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The Chilean curriculum for writing education includes five paradigms: "cultural," "macro-linguistic," "micro-linguistic," "procedural," and "communicative." The implementation of such a poly-paradigmatic curriculum can occur in multiple ways. Therefore, we analyzed classroom practices with two aims: (a) to describe how the paradigms are evident across practices, and (b) to analyze the paradigms' internal alignment within each practice. We conducted classroom observations with five Spanish language teachers with varied orientations toward writing instruction. A content analysis of teachers' discourse formed the basis for a narrative case-by-case analysis and a cross-case analysis. This process was guided by data collected during a previous survey study and supported by teachers' interviews. Findings revealed that the "cultural," "macro- and micro-linguistic" paradigms were implemented most often, while the implementation of "procedural" and "communicative" paradigms was rare. Additionally, paradigm alignment was visible in two practices but not in other practices. Possible reasons for this lack of integration and potential solutions to resolve this issue are discussed.

Elke Van Steendam, Anne Toorenaar,Journal of Writing Research 1(1), 53-83In this paper we discuss the role of observation in learning to write. We argue that the acquisition of skill in such a complex domain as writing relies on observation, the classical imitatio. An important phase in learning to write, at all ages, is learning to write by observing and evaluating relevant processes: writing processes, reading processes or communication processes between writers and readers.First, we present two practical cases: writing lessons in which observation and inquiry are amongst other key elements and where students participate in a community of learners. Then, we review research that may inspire and substantiate proposals for implementing observation as a learning activity in writing education. Two types of studies are discussed: studies in which learners acquire strategies by observing and evaluating writing and reading processes of peers, as a prewriting instructional activity, and studies in which learners are stimulated to 'pre-test' and then revise their first draft, as a post writing instructional activity. The paper closes with some recommendations for further research.

The current two studies examined the effects of an instructional unit on synthesis writing for 9th grade students on holistic text quality. Because students' writing routines have been shown to affect the effectiveness of writing instruction, we designed a unit that aimed to be equally effective for all writers, regardless of their routines. On two occasions in the unit, we provided students with options to choose between a Preplanning or Drafting strategy. They could create an individual learning path within the unit. We tested the effects of the unit in two consecutive studies with independent samples, using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with switching panels. Study 1 included three teachers and 152 9th grade students from five classes in one school. We found a significant effect of the unit on text quality in both panels. However, analyses showed that this effect was moderated by writing routine. To generalize the effect across writing routines, we provided students in Study 2 with an extra session on metacognitive knowledge about (synthesis) writing processes, enabling them to make better-informed strategy choices. Study 2 included six teachers and 233 students from 10 classes in three schools, all different from Study 1. Analyses again showed a significant effect of the experimental condition in panel 1, which was replicated in panel 2. Moreover, the effect was no longer moderated by writing routine. This indicates that the redesigned intervention was equally effective for students with different routines.

This intervention study aimed to test the effect of writing process feedback. Sixty-five Grade 10 students received a personal report based on keystroke logging data, including information on several writing process aspects. Participants compared their writing process to exemplar processes of equally scoring (position-setting condition) or higher-scoring students (feed-forward condition). The effect of the feedback on writing performance and process was compared to a national baseline study. Results showed that feed-forward process feedback had an effect on text quality comparable to one grade of regular schooling. The feedback had an effect on production, pausing, revision, and source use, which indicates that it supported participants in self-regulating their writing process. Additionally, we explored the students' perception of the feedback to get an insight into its strengths and weaknesses. This study shows the potential of writing process feedback and discusses pedagogical implications and options for future research.

In this study we examine process configurations in synthesis tasks. We study whether these configurations are students traits or vary within students per task. In a national survey with a representative sample of 658 Dutch upper-secondary school students, we collected writing tasks, registered students' writing behaviors (via keylogging) and their task perceptions and assessed the quality of their texts. Each participant completed two informative and two argumentative synthesis tasks. Writing process configurations were based on a preselected set of writing behaviors that proved to be related to text quality: time spent on sources and production activities, switching between sources and between sources and text production, and speed of production; with reference to the phase in the process (first, mid, final part). Latent profile analyses distilled four process configurations, some of which were more likely to occur with the informative genre. One process configuration, that is, "Fast text production," was related to qualitatively higher text quality scores than the others. Additionally, at the age of 16-18 a writing process configuration is not a student trait: in most instances, we observed two or more task configurations within students. Writers' task experiences such as topic knowledge and topic interest predicted the occurrence of certain process configurations which could indicate adaptivity. The finding that writing configurations of writers vary even between similar tasks has important implications for the generalizability of (synthesis) writing research on the basis of a single writing task and process per student.

