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Journal Article Critique Assignment
Lian Tai
Liberty University
EDLC 632: Literacy and Language Instruction
Dr. Chapman
4/9/2022
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Journal Article Critique Assignment
Topic
Writing is complex and does not form itself automatically (Hsiang et al., 2020).
Therefore, Dabrowski et al. (2022) are focused on enhancing students' synthesis
writing through the use of both in-class discussions and online tutorials outside of
class. The main focus is on strengthening students' ability to write synthesis.
Darowski et al. (2022) identify synthesis writing clearly as writing that involves
abstract and critical thinking, which includes integrating ideas from several sources,
organizing information, and creating a unique argument that logically flows from the
literature that has been read (Rosenblatt, 2010). The minor objective is recognizing
two practical strategies for producing high-quality synthesis writing. One is the use of
graphic organizers, while the other is group discussions.
Main Ideas
Darowski et al. (2022) discuss the challenges that students face in writing, and
how it is difficult for teachers to enhance their writing skills due to a lack of evidence-
based instructional practices (Barzilai et al., 2018). They suggest that effective
interventions combine explicit descriptions of synthesis writing, good examples,
specific strategies, and lots of practice. Two interventions that can be implemented
with minimal class time are graphic organizers and group discussions. Then they
propose an online writing tutorial developed by Darowski et al. (2016) as an
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intervention to help students learn synthesis writing without mental strain. The tutorial
has a flexible structure and short sections, making it an excellent resource for students
to use outside the classroom. The experiment involves students in two honors sections
of an introductory psychology course taught by the same professor over two fall
semesters. One group receives no tutorial, while the other receives the online writing
tutorial. Students could work alone or in pairs to complete the assignment each
semester. During one class, both groups study synthesis and work in small groups to
evaluate writing samples. The tutorial group receives a practical technique for
utilizing synthesis in their writing through the online tutorial, which they apply to
their writing sample assessments. Experimental data provide further support for the
authors' claim that integrating the tutorial into a class session could improve students'
synthesis writing abilities.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, brief intervention can lead to significant improvements in
students' synthesis writing abilities.
Reflection
In my perspective, the conclusion is significant and thought-provoking since it
emphasizes the advantages of instructing synthesis writing through a mix of outside
resources and guided practice. As a student teacher, I understand the challenges of
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teaching writing within the constraints of a content-heavy curriculum. However, I
believe that more research is needed to fully assess the effectiveness of the proposed
interventions. For example, the experiment was conducted on a specific group of
students and may not apply to other student populations. Additionally, the study did
not include a pre-test assessment to establish the initial writing level of the students,
and the uneven grouping of students who worked on the poster may have affected the
results. To address these issues, future research could use a pre and post-test
assessment and establish clear guidelines for group work.
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Journal Article Critique Assignment
Topic
Children who are good writers are more likely to be good readers, do well in
References
Barzilai S., Zohar A. R., Mor-Hagani S. (2018). Promoting integration of multiple
texts: A review of instructional approaches and practices. Educational
Psychology Review, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9436-8
Darowski, Helder, E., & Patson, N. D. (2022). Explicit Writing Instruction in
Synthesis: Combining In-Class Discussion and an Online Tutorial. Teaching
of Psychology., 49(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628320979899
Hsiang, Graham, S., & Yang, Y.-M. (2020). Teachers’ practices and beliefs about
teaching writing: a comprehensive survey of grades 1 to 3 teachers. Reading
and Writing., 33(10). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10050-4
Rosenblatt S. (2010). They can find it, but they don’t know what to do with it:
Describing the use of scholarly literature by undergraduate students. Journal
of Information Literacy, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.11645/4.2.1486
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school, and pursue higher education, according to Graham et al. (2011). Hence, it is
essential to develop good writing programs in kindergarten classes since they have a
great chance of encouraging long-term gains in students' writing abilities. However,
there is limited information available about the writing curriculum and teaching
attitudes of kindergarten teachers. Guo et al. (2022) aimed to address this gap by
conducting a self-report survey to investigate how kindergarten teachers teach writing
and their attitudes toward writing instruction. The study has 5 main goals: 1) What
commercial resources and teaching strategies do teachers employ for writing
instruction? 2) How much time do educators spend teaching students in writing, and
how much time do students spend writing? What kinds of writing assignments do
teachers provide their students? 4) How frequently do teachers use writing-related
instructional techniques? 5) How do teachers view their writing skills and writing
instruction? Furthermore, Guo et al. (2022) explained two main approaches to
teaching writing: the traditional skills method, which focuses on basic writing
abilities, and the process writing method, which emphasizes the writing process
through planning, translating, and revising (Pritchard & Honeycutt, 2006).
Main Ideas
78 kindergarten instructors from Georgia, Ohio, and Northern Kentucky
participated in this study. On average, the participating kindergarten teachers have
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nearly 8 years of experience. The majority of instructors took a balanced approach
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write teaching, combining techniques from both process writing and skill
instruction. Writing tasks included sketching and writing, filling out worksheets,
writing to inform, storytelling, and text copying. Teachers typically allotted 36
minutes per day to writing instruction and 24 minutes per day to student writing.
Although instructors had good attitudes toward writing, problems with classroom
writing procedures were found. These problems included uneven time spent on
writing teaching, limited use of instructional methods, and a variety of writing
assignments that didn't require sustained engagement. The authors provided
several suggestions to enhance writing instruction, which involves increasing the
utilization of technology, prioritizing the instruction of writing skills, encouraging
longer pieces of writing, fostering motivation for writing, and establishing stronger
school-home connections to promote writing (Warren, 2022).
Conclusions:
To strengthen the claim for changing the way writing instruction is currently
delivered to kindergarten students, Guo et al. (2022) presented a thorough analysis
of the kindergarten writing instruction survey and made comparisons between the
survey results and earlier research and find some similar results from previous
studies about
1st-3rd grade teachers (Hsiang et al., 2020)).
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References
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Hebert, M. (2011). Informing writing: The benefits of
formative assessment, Carnegie Corporation of New York Review. Alliance for
Excellence in Education.
Reflection
I concur that the information given in the article supports the conclusion drawn.
That is, even though the Common Core State Standards set clear goals for the writing
abilities that children should possess at each grade level, there are still certain areas
that might be updated and improved. Also, I consider the article thought-provoking
because the authors not only examined the beliefs and attitudes of kindergarten
teachers towards teaching writing, but they also compared the results to previous
similar studies to observe the growth of writing education. However, I do believe that
the survey could be improved by addressing some concerns, such as the potential bias
of self-report surveys, the small sample size, and the long duration of the report.
Overall, the study provides valuable insights into current kindergarten writing
pedagogy and highlights areas for improvement.
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Guo, Puranik, C., Dinnesen, M. S., & Hall, A. H. (2022). Exploring kindergarten
teachers’ classroom practices and beliefs in writing. Reading and Writing.,
35(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10193-y
Hsiang, T. P., Graham, S., & Yang, Y. M. (2020). Teachers’ practices and beliefs about
teaching writing: A comprehensive survey of grades 1 to 3 teachers. Reading
and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-
020-10050-4
Pritchard, R. J., & Honeycutt, R. L. (2006). The process approach to teaching
writing: Examining its effectiveness. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J.
Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of research on writing. New York, NY: Guilford
Warren, J. E. (2022). Writing Without Audiences: A Comprehensive Survey of State-
Mandated Standards and Assessments. Teaching/Writing: The Journal of
Writing Teacher Education, 11(3).
