Argumentative writing by junior high school students: Discourse knowledge and writing performance / Escritura argumentativa en alumnos de secundaria: Conocimiento sobre el discurso y rendimiento en la escritura

This study examined junior high school students' knowledge about the process of argumentative writing and whether discourse knowledge predicted students' writing performance. Participants were 26 ninth grade students (aged 13-15). Students wrote an argumentative text and responded to questions assessing their declarative knowledge about writing in general, and their declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge about argumentative writing in particular. Students' responses describing the argumentative writing process were mainly centred on substantive and production procedures, on abilities associated with writing and on seeking assistance for text composing. Descriptions were mainly focused on opinion writing, omitting the importance of taking an argumentative position and of using evidence to support arguments and counterarguments. A reduced number of students considered the need to accommodate their writing to a potential reader. In addition, knowledge of substantive procedures and knowledge of reader's fit were significantly correlated with writing quality and planning complexity

'Does it work?' Adapting evidence-based practices to teach argumentative writing

The current study examined the impact of adapting an evidence-based instructional approach to develop ninth-grade students' argumentative writing and self-regulated strategy use. Following the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model, strategies to plan and write argumentative texts were implemented in two Portuguese classrooms. The model relies heavily on the use of mnemonic strategies to support instruction. Thus, incremental effects of using dual-coding mnemonics (i.e., visual and verbal mnemonics) were explored when implementing SRSD instruction. For the first group (n = 23), SRSD instruction included verbal and visual mnemonics; for the second group (n = 25), SRSD instruction included verbal mnemonics alone. Groups were compared with a control group (n= 25) receiving standard writing instruction. The following findings were significant: a) SRSD instruction increased writing quality, organising, and spontaneous planning; b) dual-coding mnemonics enhanced writing quality, development of ideas, organising, language clarity, and spontaneous planning; c) national exams completed 15 weeks after instruction reinforced the effectiveness of the adapted SRSD strategies. The process of culturally adapting and implementing SRSD instruction to teach argumentative writing will be discussed, including the potential incremental effects of adding visual mnemonics to the SRSD instructional routine

More than meets the eye: Self-regulated strategy development for teaching argumentative writing

This multi-method study investigated the impact of an intervention designed to promote ninth-grade studentsí writing performance, strategy use, and discourse knowledge of argumentative writing. Following the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model, strategies to plan and write argumentative essays were implemented in two whole-classroom settings. Twenty three students received SRSD instruction combining verbal and visual mnemonics to support learning and recall; twenty five students received SRSD instruction including verbal mnemonics alone. Groups were compared with a control group of 30 students randomly drawn from the remaining four ninth-grade classes receiving standard writing instruction. Results of multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) and follow-up univariate tests supported the incremental effects of combining verbal and visual mnemonics to the SRSD instructional routine, with meaningful effects on studentsí writing performance and reported use of non-genre-specific personal strategies at posttest. National exams completed 15 weeks after instruction reinforced the effectiveness of the implemented SRSD strategies

Teaching writing to middle school students in Portugal and in Brazil: An exploratory study

Learning how to write is a challenging process, typically developed in schools. Teachers' practices in teaching writing, however, have been under researched. The aim of this study was to survey a sample of teachers from Portugal (n = 96) and Brazil (n = 99) about their practices for and perceptions about writing instruction. Teachers reported on time devoted to student writing and the teaching of writing, on their practices to promote students' self-regulated writing, adaptations for less skilled writers, and their perceptions about writing and the teaching of writing. Findings from this survey raised concerns about the quality of writing instruction in both countries. Teachers reported little time devoted for writing and the teaching of writing in their classes. The majority of the teachers rarely used practices to promote students' self-regulated writing or applied explicit teaching methods for writing instruction. Both Portuguese and Brazilian teachers perceived writing as a shared responsibility. Brazilian teachers, however, agreed with this perception more strongly. Portuguese teachers' perception of the importance of writing for students' academic and professional success was higher than the perceptions held by Brazilian teachers. A positive correlation was found between teachers' preparation to teach writing and their practices to promote students' self-regulated writing. The implications of these findings are discussed

Measuring self-regulated learning processes with interview tasks and stimulated recall

This investigation aimed to examine how self-regulation processes occur during tasks involving information seeking on the Web. Another objective was to understand how high school students grasp opportunities to develop self-regulated learning within a Web environment and how they perceived this process. This study presents two case studies where interview tasks and stimulated recall were used to highlight the complexity involved in self-regulated learning processes and to promote the development of self-regulatory skills at a metacognitive and motivational level. Results from cluster analysis revealed how students appropriate options that allow them to make choices as they actively participate in the construction of learning and understand how self-regulated learning processes occur. Specifically, the students involved in the case studies first analyzed the task's instructions and later, regulated their decision making processes throughout the task depending on the quality and reliability of the information they retrieved from the Web. These processes involved dynamic information seeking where students went back to the Web as they found necessary in order to obtain further information or to clarify doubts so as to complete the task's demands and reach the task's defined objectives. This study contributes to the discussion of assessment tools that capture the multidimensionality and dynamics of the processes involved in the self-regulation of learning and allow for an awareness of the processes adopted

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