Noting that the emphasis in writing instruction over the past 40 years has shifted from product to process, this digest reviews the course and the primary features of this evolution from 1960-1999. The digest's first section discusses the move from writing product to writing process in the 1970s and 1980s, noting the groundswell of support for…

Noting that the emphasis in writing instruction over the past 40 years has shifted from product to process, this digest focuses on the experience of individual teachers as they searched for ways to put the principles of process writing into practice in the classroom. The first section discusses writer's workshops, noting that teachers have found…

Argues that if writing is to help students learn, the purpose for which the writing is assigned has to change. Describes the process approach to writing for use in the classroom. Presents an example of this approach as used in a history class. (RS)

Teachers of second language writing classes are faced with the task of choosing writing methods that provide their students the greatest opportunity to gain writing skills, but there is a lack of research in this area. This topical bibliography and commentary reviews existing research on second language writing instruction. It concludes that free…

Offering a fresh perspective on making writing meaningful in every classroom, this guide seeks to help the teacher and the parent encourage the student writer as a thinker, not merely as a producer of a paragraph. The guide offers guidance as well as many practical activities that will help students to: organize the mind; play with ideas; find…

This digest reviews writing assessment--what it means and how it works--at a selected number of colleges and universities in the United States. The digest discusses outcomes assessment, placement testing, placement and the writing process, and end-of-course evaluation. The digest concludes with a brief reminder for college-bound students of what…

Students at all levels of literacy learning can express their ideas in print. Teachers working with student writers have found that the attempt to express, organize, and understand personal experience is also a powerful language learning device. When students publish their writings, they can see their own thoughts and concerns, and those of others…

Two factors contributing to the change in writing instruction have been (1) the research investigating the way writing is taught and (2) the computer. Proponents of the various writing models endorse writing as an ongoing, multi-stage process, with equal emphasis given to each of the stages. Educational computing has undergone a change of focus…

This ERIC/RCS Special Collection contains five ERIC Digests (brief syntheses of the research on a specific topic in contemporary education and nine FAST Bibs (Focused Access to Selected Topics--annotated bibliographies with selected entries from the ERIC database), providing up-to-date information in an accessible format. This collection focuses…

In some classrooms, student voices are barely heard while teachers monopolize classroom talk, and knowledge is treated as residing entirely with the teacher. This Digest explores different ways in which student voices can be heard in the classroom. Negotiating a curriculum is one means through which students share authority in the classroom.…

Five approaches currently used in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy instruction are described. A group of strategies developed by Paulo Freire are participatory or learner-centered, and revolve around the discussion of issues drawn from learners' real-life experiences. The Whole Language Approach, more than a specific method or…