The Teaching of writing

Pupil Influences
A clear correlation can be identified between the respondents experience as pupils and their understanding of writing instruction. The two older respondents (Respondents A and E) preferred the Product Approach. This preference may have been influenced by the fact that the product approach was the dominant model of writing instruction during their formative years of schooling in the 1950’s and 1960’s (Applebee, 1981)(Raimes, 1991)(Bridge & Hiebert, 1985). Research by Zeichner and Tabachnick shows that the strategies teachers encounter as pupils heavily influence their future teaching style (1981). These influences remain somewhat dormant during teacher training but re-emerge as a significant force once the teacher has their own classroom. As a result, the product style lessons that the respondents experienced as pupils continue to wield a large influence on their understandings of writing instruction. Their present understanding clearly echoes the instruction that they received as a pupil and may be an underlying cause behind their beliefs.
The younger respondents’ understanding of writing aligned with the Mixed Approach. Respondent B and C agreed with 58% of the process statements while Respondent D agreed with 100% of the process statements. Their support of the process model is also inherently linked to their experience as pupils, a period when the process approach was recognized as the preferred model of writing instruction. Their experience a…