Academic Comprehensive Writing Skills Enhancement for the Learners of School
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58213/ell.v3i2.42Keywords:
Writing instruction, writing performance, teachers’ beliefs, teachers’ skills, primary schoolAbstract
There is a need to examine the impact of an innovative comprehensive writing curriculum in upper primary school on students' writing performance and on teachers' teaching practises, beliefs and skills. In addition to teaching genre-specific writing skills, the course stressed the importance of writing's communicative nature and the importance of writing as a process. It was implemented by 43 teachers in their regular classrooms (grades 4–6), with a total of 1052 students in three conditions: (1) a writing programme, (2) the same programme augmented with professional development sessions and coaching, and (3) a control condition in which teachers taught their regular writing lessons. Students were tested on their writing abilities three times, each time using a new writing issue to gauge their progress. In addition to classroom observations and interviews, questionnaires, teacher logs, and an assessment exam including text were used to gather information about teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and skills. Students' writing ability and the amount of time instructors spent teaching writing skills improved as a result of the writing programme. A direct influence on lesson implementation and an indirect impact on student performance were found as a result of the complementary professional development and coaching. The results of a thorough examination show that this innovative method of teaching writing in the upper grades of elementary schools is effective.
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