Innovative Methods and Practices of Academic Writing and Writing Instruction
MAKING LEARNING VISIBLE: THE VALUE OF CONCEPT MAPPING IN ACADEMIC WRITING INSTRUCTION
Rosemary Wette
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Gains in students’ ability to master complex academic genres are not always noticeable in the texts they are able to produce after a single course of instruction. However, a substantial body of research and scholarship in general education (e.g. Hay 2007; Nesbit & Adesope 2006), and a small number of studies in second language writing (e.g. Farrell 2009; Ferreira & Lantolf 2008) provide clear evidence that learnergenerated concept maps are sensitive to changes as a result of instruction. The aim of this action research study was therefore to ascertain if students’ awareness (Johns, 2008) of the genres of academic book review and literature review , and their ability to compose these types of texts, improved after instruction using concept mapping as a tool for reflection and learning. Concept maps were completed before and after units of genrebased instruction in two semesterlong EAP writing courses as an adjunct to conventional assessments of graduate students’ (n=40) academic writing ability. A rubric was developed to score the quality of information, number, and organisation of nodes, number of hierarchical levels, and relationships between concepts. Students’ reflective commentaries were coded. There were discernible improvements in map quality (i.e. genre awareness), and a clear correlation with writing ability as measured on course grades. Findings affirm the value of concept mapping for helping students to reflect on and organise their developing understanding of academic genres, and that this instructional tool can also help students improve their written outputs.
References
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Ferreira, M.M., and Lantolf, J.R. (2008) ‘A concept approach to teaching writing through genre analysis’. in Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages. ed. by Lantolf, J.P. and Poehner, M.E. London: Equinox, 285320.
Hay, D.B. (2007) Using concept maps to measure deep, surface and nonlearning outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 32, 3957.
Johns, A.M. (2008). Genre awareness for the novice academic student: An ongoing quest. Language Teaching , 41, 237252.
Nesbit, J.C. and Adesope, O.O. (2006) Learning with concept and knowledge maps: A metaanalysis. Review of Educational Research 76, 413488.