Developing writing across and in school subjects: Introduction to special issue
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2023.15.01.01Keywords:
writing in subjects, socio-cultural practice, content specific writing, developing writingAbstract
Within the sociocultural theory of writing, texts are seen to result from cultural and social practices that affect the structure, content, and production of them in different knowledge communities. Accordingly, writing is not the same across subjects or contexts. Focusing on writing in subjects other than Language arts, this special contributes to understanding subject-specific writing involving both discipline specific knowledge, knowledge of representation, and production of knowledge in different, subject specific writing contexts. The issue advocates that disciplinary writing can start at an early age in primary school, that students have a range of preparedness for it, and that writing skills can be developed to support the learning objectives of the subject. The introduction considers the perspectives of writing to learn and learning to write as the underpinnings of writing across and in subjects. Consequently, the studies in the issue are related to these perspectives. The content areas scrutinized are Craft Education, Civics, Environmental studies, Science and Science orientation. This issue reflects the multifaceted, contextual, and hybrid forms writing can take, and, how writing can support learning in changing contexts and with different contents.
References
Applebee, A. N., & Langer, J. (2011). A snapshot of writing instruction in middle schools and high schools. Review of Educational Research, 54(4), 577–596.
Barton, D., & Hamilton, M. (2000). Literacy Practices. In M. Hamilton, R. Ivanic, & D. Barton (Eds.), Situated Literacies: Reading and Writing in Context, (pp. 7–15). Routledge.
Bazerman, C. (2016). What do sociocultural studies of writing tell us about learning to write. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 11–23). The Guilford Press.
Bazerman, C., Little, J., Bethel, L., Chavkin, T., Fouquette, D., & Garufis, J. (2005). Reference Guide to Writing Across the Curriculum. The WAC Clearinghouse.
Bangert-Drowns, R. L., Hurley, M. M., & Wilkinson, B. (2004). The effects of school-based writing-to-learn interventions on academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 74, 29–58.
Childers, P. B., & Lowry, M. L. (2012). Introduction to Writing Across the Curriculum in secondary schools. Special issue of Across the Disciplines: A Journal of Language, Learning, and Academic Writing, 8. http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/second_educ/index.cfm.
Graham, S., Harris, K., & Santangelo, T. (2015). Research-based writing practices and the common core: Meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. The Elementary School Journal, 115( 4), 498–522. https://doi.org/10.1086/681964
Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2011). Writing-to-read: A meta-analysis of the impact of writing and writing instruction on reading. Harvard Educational Review, 81, 710–744.
https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.81.4.t2k0m13756113566
Graham, S., Kiuhara, S. A., & MacKay, M. (2020). The Effects of Writing on Learning in Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 90(2), 179–226. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654320914744
Graham, S., McKeown, D., Kiuhara, S., & Harris, K. R. (2012). A meta-analysis of writing instruction
for students in the elementary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 879–896. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0029185
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2004). An introduction to functional grammar (3rd ed.). Arnold.
Hebert, M., Bohaty, J. J., Nelson, J. & Roehling, J. V. (2018). Writing informational text using provided information and text structures: an intervention for upper elementary struggling writers. Reading and Writing 31, 2165-2190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9841-x
Herder, A., Berenst, J., de Glopper, K., & Koole, T. (2020). Sharing knowledge with peers: Epistemic displays in collaborative writing of primary school children. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 24, 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2020.100378
Hertzberg, F., & Roe, A. (2016). Writing in the content areas: a Norwegian case study. Reading and Writing, 29, 555–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-015-9607-7
Juzwik, M. M., Curcic, S., Wolbers, K., Moxley, K. D., Dimling, L. M., & Shankland, R. K. (2006). Writing into the 21st century: An overview of research on writing, 1999 to 2004. Written Communication, 23(4), 451-476. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088306291619
Klein, P.D., & Boscolo, P. (2016). Trends in research on writing as a learning activity. Journal of Writing Research, 7(3), 311- 350. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2016.07.03.01
Klein, P.D., Boscolo, P., Gelati, C., & Kirkpatrick, L.C. (2014). New directions in writing as a learning activity. In P.D. Klein, P. Boscolo, L.C. Kirkpatrick, & C. Gelati (Eds.), Writing as a learning activity. Studies in Writing (28) (pp. 1–14). Brill.
Martin, J.R. (2000). Grammar meets genre – reflections on the ‘Sydney School’. Arts: the journal of the Sydney University Arts Association 22. 47-95.
Miller, D. M., Scott, C.E., & McTIgue, E. M. (2018). Writing in the secondary-level disciplines: A systematic review of context, cognition, and content. Educational Psychology Review, 30(1), 83-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9393-z
Nokes, J. (2010). Observing literacy practices in history classrooms. Theory & Research in Social Education, 38(4), 515–544. https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2010.10473438
Nykopp, M., Marttunen, M., & Laurinen, L. (2014). University students´ knowledge construction during face to face collaborative writing. In P.D. Klein, P. Boscolo, L. Kirkpatrick, & C. Gelati (Eds.), Writing as a Learning Activity. Studies in Writing (28) (pp. 277–299). Brill.
Olinghouse, N. G., Graham, S., & Gillespie, A. (2015). The relationship of discourse and topic knowledge to fifth graders’ writing performance. Journal of Educational Psychology 107(2), 391-406. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0037549
Rose, D. (2012). Genre in the Sydney School. In J.P. Gee & M. Handford (Eds.) The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 209-225). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Rose, D. (2016). Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the ‘Sydney School’. In N. Artemeva, & A. Freedman (Eds.) Genre studies around the globe: Beyond the three traditions (pp. 299-338). Trafford Publishing.
Rose, D., & Martin, J. R. (2012). Learning to write, reading to learn: Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the Sydney school. Equinox Publishing.
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2004). The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective. Routledge.
Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 40-59,279.
https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.78.1.v62444321p602101
Shanahan, C., & Shanahan, T. (2014). Does disciplinary literacy have a place in elementary school?. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 636-639. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1257
Strong, J. Z. (2020). Investigating a Text Structure Intervention for Reading and Writing in Grades 4 and 5. Reading Research Quarterly 55(4), 545–551. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.356
Williams, J. P. (2018). Text structure instruction: the research is moving forward. Reading and Writing 31, 1923–1935. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9909-7
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Sara Routarinne, Riitta Juvonen, Johanna Pentikäinen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.
