ERIC Number: ED216368
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1982-Mar
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Transition to a Process Approach to Writing Instruction.
Agosta, Lucien L.
When the composition program at Kansas State University (Manhattan) was radically reoriented from one that emphasized the writing product to one that stressed the writing process, a number of problems surfaced. Teachers, for example, had difficulty in adjusting from being purveyors of rules and forms to being facilitators whose job was to help students create a piece of writing. Many also found it difficult to shift from the traditional ways of evaluating and grading student themes to the more individualized methods required in a process-oriented classroom. Students, too, experienced problems with the transition. Most had come to the composition program with preconceived ideas--formed by their high school experiences--of what a writing course should be. Accustomed to being told to write a "classification," or a "persuasive" paper, they felt discomfort when they were not given rules and forms for their writing. They also had a difficult time in overcoming their fear of error and in accepting the idea that making errors can be part of the process of learning to write. After a year, however, both teachers and students have come to accept the program change and to appreciate the value of the new approach to writing instruction. (FL)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A