This study examines "specific" exploration activities in students' visual arts portfolios from secondary education. Creating original visual arts products requires exploration according to Getzels and Csiksentmihalyi ("The creative vision. A longitudinal study of problem finding in Art." New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1976). Obtaining insight about the contribution of "specific" exploration activities to the originality of arts products is important for designing and supporting learning in arts education. The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of activities within three types of exploration: "association," "combination," and "abstraction" to originality of visual arts designs. Data consist of 196 portfolio events showing exploration activities and art designs, from 11 Grade 11 visual arts students. Portfolio events were coded for three different types of exploration: "association," "combination," and "abstraction," on a dimension of ascending "abstractness." We coded activities within each of these types, on a scale of "remoteness," to determine the metaphorical distance. Visual originality of each portfolio event was assessed using the comparative judgment method. Multilevel regression analyses showed all three types of exploration significantly contributed to originality of visual designs. In total, 31% of the variance in originality at portfolio events level was explained by these types of exploration. In general, the more "remote" exploration activities were, the more "original" the visual design. These findings are discussed related to the literature on creative processes.

Studies have shown that inferential questions encourage a more in-depth understanding of texts and that students need to learn appropriate strategies for answering them, particularly when they deal with multiple texts. In this experimental study, the authors aimed to improve eighth-grade students' (13- to 14-years old) ability to answer intra- and intertextual inferential questions when they read one or multiple complementary texts. The intervention was implemented by a group of middle-school history teachers. Teachers in both the intervention and control groups (IG and CG, respectively) taught the same teaching unit using the same reading materials. However, teachers in the IG participated in 12 hours of professional development seminars on analysis of their classroom practice and how to improve their questioning strategies. Post-intervention results revealed that students in the IG were significantly better than those in the CG at answering intra- and intertextual inferential questions. This difference was maintained at follow-up (2 months after finishing the intervention). Students in the IG also performed better than those in the CG at a learning test. These results confirm the value of teaching students how to answer complex questions, especially when they refer to more than one text. The findings also support the value of the professional development program that enables teachers to reflect on their practice.

Source-based writing is a common but difficult task in history and philosophy. Students are usually taught how to write a good text in language classes. However, it is also important to address discipline-specificity in writing, a topic likely to be taught by content teachers. In order to design discipline-specific writing instruction, research needs to identify which reading and writing activities during the source-based writing process affect students' thought process quality and text quality, as assessed by content teachers. We conducted a think-aloud study with 15 (11th grade) students who performed two source-based writing assignments, each representative of its discipline. From the data, we derived 11 activities, which we analyzed for duration, frequency, and time of occurrence. Results showed that the disciplines required different approaches to writing. For philosophy, the writing process was dominant and influenced quality, leading us to conclude that philosophical thinking and writing are intertwined. For history, the planning process appeared to be paramount, but it influenced text quality only and not the quality of the thought process. In other words, historical thinking and writing appear to be separate processes. Our findings can be used to develop strategy instruction that reinforces better writing, adapted to discipline-specific writing processes.

This study aimed to establish (a) whether teaching students revision skills provides benefit over and above teaching strategies for setting explicit goals for the communicative effect of their text, and (b) whether teaching students to adopt specific revision strategies provides benefits over revision instruction that focusses on increasing students' awareness of audience needs. Six classes of Spanish sixth-grade students (N = 107, 11-12 years) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. In all three conditions students were taught to set communicative goals. Students in the Strategy Focused condition were then taught a 6-step revision strategy. Students in the Reader Focused condition observed a reader trying to comprehend a text and suggesting ways in which it might be improved. Students in a control condition continued with goal-setting practice. Students' writing performance was assessed through composition and revision tasks before and immediately after intervention, 2 months post-intervention, and for transfer to an untaught genre. Writing performance and revision skills improved more in the two revision-instruction conditions than for students in the control condition. The improvements were large, persistent and transferred to a different type of text. We found no statistically significant differences between the two revision conditions. Findings suggest that specific revision instruction benefits sixth-grade students' writing performance and revision skills, but that strategy-focused and reader-focused approaches are similarly effective.

