Question, Research, Experiment, and Write

Article after article I learned more and will take away even more.  WAC, otherwise known as writing across the curriculum, is used in schools to help students improve their writing skills.  This program utilizes many key ideas from allowing students to express themselves to giving students power over their knowledge.  However, there are always negatives that go along with the positives.  In this case researchers realized that although writing has it’s benefits it can also lead to a silent struggle for some.  Especially for a student that excels in math and science and is suddenly asked to write a paper in this subject.  This poses a problem as the student becomes increasingly focused on the writing components and less focused on the unique content.  Fortunately, after many studies and several personal opinions I believe that WAC’s benefits outweigh it’s drawbacks.  Not only do students become more confident and more knowledgeable in that content area, but they learn the vocabulary of that subject.  Writing is also a means of getting everything you have crammed into your head, out, it’s a way to organize information.

I have learned a great deal not only from researching WAC but from utilizing an online blog source to express my knowledge and my findings.  As this and many other sources reveal, writing is becoming necessary, and without it one may not be able to successfully make it in our changing technological world.

In an article submitted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, researchers are concerned that below average scores for student writing assessments needs to be addressed.  For example in Oregon only 34% of eigth graders in 2004 achieved standards for the writing assessment.  Fortunately, teachers across the area are being informed of a program that may help students achieve better scores.  WAC, otherwise known as writing across the curriculum, incorporates different writing skills into each subject area in different ways.  However, why do we need to pay so much attention to writing now?  Railsback, the author of this article, proclaims:  less time is spent on writing, we have low writing scores, there are new standards for written communication across disciplines, we have limited teacher preparation, there are new tests for graduation and college admission that requires writing, the inadequate preparations for college writing, and the demands of the changing workforce.

Though there appears to be no shortage of anecdotal evidence of program successes—from improving writing scores to helping students make richer connections across subject areas—few high-quality quantitative studies of writing across the curriculum currently exist. The enormous variety among programs, not to mention the number of variables likely to affect student writing and learning, present serious obstacles to designing valid, large-scale studies of WAC’s effects.  (Railsback, Jennifer.  Writing to Learn, Learning to Write:  Revisiting Writing Across the Curriculum in Northwest Secondary Schools.  Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.  Dec. 2004.)

Although there is no hard evidence proving the benefits of WAC there are school systems that are gradually improving by implementing this program.  in fact a study conducted by Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, and Wilkinson in 2004 concluded that secondary students achieved and gained more from subject material by writing about it.  However, they found the adverse affect for middle school students and related this to the developmental difference between the age groups.

While some writing activities may indeed be a good match for more print-oriented students who already have strong reading and writing skills for their grade level, it’s possible that these same activities could limit subject-area learning for students who perform better in other ways. Writing activities that are poorly designed or that ask students to do more than they are developmentally ready for may also have a negative impact on learning. (Railsback, Jennifer.  Writing to Learn, Learning to Write:  Revisiting Writing Across the Curriculum in Northwest Secondary Schools.  Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.  Dec. 2004.)

Although many educators and researchers alike tend to focus on the benefits of WAC it is also important to consider the draw backs.  Firstly we need to remember there are different learners.  Not every student can learn from reading and writing, some may need a hands on experiment in order to learn anything, while another may only need to read something.  yet another factor that we must consider is the writing level of our students.  If they are already struggling with their writing skills imagine giving that student a writing assignment in math, a subject they excel in.  This assignment may hinder their ability to fully understand the material because they are so concerned about the writing process that they completely loose focus on the content.  Even thought there are enormous benefits that I think outweigh the negatives, WAC is a program that can help students become better and more powerful writers.  It is a tool that can never be replaced or taken away, once you can express yourself and your knowledge you begin to understand the world around you better a little at a time.

I realize most everyone knows that writing across the curriculum enhances a student’s knowledge of that subject.  However, Steve Peha explores some overlooked benefits of utilizing this program within a school system.  He begins by stating five reasons:  written output is a great way to assess student knowledge, writing is the essential skill students need as they enter adult life, helping students learn to express themselves with confidence in all subject areas can contribute to improvements in behavior and self-esteem, students who write clearly, think clearly. And students who think clearly have a better chance of navigating their way through the obstacles of adolescence, and finally Writing is power.

Peha explains that as our culture focuses on getting more and more information packed into our heads, we need a way of organizing that information and getting out, and writing does exactly that.

Ultimately, writing is power. It is the power students need to understand and control their
lives, to shape their future and define their dreams. Students who do not learn to wield this
power will find themselves severely handicapped as they move on from the relative ease of
adolescence—and the cozy confines of our protective custody—to confront the immense
challenges of adult life. It’s up to us as their teachers, to show students what writing can do for
them when it is done well. (Peha, Steve.  Writing Across the Curriculum.  1995-2008)

Steve goes on to explain different approaches to writing a teacher can take in their subject area.  For instance if you are teaching science you can have students write lab reports, journals, research grant proposals, and business presentations.  So we now have the necessary real world writing but how do we make students interested?  We need to make the topics relate able to students.  If music is what they are interested in then have a student write a paper relating the music during World War II to the events that happened during the war.  Remind students to employ the essential components of writing:  role, format, audience, purpose and approach.  After and only after a student can master these basic skills for writing in any subject they will be on their way to a liberal education.

