negative Experiences

• Only 1 student shared positive high school writing experiences, which focused on teachers’ perceptions of her writing ability.

• 4/6 students shared positive college writing experiences, all in narrative genres.

Easy & Hard Aspects

• Easy aspects included personal expression, organization for some, and idea generation.

• Hard aspects included grammar, format, topic interest, voice, and lack of time.– “…allowing [my] voice to come through and…

grabbing [my] reader’s attention.”

Personal Uses of Writing

• Reflection on personal matters• Letters to parents, administrators• College assignments

– “I think that one of the reasons that I like to write personally is because I write about things that move me, things that I’m passionate about, things that I care about….when I’m writing for an assignment…I lose some of that emotion…passion and…rawness.”

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Strengths included feeling they could motivate students to write through free topic choice and patience. – “I have positive energy and great topic ideas that

spark their interest.”

• Weaknesses included teaching the writers and not the writing, grading, knowing what to teach and how to teach.– “I struggle with helping them generate their own

ideas without me putting my ideas on their paper.”

Documents

Points to remember Percentage of commentsMentor Text 20

Supporting Writers 17

Conferencing 13

Modeling 13

Poetry 6

Writing workshop 3

Nonfiction writing 3

Publication Opportunities 2

Handwriting 1

Themes

• Writing Workshop• Mentor Text• Teacher as Model• Personal Writing

Writing Workshop

1. “I have realized that a writing workshop does not seem impossible like I once thought.”

2. “Any writing issue can be made into a focus lesson.”

3. “I need to perfect the length of my focus lessons…most of the time should be devoted to independent writing.”

Mentor Text

4. “Never did I think to use great reading to teach great writing!”

5. “Whenever you read new material read it like a writer. Think of ways you can use the material to teach your students about writing.”

6. “Teaching non-fiction doesn’t always have to involve stale books.”

Teacher as Model

7. “So in a way just me writing more has opened my eyes to helping kids just letting them write.”

8. “You need to model and show your students how a good writer revises.”

9. “Keeping [a writer’s notebook] for myself is extremely valuable…my students’ eyes light up…[when] I ask them ‘Do you mind if I share some of my writing with you?’”

Teacher as Model

10.“Modeling is extremely important especially in my writer’s notebook with my personal stories. Sharing these personal moments really helps…writing [come] ‘alive’ and draws my students in.”

Personal Writing

11.“[Mentor texts] play an important role in my writing, students’ writing, and teaching.”

12.“Write. Write to improve your writing and to be an example to your students.”

13.“I want…to share my writing so [my students] will be encouraged to write.”

Implications

• Preservice and inservice teachers need to learn writing instruction methodology.

• University instruction must challenge and positively influence students’ writing attitudes.

Families

Literature Review

• Writing clinic for parents of teens– (Fleischer & Pavlock, 2011)

• Writing clinic for parents of middle school students– (McClay et al., 2012)

• Reading Clinic with Elementary Students– (DeFauw & Burton, 2008-09)

Questions

• What understandings and perceptions do families of the children participating in the writing clinic have about their children’s writing development?

• How will families’ understanding and perceptions change by the end of the focus group sessions?

Data Sources

• Field Note Journal• Video & Audio Recordings• Documents

– Lesson Plans– Family Writing Samples

Session Topics

• Dialogue journals• Writer’s notebooks• Handwriting• Library visits• Reading aloud• Mentor text• Writing

Session I

• Introduction• What do you hope to get out of this experience?• What are your questions?

– Surprises• Writer’s Notebooks• Dialogue Journals• Mother & Daughter Connection

Session II

• Shannon, D. (2008). Too many toys. New York, NY: The Blue Sky Press. – Freewrite– Discussed connections to various genres

• (i.e., narrative, informational, how-to, opinion, persuasive)

Session III & IV

• Lloyd-Jones, S. (2011). How to be a baby…by me, the big sister. (Illus. S. Heap). New York, NY: Dragonfly Books. – Shared writing

• How to be a kid

• Read, Reread, List, Compose– Strategy to support nonfiction writing from sources

Session V

• Nonfiction writing tips– Review various nonfiction books– Discuss nonfiction text features– Discuss opinion vs. fact

Session VI

• The stories that bind us (Feiler, 2013)– Write letters to our children

• Author Celebration

Implications

• Families are their children’s first teachers.– Modeling

• Supporting home – school connections• Families want to help their children

– Provide strategies & support

Students

Literature Review

• Writing process approach (Atwell, 1998; Graves, 1983; Murray, 1985)

• Mentor text (Dorfman & Cappelli, 2009)• Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977; Pajares, 1996)

Writing Clinic for Students

• EXPS 498/598 students select two genres to explore:– Poetry or narrative– Nonfiction

• Explanatory / informational• opinion / persuasive

Questions

• How will children’s writing abilities change from participating in the writing clinic?