We implemented an intervention of four lessons and tested the effects of two instructional modes as compared to the regular curriculum practices for completing a synthesis task at the preparatory program of a Turkish university. Participants were 48 upper-intermediate English as a Foreign Language learners (mean age = 18) assigned to three conditions. The presentational condition received direct strategy instruction supported by mnemonics; the modeling condition observed a video of a peer doing the task using the same strategies mnemonic. In the control condition, there was no explicit reference to strategies; rather, students inferred the necessary information about writing an effective synthesis text from the instruction and the lesson materials. We hypothesized that both of the experimental conditions would have a positive effect on students' synthesis text quality and writing processes and that modeling of explicit strategy use would have an effect over and above the other conditions. Results showed that students in the modeling condition improved their source use skills significantly more than students in the presentational condition, which was maintained in the delayed posttest four weeks later. No statistically significant condition effect was observed for content and authenticity of students' texts. The modeling condition also showed and reported a more process-oriented approach to writing.

Dialogical argumentation practice contributes positively to argumentative writing skills. Specifically, deliberative dialogues are effective in promoting argument and counterargument integration in students' essays. However, the potential of dialogic activities may be increased if they are combined with instructional practices. The primary objective of this research is to compare the impact of four intervention programs, aimed at improving argumentative synthesis writing from conflicting sources. The four programs resulted from the combination of two instructional components (Explicit Instruction through video modelling--EI, or a Procedural Guideline--G), while Deliberative Dialogues--DD--were a constant element. We conducted a pre-post quasi-experimental study in which 186 Spanish third grade secondary school students (aged 14-15) participated. We evaluated the quality of the syntheses by examining the level of argumentative coverage (the total number of arguments included in the synthesis) and the level of integration (the type and frequency of the argumentative strategies used in the syntheses). The results showed that the effectiveness of the instructional methods varies according to the synthesis quality indicator. Explicit instruction, in combination with deliberative dialogues, was especially helpful in improving the level of integration of syntheses. The procedural guideline, in combination with deliberative dialogues, contributed significantly to the coverage of arguments. The combination of these two elements did not favor the writing of synthesis as expected, probably due to the conditions in which the intervention was carried out. The findings of this study revealed that the coverage of arguments and integration processes are of different nature, follow different learning paths and require different instructional processes.

This paper presents a secondary analysis of data collected during an intervention study in which students learnt to synthesise pairs of texts presenting opposite views on controversial issues. The original intervention study included two treatments and examined the effects of two instruction conditions when instructional materials and tasks were held constant. The participants were 114 undergraduate psychology students. The object of the instruction was a guide on strategies for writing an argumentative synthesis text. However, the instruction varied between explicit strategy instruction, consisting of explaining each of the process's four phases (exploring and identifying arguments and counterarguments, contrasting positions, drawing an integrative conclusion, and organising and revising the final draft), modelled via videos, versus self-study of the written strategy guide. After the initial instruction session, the students in both groups practiced collaboratively writing synthesis texts over two sessions with access to the strategy guide. The primary study compared the individually written pre- and posttest syntheses and found statistically significant differences favouring explicit instruction in both dependent variables: the argumentation coverage and the level of integration. The secondary analysis reported in the current paper involved scoring additional written syntheses produced during two practice sessions and then analysing the data for all time points (pretest, posttest, and the two practice sessions) using structural equation modelling (SEM) to test whether explicit instruction directly or indirectly affected the two indicators of good argumentative synthesis texts--argument coverage and integration--via the following collaborative practice. The results suggested two different learning paths for both dependent variables: explicit instruction is effective for both variables, while collaborative practice only has an additional indirect effect on argument coverage.

In order to design effective instruction and feedback for synthesis writing on both writing processes and products, a clear insight into synthesis writing processes underlying a high-quality synthesis text is crucial. That is why this study, as one of the first, examines the use of sources during synthesis writing processes, and its effect on text quality. The writing processes of 294 Dutch secondary students (grade 10-12) were logged using keystroke logging software Inputlog. Two different synthesis text genres were investigated of which three source-related process measures were analysed: the relative time spent in the sources, the transitions per minute between the sources, and the transitions per minute between the synthesis text and the sources. First, the study explored the effect of temporal distribution and genre (argumentative or informative synthesis) on the writing process, providing insights into the distribution of source-related writing activities over the process intervals and the possible influence of genre on this distribution. Secondly, the individual source-related process measures were linked to text quality. Thirdly, via polynomial regression analyses, the various source-related activities and their temporal distribution were taken into account in an integrated way to identify patterns of effective source use. These patterns vary across genre and explain a considerable amount of variance in the data (24.6% for argumentative synthesis texts, 16.2% for informative synthesis texts). Our findings can be used to develop process-oriented feedback, giving students an insight into their synthesis writing process.

