Writing to Learn
Supporting the Shift for Writing in the Content Area
A moment of clarity came to me recently. As I observed several senior level students prepare for their lives after graduation, I noticed they were enthusiastically discussing their writing. They were frantically writing, concentrating, and anxiously seeking feedback from both peers and teachers. I observed heavily engaged students preparing their college essays in an effort to present themselves as a desirable candidate for admission. What caught my eye was not their desire to attend college but rather the level of intensity and thoughtfulness they were putting into their writing. I realized I was observing writing as a tool rather than a task. It was relevant. Writing was a critical instrument in the achievement of a goal. Such a moment of clarity reemphasized the importance of writing as a tool in student learning.
As I move forward in my action research plan, I am continually considering how writing can improve student learning particularly in the area of social sciences. How can writing be used as part of the learning process? Unfortunately, by the time students reach high school, too many of them dislike writing and rarely use writing inside or outside of school as a way to learn. I survey the students I teach and have them rate their writing experiences on a scale from one to ten. One suggests never, ten suggests always, and six suggests often. Within the survey, students are asked if they like writing, write outside of school, or enjoy rewriting. Less than five percent of the students consistently selected a rating of six or higher. These survey results indicate to me that students dislike writing and do not recognize it as a tool in their learning. This revelation has inspired me to introduce writing in sociology, exposing students to the ideas that they can use writing as a tool for learning.
William Zinsser, author of Writing to Learn, reinforces the important reality that writing is thinking on paper and is a strategy to find out what we know and what we want to say. Teaching sociology to high school juniors and seniors involves discussing and learning about society and the prominent issues that impact patterns of behaviors and societal groups as a whole. The students that I teach are still developing their own ideas and viewpoints. They journey through perspectives while fine tuning their own focus based on life experiences and observations. In addition to Zinsser’s ideas of using writing to learn, I am also looking at Deborah Dean who, in her book What Works in Writing Instruction, also addresses the power of writing in a learning process.
According to Dean, writing is a tool of learning content material rather than an end in itself. The shift in the class I teach is from writing to show learning to using writing to learn. It is important for students to explore the unknown rather than report what is already understood.
By developing a writer’s notebook in sociology class, students are given the opportunity to reflect on various viewpoints and consider their own. Perhaps that is one of the greater challenges, committing oneself to the practice of reflective thought through writing. After all, writing is thinking. Therefore, writing through one’s thoughts in pursuit of understanding seems not only appropriate, but beneficial as well. I do believe that if students have more positive experiences with writing they will be more likely to write. When students consistently use writing to explore, better understand, and reflect, they will be more likely to use writing in their daily lives long after our time together has ended.
While students may greatly benefit from consistent writing and reflection, I struggle with the level of direction that should be provided. What is too much versus what is not enough? As I begin to try multiple approaches to stimulate writing in sociology, I look forward to the day that students no longer avoid writing but rather see it as an outlet and an opportunity for learning.
