Written Communication Jul 2013

Instructional Chains as a Method for Examining the Teaching and Learning of Argumentative Writing in Classrooms

Jennifer VanDerHeide The Ohio State University ; George E. Newell The Ohio State University

Abstract

We propose “instructional chaining” as an analytic method for capturing and describing key instructional episodes enacted by expert writing teachers to foster the recontextualization over time of the social practices of argumentative writing through process-oriented instructional approaches. The article locates instructional chaining within a sociocultural framework and argues for conceptualizing learning to write as the recontextualization of social practices of writing in classroom settings. To illustrate the use of instructional chaining to study the effects of teaching on learning argumentative writing, we describe the processes employed to construct an instructional chain for a unit of literary argumentation in a 12th grade English language arts classroom. We conclude with a discussion of two potential uses of instructional chains as units of analysis for both quantitative and qualitative analyses to study patterns of teaching and learning across many classrooms.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2013-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088313491713
Open Access
Closed
Topics
argument

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Russell (2022)
    From Methodology to Method in Genre-Based Ethnographies
    Written Communication
  2. Imbrenda (2018)
    “No Facts Equals Unconvincing”: Fact and Opinion as Conceptual Tools in High Sc…
    Written Communication
  3. Kuhn et al. (2016)
    Tracing the Development of Argumentive Writing in a Discourse-Rich Context
    Written Communication
  4. O’Hallaron (2014)
    Supporting Fifth-Grade ELLs’ Argumentative Writing Development
    Written Communication

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    Research in the Teaching of English
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    Written Communication
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    Written Communication
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    Research in the Teaching of English
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CrossRef global citation count: 26 View in citation network →

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