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0417_SK Dissertation_Final.pdf (5.94 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

How Epistemologies Shape the Teaching and Learning of Argumentative Writing in Two 9th Grade English Language Arts Classrooms

Kwak, Subeom
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4668-5271
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555632698162692

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Teaching and Learning.
Classrooms are to be supportive environments where students learn writing as a way to participate in activities, discussions, and communities. Writing researchers need to explore the classroom context with a view of writing as a social practice. In 2016, the National Council of Teachers of English announced the position statement that the nature of writing instruction is contextualized and complex in order to support students’ writing and learning about a range of ideas and experiences as well as in a variety of genres. However, previous studies indicate that writing instruction implemented in secondary schools in the United States do not always align with this theoretical and practical perspective. Writing instruction is often designed through teacher experiences and pedagogical knowledge. However, several other influential factors such as teacher's differing epistemologies, individual experiences, and process of socialization shape the instructional designs of writing. To date, little evidence has confirmed the effectiveness of different epistemologies for teaching writing in English language arts classrooms. This study provides a unique perspective of writing instruction to show that although they have the same goal, teachers with different epistemologies orchestrate activities, understand concepts, and respond to student work differently. Using an ethnographic approach, I collected data—audio and video recordings, pre and post-observation interviews, student work, and artifacts—over a period of one academic year, from August 2017 to May 2018, in two ninth-grade English language arts classrooms. I argue that the landscape of teaching and learning argumentative writing can be fundamentally different due to different epistemologies, despite identical teacher training to incorporate the same writing approach. Through the exploration of writing instruction from two teachers with different epistemologies, this dissertation presents a way to build an iterative series of studies in the field of writing research. Identifying the benefits and challenges of teachers’ epistemologies will prove beneficial in expanding our understanding of the complex nature of writing instruction as a reflective practice. This work reveals teachers’ epistemologies for teaching writing, previously marginalized areas of writing research, making their theoretical and pedagogical contributions more accessible. In the process, it reveals teacher epistemology as a key factor in professional development and direction of classroom research, ultimately contributing to debates about the social dimensions associated with teaching and learning of writing. This research provides a rich, complex, and detailed picture of teachers and students within teaching and learning practices. The findings have brought many questions to light that still remain unanswered.
George Newell (Advisor)
Mollie Blackburn (Committee Member)
Caroline Clark (Committee Member)
Alan Hirvela (Committee Member)
344 p.
Education; Literacy
argumentative writing; teacher epistemology; writing research; secondary writing; writing assessment

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kwak, S. (2019). How Epistemologies Shape the Teaching and Learning of Argumentative Writing in Two 9th Grade English Language Arts Classrooms [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555632698162692

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kwak, Subeom. How Epistemologies Shape the Teaching and Learning of Argumentative Writing in Two 9th Grade English Language Arts Classrooms. 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555632698162692.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kwak, Subeom. "How Epistemologies Shape the Teaching and Learning of Argumentative Writing in Two 9th Grade English Language Arts Classrooms." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555632698162692

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1555632698162692
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© 2019, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License How Epistemologies Shape the Teaching and Learning of Argumentative Writing in Two 9th Grade English Language Arts Classrooms by Subeom Kwak is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.