This was probably one of the most interesting pieces I have read about WAC.  This teacher explores not only the obvious but the much overlooked benefits of writing.  In fact he goes along with what I had written in my first edublog:

Yes I poemize my feelings, how I feel and why
I believe that writing gives me a way out of my mind for some time,
that to prevent from going insane I let what is festering inside,
out
because after all, talking to myself within my room would just look crazy
However, I have to admit that I do tend to do it sometimes

Elizabeth Carr

Writing is a powerful and necessary art to master for everyone and the better one knows how to utilize it then the better off they will be.  If you are interested in a sheet that lays everything out in chart form click on the link to the article because Steve has a wonderful tool for any future teacher.  It is an easy step by step guide for incorporating writing into your subject area.  In fact seeing as how I am an Earth Science Major, I myself have learned some unique and interesting ways I can use writing as a way to engage students further in the subject and experiments they are conducting.  Writing doesn’t have to be something students dread, writing can be fun and the more practice a student has, the better they become and the more power they will have.

Full Text Article:  Peha, Steve. Writing Across the Curriculum. 1995-2008

WAC, meaning writing across the curriculum is being suggested to mothers that prefer home schooling.  This idea is being presented as a shortcut, although most mothers would think otherwise.  In fact Kautzer, the author of this article, states that it eliminates a entire subject focused on teaching writing.  Instead, students can focus on writing in other subjects which will benifit them in the long run.

…students use their writing assignments to explore other areas of study. Not only does this kind of writing boost a student’s writing ability, it helps him better understand the content and specialized vocabulary of a particular subject.  (Kautzer, Kim.  Writing Across the Curriculum.  Write Shop:  An Incremental Writing Program.  2004.)

Kautzer further explains creative ways to incorporate certain types of writing into other subjects.  For example a mother can take something as easy as describing an object and incorporate that into a science lesson.  Firstly the mother needs to find an object they are currently studying in science or will study, such as a robin’s nest and have the child describe that rather than a matchbox car.

Children gain a better understanding of the subject area as they take in information, brainstorm, and then write.  A benifit of this system being, it cuts lesson planning on mom’s part and creates less work for the students by combining the two.  The result is also benificial as students begin to see the connection throughout their subjects and connect the pieces more quickly.

I never honestly thought about home schooling before, let alone WAC applied to this type of schooling.  However, I do see how beneficial this program can be no matter what schooling a student is in.  Writing across the curriculum opens student’s eyes to that subject and the vocabulary that goes along with that subject.  Mothers that are hesitant to use this program argue that writing should be taught as a separate subject.  Fortunately, Kautzer has found a way to incorporate the two that not only benefits the students but also the mother.

Full Text Article:  Kautzer, Kim. Writing Across the Curriculum. Write Shop:  An Incremental Writing Program.  2004.

In a recent article, published on Mooresville Tribune’s website, an experimental system is underway in the North Carolina public schools.  For this school year 2008-09 state writing assessments have quadrupled, requiring students to undergo an aggressive writing program.

As a result of changes adopted by the State Board of Education in June, fourth and seventh grade students will complete four writing assessments – two on-demand, prompt-guided tests following the same format as the previous examination and two content-specific assessments, which will take several days and examine the entire writing process – during this school year’s pilot program. (Skutnick, Melinda. Local schools not sure what to expect from pilot testing program.  Mooresville Tribune.  28 Nov. 2008)

This pilot system encourages teachers to focus on the writing process.  However, this will mean more work for teachers but they aren’t expecting that it will cost them any more classroom time.  Another change being implemented this year for seventh graders is the use of a word processor.  Seventh graders are required to type their responses according to the MGSD’s Digital Conversion.

After reading this article I was thrilled to find a pilot system was underway.  However, the results won’t be published until next year but it will be interesting to see what affect this has on students.  Oddly enough I did notice that their main focus would be on the writing process which really made me question whether or not this system will work.  If students are encouraged to pump out five paragraph essays including:  an introductory paragraph with thesis, three supporting body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph restating the thesis, then how on earth will they learn to be creative?  I understand the necessity to learn the basics of writing, because without knowing the rules you can’t properly brake them.  Unfortunately, for these student I feel they will become some of the best robotic writers by the end of this pilot system.  Sadly enough, their scores will more than likely rise as this writing process is exactly what the state assessments are looking for.

Although this is a wonderful way of incorporating writing across the curriculum in a school system I really hope these students learn to become better writers, not just regurgitators.  It is easy to write a five paragraph essay, but can these students easily switch to an argumentative essay or a scientific research paper?  In fact even now that I am in college the five paragraph essay has become obsilete.  Just recently I wrote a scientific paper disproving Walley’s theory; the Gulf Stream Current is the reason Western Europe has milder winters than that of Eastern North America.  In this thirteen page paper I had to figure out how to construct an abstract, followed by an introduction, followed by data, resuslts, graphs, text, and lastly a conclusion.  I think it’s important to understand that the writing process for every subject changes.  After all I had to figure out exactly what an abstract was composed.  I also had to teach myself how to neatly incorporate data and graphs into my text without taking away from what I was trying to prove.  It is this simple notion, that not every subject uses the five paragraph essay, that I hope will be taught in the school systems.

Full Article:  kutnick, Melinda. Local schools not sure what to expect from pilot testing program. Mooresville Tribune. 28 Nov. 2008.