Transformative Writing: Using Real-Life Experiences to Teach Writing Margot Kinberg National University Clute Institute International Education Conference Las Vegas, NV 11-14 October 2015
Jan 17, 2016
Transformative Writing: Using Real-Life Experiences to Teach Writing Margot KinbergNational University
Clute Institute International Education ConferenceLas Vegas, NV 11-14 October 2015
Transformative Writing: Using Real-Life Experiences to Teach Writing • Why do students need to learn writing skills?
• What do students generally write about? What’s the problem with that?
• Why should students write from real-life experience?
• How can real-life writing be integrated into the curriculum?
Why Do Students Need to Learn Writing Skills? • Writing is an important communication skill.
• Effective writing is connected with professional success
What Do Students Generally Write About? What’s the Problem With That?
• Decontextualized Writing Tasks
• Impact on Meaning-Making
Why Should Students Write From Real Life Experiences? • Students choose to be more motivated when they are writing
about personally meaningful topics (e.g. Powell, 2015).
• Students learn more from texts when they access prior content knowledge and prior metacognitive knowledge (Kostons & Werf, 2015).
How Can Real-Life Writing Be Integrated Into the Curriculum?• Program Information
• How real-life writing has been integrated
Observations
Lesson Plans and Reflections
Course Reflections
• Has it been successful?
Background Information• Three different courses: Course A (24 students); Course B:
(21 students); Course C (20 students)
• Anonymous student evaluations
• Focus on self-perception of writing skills
Does Real-Life Writing Transform Writing Skills?
Course A Course B Course C0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
6 6
5
18
15 15
Writing Skills Improvement
Writing Not Improved Writing Improved
Can Real-Life Writing Be Integrated Into Other Content Areas? • Reflections and Journal Entries
• Interviews
• Field Notes
• Internship and Other Employment Experiences
Let’s Stay in Contact! Margot Kinberg
National University
• http://margotkinberg.wordpress.com