Writing is the highest form of thinking, as evidenced by neuroimaging that shows how more neural networks are activated simultaneously during writing than during any other cognitive activity. This book will help teachers understand how the brain learns to write by unveiling 15 stages of thinking that underpin the writing process, along with…

Writing is a recursive and complex set of cognitive processes that can be taught effectively to students with disabilities. Employing an adapted cognitive theory of writing, a broad view of what constitutes evidence, and the support of a variety of assistive and internet-based technologies, we developed a writing instructional program to meet the…

Discussion of current applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to writing focuses on how to represent knowledge of the writing process in a way that links procedural knowledge to other types of knowledge. A model is proposed that integrates the subtasks of writing into the process of writing itself. (15 references) (LRW)

A college study examined whether students' ability to learn FORTRAN was related to the characteristic way they separate and organize information. Results and implications for further study are offered. (DF)

Idea processors are computer programs that can aid the user in creating outlines by allowing the user to move, reorder, renumber, expand upon, or delete entries with a push of a button. The question is whether these programs are useful and should be offered to students. Theoretically, an idea processor prioritizes ideas by placing them in a…

This study looks at a specific application of Ainsworth's conceptual framework for learning with multiple representations in the context of using multiple sequential graphic organizers that are student-generated for a process-writing task. Process writing refers to writing that consists of multiple drafts. It may be a process of re-writing without…

Word processing programs offer five capabilities that can help students over the physical and psychological constraints associated with writing. First, producing text on a word processor is more tentative and more noncommital than producing text on paper. This reassures the writer that it is all right to experiment with words. Second, the blinking…

Since there are similarities between the process of writing computer programs and the process of writing successful expository prose, a student's knowledge of computer programing can contribute to the understanding of some principles of composition. The establishment of a clear objective is the first priority of both the writer and the programer,…

Examines the orderly process of rhetorical composition and inquires whether that system can be implemented as an expert system on a computer or word processor, in order to expand our understanding of the human composition process. (SR)

Education has often created and widened the distinctions between reading and writing rather than focusing on their relationship. More recently, however, research has advanced a view that recognizes reading and writing to be instances of communication between people. Research also suggests that five kinds of knowledge (informational, structural,…

School- and university-based writing tasks make demands on cognitive processing and socio-cultural knowledge that vary with the discipline in which the writing is situated. The variation in socio-cognitive demands makes the use of self-accessed, computer-mediated writing instruction more promising than conventional, teacher-fronted instruction. To…

This paper synthesizes some of the many ideas and issues pertaining to research on the development of writing skills, and on creating new technologies for writing. Such technologies include computer-based production tools, videodiscs, and other mass storage technologies with potential for knowledge storing and structuring. The discussion also…

A Computer Tutor for Writers (CTW) was designed to provide procedural facilitation to high school students while they learn the skills and knowledge associated with composition writing. Four previous year-long studies helped identify how to facilitate specific elements of the writing process. The CTW was designed to combine lessons learned from…

The discussion of technology in the classroom, particularly for second language instruction, looks at: current practices in technology-enhanced schoolrooms or learning centers; benefits and liabilities of technology-mediated language learning; and the as yet unrealized promise of computer-assisted language learning for the student and the teacher.…