• How will students’ understanding and perceptions change by the end of the writing clinic?

Data Sources

• Writing Attitude Survey (Kear et al., 2000)• Writing Interview (Atwell, 1998)• Video & Audio Recordings

– Writing Celebration (April 18, 2013)– After session discussions with EXPS 498/598

students

• Documents• EXPS 498/598 Field Note Journals

Learning From Our Students

• “I was so nervous to work with them, but with the books, it’s not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.”

• “She’s so quiet and won’t even talk to me. But she did read me her poetry.”

• “There’s so much that’s hurting her that she needs to write.”

• “She can’t wait to read her writing to her mom.”

Next Steps

EXPS 498/598

• Continue this study– Course offerings

• Preservice teachers’ attitudes toward writing measuring tool (Hall & Grisham-Brown, 2011)

– Student teachers (Hall & Grisham-Brow, 2011; Street, 2003)

– New teachers

• Focus on nonfiction writing• Quantitative writing studies

– (Newell et al., 2013)

More Questions than Answers

• How do we impact children’s writing attitudes?• How will student teaching and the first years of

teaching be impacted by writing assessment?• Do teachers have to identify themselves as

writers to teach writing?• Questions & Comments?

References

Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers.Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). (2013). Commission on standards

and performance reporting. [Incomplete citation]DeFauw, D. L., & Burton, E. L. (2008-09). Listening to the parents of struggling readers: An analysis of a parent focus group. Michigan Reading Journal, 41(1), 30-38.Fearn, L., & Farnan, N. (2007). The influence of professional development on young writers’

writing performance. Action in Teacher Education, 29(2), 17-28.Feiler, B. (March 17, 2013). The stories that bind us. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://

www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

Fleischer, C., & Pavlock, K. C. (2012). Inviting parents in: Expanding our community base to support writing. English Journal, 101(4), 29-36.

Gallavan, N. P., Bowles, F. A., Young, C. T. (2007). Learning to write and writing to learn: Insights from teacher candidates. Action in Teacher Education, 29(2), 61-69.

References

Graves, D. H. (1983). Writing: Teachers and children at work. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Graham, S., Harris, K. R., Fink, B., & MacArthur, C. A. (2001). Teacher efficacy in writing: A

construct validation with primary grade teachers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 56, 177-202.

Grisham, D. L., & Wosley, T. D. (2011). Writing instruction for teacher candidates: Strengthening a weak curricular area. Literacy Research and Instruction, 50, 348-364.

Hall, A., & Grisham-Brown, J. (2011). Writing development over time: Examining preservice teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about writing. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 32(2), 148-158.

Kear, D. J., Coffman, G. A., McKenna, M. C., & Abrosio, A. L. (2000). Measuring attitude toward writing: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 10 – 23.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.McClay, J. K., Peterson, S. S., & Nixon, R. (2012). Parents and communities as partners in teaching

writing in Canadian middle school classrooms. Middle School Journal, 44(1), 44-52.

References

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Merton, R. K., Fiske, M., & Kendall, P. L. (1956). The focused interview: A manual of problems and procedures. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

Morgan, D. N. (2010). Preservice teachers as writers. Literacy Research and Instruction, 49, 352-365.

Murray, D. (1985). A writer teaches writing (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.National Center for Education Statistics. (2012, September). The nation’s report card: Writing.

Retrieved February 2, 2013, from nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pubs/main2011/2012470.aspNational Commission on Writing. (2003, April). The neglected R: The need for a writing revolution.

Washington, DC: College Entrance Examination Board. Retrieved August 22, 2009, from www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/writingcom/neglectedr.pdf

References

Newell, G., VanDerheide, J., Bradley, A., Goff, B., Weyand, L., Olsen, A. A., Ryu, S. (2013, February). Recontextualizing as teaching: Using instructional chains to study argumentative writing instruction. Paper presented at the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly of Research, Columbus, OH.Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Review of Educational Research, 66

(4), 543-578. Pardo, L. S. (2006). The role of context in learning to teach writing: What teacher educators need

to know to support beginning urban teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 57(4), 378-394.

Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative researcher (3rd ed., pp. 443-466). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Stockinger, P. C. (2007). Living in, learning from, looking back, breaking through in English language arts methods courses: A case study of two preservice teachers. English Education, 39(3), 201-225.

References

Street, C. (2003). Pre-service teachers' attitudes about writing and learning to teach writing: Implications for teacher educators. Teacher Education Quarterly, 30(3), 33-50.

Street, C., & Stang, K. (2008). Improving the teaching of writing across the curriculum: A model for teaching in-service secondary teachers to write. Action in Teacher Education, 30(1), 37-49.

Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.