Date of Award
Spring 1992
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Bogenschild, Erika
Second Advisor
Wong, Terrence
Third Advisor
Augenstein, John
Abstract
Having taught English in a high school for over twenty years, I was well acquainted with the traditional role of writing in the educational process. Like most teachers, I viewed writing as a skill to be taught so that students could communicate effectively through the written word. I also viewed student writing as an important evaluation tool for assessing student progress. Through my professional reading as a graduate student, I came to understand a very different view of writing, the view that writing could be a powerful tool for learning. This view held that through writing a person could clarify thought and connect new thought to one's established knowledge base. This concept of writing-to-learn became the focus of this research study.