Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice

by George Hillocks, Celia Genishi (Series Editor), Dorothy S. Strickland (Series Editor)

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 ;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.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Writing, Academic

264 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review of Teaching Writing as a Reflective Practice will mention Jacques Derrida. Someone give me a research grant!

Just kidding.

However, I will admit that it took me a moment to figure out why George Hillocks Jr. was spending so much time explaining how "difference" relates to research into (not to mention the practice of) the teaching of composition. I couldn't help noting that during his attempt to reconcile quantitative and qualitative research that Hillocks admits that "these differences are, I suspect, exacerbated by the political needs of researchers in newer fields, such as the study of writing, to legitimatize both their objects of study and their methodologies" (my emphasis). It's 1995, research into teaching writing is still new, so why not mention Derrida at will?

After a few chapters, it became clear that Hillocks is actually just a meticulous academic who argues that practice should be driven by theory. I will admit that at times I felt his calls for context did not require so much ... context.

Consequently, I couldn't help wondering whether Hillocks' adherence to academic writing hindered his goals, assuming that they are to improve the instruction of writing. The burden of proof he takes on here suggests that his goal is to defend his strategies against rival academics, as opposed to disseminating his theories to a population of teachers. Again, however, this may be because he is now considered a trailblazer in the field. And to be fair, it is clear that he is willing to put his ideas into practice, though I was amused to read that he goes into the classroom with a staff of university students to assist him. Although the thorough explanations backing Hillocks' ideas on how to teach writing will gain him few fans, it is difficult to deny the authority these details lend him.

Perhaps that was the true goal. I'm curious how revolutionary Hillocks' ideas about writing were when he was doing his research, but many of them have taken hold and are taught to teachers-in-training as standard approaches, or prototypes of what are now considered standard strategies. Hillocks' outline for sequencing lessons, for example, has been refined and in my opinion, improved upon by Wiggins and McTighe. Hillocks suggests that teachers use "gateway activities" to gauge and increase student interest. In my province, this strategy had been adopted as standard by the time I was training for teaching, though we referred to them as "activating activities." (I recall one professor explaining that other provinces used activating activities, but had invented their own jargon to increase ownership.)

As for "reflective" teaching, this is very much in vogue, though it has been taken advantage of by supporters of standardized testing. Reflection here might best be understood as evaluating how effective activities and strategies are to helping students to reach curriculum goals. Relying on a standardized test, which will be externally scored and returned months after students complete their work is not as effective in guiding pedagogy as reflecting on the day or week of instruction. Hillocks relies on his team of university students to evaluate their teaching strategies, and although few teachers today have access to similar resources, it is very common to form "professional learning networks" online to evaluate strategies.

Some of Hillocks' other suggestions were less familiar to me. For example, he disputes Warriner's four modes of writing (persuasive, expository, narrative, and descriptive), and suggests that writing curricula be organized around 1) personal narrative, 2) argument, and -- surprisingly -- 3) satire. Of the these three categories, I appreciated his advice on teaching argument and personal narrative the most. Sadly, satire is taught, but does not enjoy the same level of prestige.

Ultimately, Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice is a book that I would recommend, though rarely. Many of the ideas described here have been adopted -- by which I mean that they were very familiar to me. Further, this is not a book that a teacher could pick up to find some interesting or effective activities for a future unit. However, it is a book that teachers can rely on to plan how their course should teach writing. It also provides a strong model for how to argue in support of specific approaches to teaching writing.

And don't forget to reference Derrida during your argument!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A much less practical and much more theoretical book about approaches to teaching writing.

[RRVWP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hillocks, the grand-daddy of research on teaching writing, challenges teachers to think about writing instruction as instruction that includes inquiry about something. In other words, students need to write about something they've investigated.

This work is by no means an easy read. Not is it a page-turner. Rather it's demanding and difficult, a book to be reckoned with for those who teach writing.

[Adam Bessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very influential in my teaching.

[Nathan Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving Hillocks. Can't wait to meet him when I present at NCTE this fall.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second part is the best. Very useful introduction to inquiry.

[Daudi Mlengela]

This is good for college students especially in English departments who want to effectively teach writing at secondary school and College level. Hillocks use a variety of different theories in the writing process at classroom levels like Vygotskian learning theory, discourse theory, Deweyan constructivist theory of inquiry, and generally English education. The book gives teachers a personal practical knowledge of students and of teaching practices. Though in Tanzania, we do not teach this writing processes in our classroom settings when we set in the class teaching, this book is a must-read for any English teachers in Tanzania who wants to take his/her students to the next level. Today, English teachers must know that teaching English is all about teaching writing, and that is why, I think, most English teachers neither do write for publication nor their students. The world has changed now, we need, whether we like, to teach our students how to write, seeing them writing while adhering to these prescribed writing processes and theories. Lets us put these theories, and strategies in a practical way to enhance the writing skills of our students in classroom setting. I highly recommend this book for college students, English teachers, and whoever who want to teach writing effectively at secondary schools or colleges, not necessarily teachers colleges.