The aim of this study was to test whether Cummins' Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis (LIH) might also apply to writing, by determining to what extent writers' text quality, source use and argumentation behavior are related in L1 and L2, how effective writers' behavior is and whether their L2 proficiency influenced the relations between them. To answer these questions, twenty students wrote four short argumentative source based essays each in L1 (Dutch) and four in L2 (English). A within-writer cross-linguistic comparison of their texts revealed that their L1 and L2 writing competencies appear to be related. Furthermore, writers' source use behavior differed to some extent between languages, but the strong positive correlations found between source use features suggest that in most cases this was more a person than a language effect. Similarly, for argumentation behavior, results showed some learner specific features (e.g. inclusion of titles and reference lists), but differences between languages for others (e.g. the inclusion of both arguments and counter-arguments). Effects of the different source use and argumentation features studied on text quality were limited and no clear effect of L2 proficiency on writers' behavior or their influence on text quality were found. Overall, in line with earlier research, these findings provide some additional support for Cummins' LIH and the idea that writers might have a common underlying source for writing related knowledge and practices which they can apply in multiple languages.

The present experimental study examined whether a different focus during a pre-task planning observation task affects learners' subsequent oral task performance. Forty-eight ninth-grade students learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to two different planning conditions: video observations with a focus on language (FonL) and video observations with a focus on content (FonC). With a communicative oral task we measured the effects on oral task performance, in terms of attempted (accurate) use of the target structure and complexity, in terms of number of words, subordination and coordination. In addition we investigated whether there was a trade-off between attempted (accurate) use of the target structure and complexity. Results showed that the focus of the observations at the pre-task stage did indeed lead to different outcomes: students in the language condition used the grammatical target structure more often and more accurately, whereas students of the content condition generated more coordinate and subordinate clauses. Trade-offs were found between attempted (accurate) use of the target structure and the use of subordinate clauses. These findings imply that, depending on the purposes of the lesson, the observation of peer-model videos with different planning foci can be effectively used to promote (accurate) use of targeted grammatical structures and improve complexity during subsequent task performance.

In this review, we explore whether and how literature education may foster adolescent students' insight into human nature. A systematic search of five databases was complemented with citation tracking, hand searches, and expert consultation. We included 13 experimental and quasi-experimental intervention studies. Methodological quality and quality-of-intervention descriptions were assessed. Analysis of empirical support for expected intervention effects indicated that, under certain conditions, literature education may foster students' insight into human nature. One intervention affected students' insight into themselves, two affected their understanding of fictional others, and six affected their understanding of, views on, or intended behavior toward real-world others. Subsequent analysis of interventions with full or partial empirical support yielded instructional design principles on (a) text selection; (b) activating, annotating, and reflecting on personal life and reading experiences in writing activities; and (c) verbally sharing these experiences with others in exploratory dialogues. Limitations and implications for future studies are discussed.

The aim of this study was to provide insight into the current practice of writing instruction in Dutch primary education, as a stepping stone for designing and implementing sustainable innovations that could satisfy both practitioners and policymakers. We investigated the extent to which three domain-specific approaches--communicative writing, process writing, and writing strategy instruction--and general features of high-quality instruction were implemented in writing lessons in the upper grades of primary schools. We also examined the learning time for writing, teachers' views on writing and writing instruction, how efficacious they feel about teaching writing, and how skilled they are in the writing instruction domain. Lastly, we explored relations between classroom practices, learning time, and teachers' beliefs and skills through correlation analysis, to identify potential aids and constraints to guide innovations in writing education. Participants were 61 teachers of 45 primary schools in the Netherlands. Data were collected through questionnaires, stimulated recall interviews and over 100 lesson observations. Results indicated that the three domain-specific approaches for writing instruction were insufficiently implemented in Dutch classrooms, as were differentiating and the teaching of learning strategies. The allocated learning time was also insufficient, but the realized learning time and the extent to which teachers promoted active learning were satisfactory, providing a strong basis for curricular improvement. Several relations were found between teachers' classroom practices, learning time, and teachers' beliefs and skills in the domain of writing instruction. Finally, we discuss options for sustainable innovations of writing instruction in this national context.

