Written Communication Jul 1993

The Promise of Writing to Learn

JOHN M. ACKERMAN

Abstract

This essay situates the phenomenon of writing and learning in historical, pedagogical, and theoretical frameworks to isolate write-to-learn methods derived from the “British model” of language and learning. Writing as a mode of learning has maintained its status partly because of the rise of rhetoric and composition as a specialized field and because cross-curricular writing instruction has been offered as one answer to alleged “crises” of literate standards and competence in public and higher education. Generally, the author claims that typical accounts of writing as a unique tool for promoting learning ignore the complexities of cultures, classrooms, assignments, and other media that might equally facilitate learning. The author's reading of 35 studies of writing and learning is that they do not provide the long-sought empirical validation of writing as a mode of learning. He argues that this research is grounded in the same assumptions about language and learning as are common in the lore and practice of “writing across the curriculum” (WAC) and writing process approaches, and as a result, the issue of writing and learning has been framed wrongly. The confounds within this body of research are many of the cognitive and situational variables that would support a model of writing and learning that is compatible with the diverse discourses and experiences within and across institutions.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1993-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088393010003002
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (13)

  1. Alexander et al. (2023)
    Confronting the Challenges of Undergraduates’ Argumentation Writing in a “Learn…
    Written Communication
  2. Gere et al. (2019)
    Writing and Conceptual Learning in Science: An Analysis of Assignments
    Written Communication
  3. Mills et al. (2014)
    Time, Space, and Text in the Elementary School Digital Writing Classroom
    Written Communication
  4. Wolfe et al. (2009)
    Argumentation Schema and the Myside Bias in Written Argumentation
    Written Communication
  5. Shaver et al. (2009)
    Making the Rhetorical Sell
    Pedagogy
Show all 13 →
  1. Carter et al. (2007)
    Writing to Learn by Learning to Write in the Disciplines
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Thompson et al. (2000)
    Learning-To-Communicate and Communicating-To-Learn in Veterinary Medicine: A Su…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. HILGERS et al. (1999)
    “As You're Writing, You Have these Epiphanies”
    Written Communication
  4. YOUNG et al. (1998)
    Writing from Primary Documents
    Written Communication
  5. SMAGORINSKY (1997)
    Personal Growth in Social Context
    Written Communication
  6. MEDWAY (1996)
    Virtual and Material Buildings
    Written Communication
  7. Spinuzzi (1996)
    Pseudotransactionality, Activity Theory, and Professional Writing Instruction
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  8. SMAGORINSKY et al. (1994)
    Cultural Tools and the Classroom Context
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (15)

  1. Greene (1993)
    The Role of Task in the Development of Academic Thinking through Reading and Wr…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  2. PENROSE (1992)
    To Write or Not to Write
    Written Communication
  3. BRANDT (1992)
    The Cognitive as the Social
    Written Communication
  4. Ackerman (1991)
    Reading, Writing, and Knowing: The Role of Disciplinary Knowledge in Comprehens…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  5. Schumacher et al. (1991)
    Conceptualizing and Measuring Knowledge Change Due to Writing
    Research in the Teaching of English
Show all 15 →
  1. Britton (1990)
    James Britton: An Impressionistic Sketch: A Response
    College Composition and Communication
  2. Raines (1990)
    Is There a Writing Program in This College? Two Hundred and Thirty-Six Two-Year…
    College Composition and Communication
  3. McGINLEY et al. (1989)
    Traversing the Topical Landscape
    Written Communication
  4. NEWELL et al. (1989)
    The Effects of Writing on Learning from Expository Text
    Written Communication
  5. Durst (1987)
    Cognitive and Linguistic Demands of Analytic Writing
    Research in the Teaching of English
  6. McCarthy (1987)
    A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing Across the Curriculum
    Research in the Teaching of English
  7. Marshall (1987)
    The Effects of Writing on Students’ Understanding of Literary Texts
    Research in the Teaching of English
  8. Parker (1985)
    The "Language across the Curriculum" Movement: A Brief Overview and Bibliography
    College Composition and Communication
  9. Bizzell et al. (1985)
    Writing‐across‐the‐curriculum textbooks: A bibliographic essay
    Rhetoric Review
  10. Newell (1984)
    Learning from Writing in Two Content Areas: A Case Study/Protocol Analysis
    Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 26 works outside this index ↓
  1. Anderson, J.
    The architecture of cognition
     ↗
  2. 10.3102/00346543054004577
     ↗
  3. Bloom, A.
    The closing of the American mind
     ↗
  4. 10.1016/0361-476X(79)90069-9
     ↗
  5. 10.1037/0022-0663.73.2.242
     ↗
  6. 10.3102/0013189X018001032
     ↗
  7. 10.2307/357655
     ↗
  8. 10.2307/357812
     ↗
  9. 10.17763/haer.58.3.c43481778r528qw4
     ↗
  10. 10.2307/357972
     ↗
  11. 10.2307/356095
     ↗
  12. 10.3102/00346543054004525
     ↗
  13. 10.1086/461607
     ↗
  14. Graff, G. (1990)
    10.1215/00382876-89-1-51
    The Southern Atlantic Quarterly  ↗
  15. 10.2307/357858
     ↗
  16. 10.1080/10862968709547610
     ↗
  17. Horowitz, R.
    Comprehending oral and written language
     ↗
  18. 10.1002/tea.3660220607
     ↗
  19. 10.2307/376844
     ↗
  20. 10.2307/747918
     ↗
  21. Macrorie, K.
    Telling writing
     ↗
  22. 10.1080/10862968909547657
     ↗
  23. 10.17763/haer.47.3.8840364413869005
     ↗
  24. Rogoff, B.
    Apprenticeship in thinking
     ↗
  25. Scribner, S.
    The psychology of literacy
     ↗
  26. 10.3102/00346543057001051
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 92 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Written Communication Oct 2021
    The Relationship Between Students’ Writing Process, Text Quality, and Thought Process Quality in 11th-Grade History and Philosophy Assignments ↗
    Lieke Holdinga; Tanja Janssen; Gert Rijlaarsdam
    writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum multimodality affect and writing
  2. College Composition and Communication Dec 2020
    Revising a Scientific Writing Curriculum: Wayfinding Successful Collaborations with Interdisciplinary Expertise ↗
    Lindsey Harding; Robby Nadler; Paula Rawlins; Elizabeth Day; Kristen Miller; Kimberly Martin
    writing pedagogy curriculum design writing across the curriculum multimodality scientific writing place and space revision
  3. Pedagogy Apr 2009
    Barbarians at the Gate ↗
    Paul Hanstedt; Gary Hollis; Rachelle Ankney; Hans Zorn; Gordon Marsh
    first-year composition writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum multimodality multilingual writers
  4. College Composition and Communication Jun 2003
    Understanding Visual Rhetoric in Digital Writing Environments ↗
    Mary E. Hocks
    writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum digital rhetoric multimodality
  5. Written Communication Jul 1995
    Where Cognitive Psychology Applies ↗
    JULIE FOERTSCH
    writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum multimodality