Innovative approach results in improved writing skills at primary school
Friday, January 18, 2013 - 09:00
in Psychology & Sociology
Primary school writing classes place insufficient emphasis on pupils' writing processes and on the communicative function of texts. Teachers tend to focus mainly on the superficial features of a text, such as the use of a title at the top, correct spelling, and proper punctuation. These are the claims made by Mariëtte Hoogeveen, a PhD candidate at the University of Twente. After conducting an experimental study, she found that the peer response with additional instruction in specific genre knowledge approach leads to improved writing performance. Pupils who are taught using this approach write better texts than those in the control group.