Research Behind Writing the Four Blocks Way

James W. Cunningham

Professor Emeritus,

UNC-Chapel Hill

Reviews of Experimental Research on Teaching Writing

Hillocks, G., Jr. (1986). Research on written composition: New directions for teaching. Urbana, IL: National Conference on Research in English/ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.

Hillocks, G., Jr. (1995). Teaching writing as reflective practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

Focus of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Effect

Six Focuses of Writing Instruction That Have Been Investigated

Free writing—Students write whatever they have on their minds in journals

Grammar—Students learn to identify parts of speech, parts of sentences, and kinds of sentences

Inquiry—Students explore a set of data to prepare to write about it

Models—Students are shown good examples of writing to exhibit what their characteristics are

Sentence combining—Students learn how to merge two or more short sentences into one longer sentence

Writing scales—Students learn to use specific criteria to evaluate and revise or edit a piece of writing

Focus of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Effect

Focus of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

-30-20-10

0102030405060

Gram-mar

Effect

Focus of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

-30-20-10

0102030405060

Gram-mar

FreeWrt

Effect

Focus of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

-30-20-10

0102030405060

Gram-mar

FreeWrt

Mod-els

Effect

Focus of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

-30-20-10

0102030405060

Gram-mar

FreeWrt

Mod-els

SentComb

WrtScls

Effect

Focus of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

-30-20-10

0102030405060

Gram-mar

FreeWrt

Mod-els

SentComb

WrtScls

Inqui-ry

Effect

Average Effect Size

The effect size is how much of a standard deviation on the dependent measure did the experimental treatment move the participants beyond the control group. The average effect size is the average of the effect sizes of all the studies that investigated a particular treatment.

Focus of Writing Instruction (Average Effect Size)

Grammar = -0.29

Free Writing = 0.16

Models = 0.22

Sentence Combining = 0.35

Writing Scales = 0.36

Inquiry = 0.56

“It is interesting to note that the [three] treatments with the largest gains all focus on teaching procedural knowledge, knowledge of how to do things. . . . [Free writing] does not help students learn new . . . procedures. Both grammar and models focus on learning . . . declarative rather than procedural knowledge” (Hillocks, 1995, p. 223)

Interpretation

Students learn how to write better when the focus is on teaching them procedural knowledge, knowledge of how to do things in writing, rather than on declarative knowledge

Research-Based Writing Instructional Principle #1

Mode of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Effect

Three Modes of Writing Instruction

Presentational/Traditional—The teacher explains how to write well, takes students through the language book, shows them good models, gives specific writing assignments, and grades their papers

Natural Process—Self-selected writing, mini-lessons, peer conferencing, revision, editing, and publishing

Environmental—The teacher engages students in small-group activities that prepare them to succeed with each focused writing assignment, and teaches them to evaluate and revise their own papers in line with specified objectives

Mode of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Effect

Mode of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Pres/Trad

Effect

Mode of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Pres/Trad Nat Proc

Effect

Mode of Writing Instruction (Hillocks, 1986/1995)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Pres/Trad Nat Proc Environm'l

Effect

Mode of Writing Instruction (Average Effect Size)

Presentational/Traditional = 0.02

Natural Process = 0.19

Environmental = 0.44

Research-Based Writing Instructional Principle #2

Students learn procedural knowledge in writing better when they are actively engaged in relevant activities rather than when they are listening or reading about how to write

Research-Based Writing Instructional Principle #3

Students learn procedural knowledge in writing better when the relevant activities they are actively engaged in are designed and supervised by the teacher

Research on Marking Students’ Papers

“Teacher comment [written on students' compositions] has little impact on student writing. None of the studies of teacher comment ... show statistically significant differences in the quality of writing between experimental and control groups. Indeed, several show no pre-to-post gains for any groups, regardless of the type of comment.” [emphasis is the author's] (Hillocks, 1986, p. 165)

Research-Based Writing Instructional Principle #4

It is necessary to grade students’ writing and mark their papers in order to give them grades on their report cards and to be able to defend those grades, but grading and marking their papers teaches them little or nothing

Research on Writing Fluency

Graham, S., Berninger, V., Abbott, R., Abbott, S., & Whitaker, D. (1997). Role of mechanics in composing of elementary school students: A new methodological approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 170-182.

Research on Writing Fluency

Rate of writing predicts later writing disability. Transcription skills (handwriting and spelling) uniquely predict writing fluency throughout the elementary grades

Research-Based Writing Instructional Principle #5

We build students’ writing fluency when we teach them how to:

a) spell words phonetically when they write

b) spell high-frequency words correctly when they write

c) handwrite legibly when they write

Writing the Four-Blocks Way is Research-Based Because It:

Emphasizes self-selected writing in K-2 Emphasizes focused writing in 3-5 Makes self-selected writing more

environmental than whole language does Teaches transcription (handwriting and

spelling) skills systematically

Now is the time for all good four-blocks teachers:

To teach writing the four-blocks way instead of the “Write from the Beginning” way or the “teach to the writing test” way

How to Make Self-Selected Writing More Environmental

1. Make mini-lessons more environmental

2. Make conferencing more environmental

3. Make revision and editing more environmental

How to Make Mini-Lessons More Environmental

1. Have fewer different kinds of mini-lessons and provide sufficient repetition on each kind of mini-lesson

2. Have each mini-lesson focus on a single teaching point

3. Actively involve the students in each mini-lesson

How to Make Conferencing More Environmental

1. Teach your students how to conference effectively with each other in partners and small groups

2. Have students revise in pairs before teaching them to revise alone

3. Do teacher conferencing with each student before allowing him or her to revise alone

How to Make Revision and Editing More Environmental

1. Teach students to use a writing scale (editor’s checklist) to proofread and correct their own papers during editing

2. Require students to have your approval on revisions before editing, and on edits before recopying