What is involved in the effective teaching of writing at the secondary and college freshmen levels? In Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice,George Hillocks, Jr. starts with the basic assumption that writing is at the heart of education, and provides a metatheory to respond to the above question.
Hillocks explores “Reflective Practice” and argues that it requires an integration of
<ul>
<li> a variety of theories (including general writing process theory, Vygotskian learning theory, discourse theory, and a Deweyan constructivist theory of inquiry);</li>
<li> a personal practical knowledge of students and of teaching practices;</li>
<li> research―where it is important to examine the implications of theory and submit theory to questioning.</li>
</ul>
;The book examines these areas of knowledge and how they contribute to reflective planning, teaching, and research. This concern with theory and research is offset by Hillocks’ attention to the practical matters of the classroom―an unusual combination of theoretical argument within the personal concrete narratives of practice.
;The book outlines the theories involved, explains the bridges between them, and provides a coherent basis, or metatheory, for thinking about the teaching of writing. Practically, it shows how to plan activities and sequences of activities that are appropriate for students―that are within Vygotsky’s “zone of proximal development”. Focus is placed on inventing “gateway activities” that allow students to operate on a higher level, at first with support and later independently. Such invention cannot be approached mechanically, but is part of the art of teaching.
;Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice is a must-read for teachers and professors who teach writing at the secondary and college levels and will be an important resource in courses in writing, literacy, theories of teaching and learning, and general English education.

Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice (Language and Literacy Series)

Hillocks, George

Literature & Fiction

Teachers' College Press

Ways of Thinking, Ways of Teaching

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Education & Teaching

Shulman, Lee

Higher & Continuing Education

Teachers College Pr

"Ways of Thinking, Ways of Teaching" presents a model of teacher thinking and action - one that explains teacher decisions about what and how to teach. Combining qualitative and quantitative data drawn from observations and interviews with urban teachers of writing, George Hillocks argues that teacher knowledge is not simply transferred from some source to the teacher. Rather, it is constructed on the basis of assumptions about epistemology, students, and subject matter. The fact of this construction helps to explain why teacher education has had so little effect on changing the classroom behaviour of teachers from one generation to the next. The book examines what actually happens in composition classrooms, presenting large chunks of representative transcripts for analysis.

Reference

Words, Language & Grammar

Do statewide assessments really do what they are supposed to do? Through interviews with over 300 teachers and administrators, Hillocks examines whether state writing tests in Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, New York, and Texas actually improve students’ ability to express their thinking in writing. Ultimately, Hillocks argues that the majority of existing tests actually have a harmful effect on the way students are taught to write.
In addition to providing analyses of assessments that do not encourage good writing, The Testing Trap contrasts them with those that do. Concluding with practical procedures for examining and evaluating writing assessments, this book is a provocative and essential read for administrators, teachers, policymakers, parents, and all who care about the education of our children.

The Testing Trap: How State Writing Assessments Control Learning (Language and Literacy Series)

Schools & Teaching

Do statewide assessments really do what they are supposed to do? Through interviews with over 300 teachers and administrators, Hillocks examines whether state writing tests in Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, New York, and Texas actually improve students’ ability to express their thinking in writing. Ultimately, Hillocks argues that the majority of existing tests actually have a harmful effect on the way students are taught to write.In addition to providing analyses of assessments that do not encourage good writing, The Testing Trap contrasts them with those that do. Concluding with practical procedures for examining and evaluating writing assessments, this book is a provocative and essential read for administrators, teachers, policymakers, parents, and all who care about the education of our children.

New directions for teaching. From Introduction: In a narrow operational sense, George Hillocks reports on studies that have been prepared more carefully than those of the 1940s and 1950s. Possibly researchers have simply become more fastidious in writing their reports, and possibly they have been more careful in designing studies. Whatever the cause, the more recent studies are persuasive simply because the researchers seem to take themselves more seriously. the work stand sup under examination.

Research on Written Composition

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

Natl Council of Teachers

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hillocks, George. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hillocks, George

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hillocks, George. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice (Language and Literacy Series)

Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice (Language and Literacy Series)

Ways of Thinking, Ways of Teaching

Ways of Thinking, Ways of Teaching

The Testing Trap: How State Writing Assessments Control Learning (Language and Literacy Series)

The Testing Trap: How State Writing Assessments Control Learning (Language and Literacy Series)

Research on Written Composition