Visual arts education focuses on creating original visual art products. A means to improve originality is enhancement of divergent thinking, indicated by fluency, flexibility and originality of ideas. In regular arts lessons, divergent thinking is mostly promoted through brainstorming. In a previous study, we found positive effects of an explicit instruction of metacognition on fluency and flexibility in terms of the generation of ideas, but not on the originality of ideas. Therefore, we redesigned the instruction with a focus on building up knowledge about creative generation strategies by adding more complex types of association, and adding generation through combination and abstraction. In the present study, we examined the effects of this intervention by comparing it with regular brainstorming instruction. In a pretest-posttest control group design, secondary school students in the comparison condition received the brainstorm lesson and students in the experimental condition received the newly developed instruction lesson. To validate the effects, we replicated this study with a second cohort. The results showed that in both cohorts the strategy instruction of 50 min had positive effects on students' fluency, flexibility and originality. This study implies that instructional support in building up knowledge about creative generation strategies may improve students' creative processes in visual arts education.

This paper presents a special issue on writing around the globe. Researchers from across the world describe writing practices in their country using a wide variety of methodology. The papers show that while there are many similarities in writing instruction from one country to the next, there are also many differences. As a result, the authors call for a new international study of writing, one that takes more descriptive rather than a comparative approach.

Because there has been little research on focus on form during the post-task phase in task-based language teaching, this experimental study investigates the effects of task repetition after having directed learners' attention to form during the main task. The study comprises two interventions, where each consisted of a task with a focus on a particular language structure. Forty-eight ninth-grade students learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to two conditions: one group repeated a similar task (R); the other group did not (NR). The first intervention targeted the German dative case after a preposition; the second German comparatives. Pretests, immediate and delayed posttests measured metalinguistic knowledge, written and oral accuracy as well as oral fluency. Results showed that on written accuracy and metalinguistic knowledge, the R condition outperformed the NR condition on both structures. No significant differences between conditions were found on oral accuracy and fluency.

Process diagrams are important tools in biology for explaining processes such as protein synthesis, compound cycles and the like. The aim of the present study was to measure the ability to solve process-diagram problems in biology and its relationship with prior knowledge, spatial ability and working memory. For this purpose, we developed a test that represents process diagrams and adjacent tasks used in secondary education biology. Results show that the ability to solve process-diagram problems is correlated to prior knowledge, spatial abilities and visuospatial working memory capacity. A difference in impact of spatial skills was demonstrated for the level of cognitive demand when solving process-diagram problems.

In the present study, we examine the effects of prompts and recasts on the acquisition of two new and different grammar structures in a task-based learning environment. Sixty-four 14-year-old 9th grade students (low intermediate) learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to three conditions: two experimental groups (one receiving prompts, the other recasts) and a control group. The study involves two subsequent interventions: The first targeted a complex structure, dative case after a preposition; the second a simple structure, comparatives. Pretests, immediate posttests, and delayed posttests included written and oral accuracy as well as oral fluency. Statistical comparisons on both written and oral posttests showed that prompts and recasts were effective, when compared to the control group, with prompts being superior to recasts. Furthermore, the effect of recasts depended on the structure: Recasts were more effective for the comparative than for the dative on written accuracy.

Process diagrams describe how a system functions (e.g. photosynthesis) and are an important type of representation in Biology education. In the present study, we examined students' learning activities while studying process diagrams, related to their resulting comprehension of these diagrams. Each student completed three learning tasks. Verbal data and eye-tracking data were collected as indications of students' learning activities. For the verbal data, we applied a fine-grained coding scheme to optimally describe students' learning activities. For the eye-tracking data, we used fixation time and transitions between areas of interest in the process diagrams as indices of learning activities. Various learning activities while studying process diagrams were found that distinguished between more and less successful students. Results showed that between-student variance in comprehension score was highly predicted by meaning making of the process arrows (80%) and fixation time in the main area (65%). Students employed successful learning activities consistently across learning tasks. Furthermore, compared to unsuccessful students, successful students used a more coherent approach of interrelated learning activities for comprehending process diagrams.