The current study adopted features of a survey research design to examine the EFL high school teachers' beliefs about writing and its teaching, their actual classroom practices, and the interplays between their beliefs and practices in the realm of EFL writing instruction. A sample of seventy-six EFL teachers from the eight selected high schools…

Education practitioners such as teachers play an imperative role in translating learning among students and understanding their belief systems and practices is central in the reshaping of educational policy and instructional practice. This study employed a case study design to explore teachers' beliefs and pedagogical practices in teaching second…

In this article, I describe my reflections on developing student authors through a class research project. I review the assignment origins and description and my role in the students' developmental journey from transforming a class assignment to a publishable work. (Contains 1 figure.)

In this article the author draws on the concept of positioning to examine how language is used during one particular fifth-grade writing lesson to construct both the lesson and the participants. The author's analysis of the classroom interactions makes visible how participants colluded to position one student in particular, Larnell, as a "bad, bad…

Authentic discussions about writing are the sorts of conversations that professional or experienced writers might have, where writers explore purpose, effect, clarity, and interpretation. These discussions help students develop "writing skills and strategies because students are able to work at progressively higher levels with the guidance and…

The purpose of this study was to examine students' experiences and perceptions of multiple interaction activities (self-directed, peer, and teacher feedback) implemented in a large multilevel EFL writing class in one private technological university in the southern part of Taiwan. Large size writing classes, quite common in private institutions of…

Although interest plays a large role in motivation and confidence, we need a clearer understanding of how teachers and classroom practices can influence students' interest for the act of writing. Rebecca L. Lipstein and K. Ann Renninger studied the perceptions of 178 students in grades 7, 8, and 9 to develop this understanding. They offer…

When your school or district wants to do more to help all teachers become effective teachers of reading and writing, here's a book that will show you how to maximize your efforts through differentiated literacy coaching. This research-based, school-proven approach helps you implement eight professional development formats ranging from coplanning…

A study was conducted to test the notion that effective business writing can be taught with half the "usual" number of teacher-graded papers, thereby allowing teachers to devote more of their time to more creative teaching strategies. Ten instructors and 29 sections of an informational writing class were involved in the study. The design of the…

Two secondary classroom teachers and teacher educators in the English education program share their beliefs about and experiences with teaching writing. They discuss the importance of writing with a sense of purpose, of keeping one's audience in mind and of considering the role of the teachers to get the students fired up.

The teacher's body has a dubious status within contemporary pedagogic practice. The impact of progressivism in many western countries, with its emphasis on student-centred learning, has resulted in a marginalisation of the teacher's role in many classrooms. While its influence appears to be waning, in Australian primary schools, student-centred…

A question which is essential to writing is--"What am I doing?" The writer and the writing continually adjust to maintain a balance with the exigencies of the task. The question launches the writer into text by forcing a definition of the subject, situation, audience, and other such practical matters. The question, however, also pulls…

Majority of middle level students should be able to comprehend texts if teachers first prepare students for learning, provide adequate support during reading, and help students expend and apply what they have read to situations outside text. Suggested techniques include using graphic organizers and pattern guides to outline narrative and…

Writer-teachers in the classroom offer two characteristics central to teaching students to write. The first is the writer's concern and respect for the students' own language and experience, and the second is the writer's broadly conceived sense of audience in the classroom. Writers try to maintain the connection between their students' own…

Visualizing during reading, choosing just-right books, using a table of contents, and peer editing are strategies used by skilled readers and writers. This book contends that there is no better way to teach them than through minilessons. Minilessons provide strategic, focused instructions that children can put to immediate use. The book offers the…