“Writing to learn requires that students use different kinds of knowledge at different times.” This one sentence stood out most to me. All students have knowledge, but can they access the appropriate knowledge when needed? By using the writing to learn strategies, teachers can easily see specifically what students do and don’t understand in a content area. Just because a student “knows” something does not mean they understand it or can think critically through the process of the information. One strategy in chapter 8 that I liked a lot was asking the students to write an explanation of a particular topic in a way that a younger child could understand. I think that this is a good strategy because students have to manipulate the knowledge they have into a simpler version, which in turn can help them relate and understand the topic better themselves.
In the Knipper and Duggan article, it not only kept stating that “writing to learn engages students” but also it gives students a chance to question what they know about a topic. Questions are contagious (as has been demonstrated in our class :)) but when they are topic related, students can gain a lot not only from their own questions but from the questions of their peers. The article gave several strategies and ideas about writing to learn and how the processes could be carried out. I feel like I could definitely incorporate some of those strategies into my future classroom. It was beneficial to see the different styles of “note taking” in the article. I for one never was taught to take notes so being able to see the different ways hopefully will help me in both school and in my classroom.
Questions:
Does writing to learn across the curriculum really help students to think creatively? (I can see how it would make them think critically, but not really creatively when they are limited to what they can write about)
How does pre-writing help students before they read about a topic, especially if they do not have any prior knowledge?
Brittany, you have a good question about whether or not writing makes students think creatively. I think it definitely makes students think more, but some have a hard time getting their full thoughts on paper. Another thought is that they may not get the whole point across because they may be more worried about how they are writing and whether it is acceptable or not.
ReplyDeleteI also see where you are coming from when you ask about prior knowledge. In my opinion, that would have to be informal and students would need to share aloud to help the students who do not have any prior knowledge. They can then participate in a writing activity afterwards about what they learned.
Hi Brittany,
ReplyDeleteFirst, hope Tucker and Tanner are enjoying this fall weather! About your post, I love your opening statement, “Writing to learn requires that students use different kinds of knowledge at different times.” That phrase, "diff kinds of knowledge" is an important one I think. How can we facilitate as many opp for students to access different types of knowledge? Also, just thinking about Tucker and Tanner again, I like that you point to the idea of writing for a younger person to understand, which seems to me a way to show understanding by cutting through any jargon that so often just gets picked up and regurgitated. Like a bird. That's my quirky ending, and also my stab at your first question. :) Dr. B