Critical Summary of Journals in Teaching Writing in Secondary Education

Monica Freaner Eng. 401 Prof. Ron Strickland October 27, 2002

Introduction:

With the ever-present need for “accountability” in education, state and national tests have begun to shift their focus from multiple choice/objective tests to performance based testing for high school students. SAT, ACT, and the Illinois State Aptitude Test have or will be incorporating writing samples as part of the exam regiment. High school English teachers, now more than ever, must be versed in the practice and theory of teaching writing. Unfortunately, text book manufactures have not been able to keep up with the changing methods, theories, and practices in teaching writing. With this in mind, teachers must rely on journals to present them with the most current information in the field.

Though there are very few journals which specifically target the field of teaching writing in secondary education, there are a number that include this limited field in one of two ways: either in the broader spectrum of writing instruction at all levels or in the study of teaching English or language arts. The group of journals included in this analysis are some of the publications that address teaching writing through theory and/or practice.

RTE: Research in the Teaching of English Published by the National Council of Teacher’s of English, RTE is a journal “committed to publishing manuscripts…. that reflect the diversity of sites , methodological perspectives and ontological orientations the have enriched literacy studies in recent years” (Nat’l Council of

Teachers of English par. 1). The journal’s editorial team, Peter Samagorinsky and Michael W.

Smith, keep the journal’s focus broad and inclusive. The manuscripts included in the publication reflect traditional approaches to research as well as “teacher research” and narrative discussion/analysis (Nat’l Council of Teachers of English par. 2). Similarly, the topics included within the journal are open to all areas of literacy. The traditional three strands of English studies: literature, composition and language are presented as well as areas of inquiry that are not traditionally thought of: bilingual education, ESL, gender issues, writing in the workplace, teacher/student relationship, and professional development. As the journal’s focus is broad in the areas of English studies it includes, so is its focus in the field of education. The journal’s content includes manuscripts relating to all levels of teaching- early childhood through graduate studies.

While the journal’s focus is not exclusively on teaching writing, most issues address some area of writing instruction either through a specific article about writing, through articles addressing writing’s relationship to other areas of English studies, or through a review. Even though RTE does not focus exclusively in the area of writing instruction in secondary education, many of the articles present useful information. Most impressive is the editors’ ability to select manuscripts which are relevant and readable to the audience. The style of all of the manuscripts seems to fit the level/content and area on which it focuses. There is limited jargon and technical language, making the material readable and accessible to a wide audience. English Journal

English Journal, the official journal of the secondary section of the National Council of Teachers of English, is read by 45,000 junior and senior high school English teachers and supervisors

(Miller par. 2) The English Journal, as its description states, is focused on teaching English at the secondary level. Virginia Monseau, editor of EJ, keeps every aspect of the journal teacher centered - from the topic areas to the presentation of the publication. This long-standing journal, begun in 1912, is open to manuscripts of all types which relate, feature or highlight any area of language arts or English teaching (Miller par. 2).

The authorship of the articles in the English Journal is a blend of university faculty, professionals, and secondary teachers. Overall the style is less formal than other journals.

Besides the traditional research articles, EJ includes original poetry, fiction and photography, lesson plans, technology links, reviews of professional text and YA fiction. Also unique to this publication is the inclusion of educational issues including governmental policies, national standards, teacher training, curriculum, classroom management, etc….. The blend of the educational and the topical material makes this journal very focused and useful to the high/middle school English teacher.

The current issue (November 2002) of the English Journal is a special issue: “Shakespeare for a

New Age.” Other specialized issues have addressed assessment, technology in the classroom, and bilingual education. Recently in other issues, EJ has published articles dealing with workplace skills, portfolios, testing, multicultural literature, values education, and student motivation.

Like Research in the Teaching of English, EJ does not have the singular focus of writing instruction, but each issue contains either an article, book review, lesson plan, or essay that directly or indirectly relates to writing. Most of the articles published within the journal are based on teacher-research, observation, interview and narrative. These articles also tend to be more informative than persuasive; however, the ongoing feature “Speaking My Mind” is editorial in nature and addresses controversial issues in English and language arts. Overall, the journal seems to present material that does not challenge the current practices of the secondary teacher.

Arizona English Bulletin

Published by the Arizona Teachers of English and Language Arts an affiliate of NCTE, the

Arizona English Bulletin is written mostly by classroom teachers. Like the association who puts it out, the publication focuses on the issues relating to teaching English in middle and secondary school. Each issue is formatted to revolve around an identifiable topic. The Spring 2002 issue focuses on children’s literature; the Spring 1998 issue focused on learning communities; the

Winter 2002 issue will focus on interdisciplinary study; the Spring 2003 issue will focus on pop culture and the canon. The most recent issue that focused on writing instruction was the Fall

1997. This issue included articles about grading, the writing process, and creative writing instruction. Even though each issue and the articles contained within it are brief, the format and content of the Bulletin are well structured. Each issue opens with a research-based article about the selected topic area followed by lesson plans, personal accounts, research, original works of fiction/poetry and book reviews. While not as formal as other journals and containing fewer research articles, this publication’s editors seem to be working toward topics, ideas, and discussion which are rooted in a legitimate theory/philosophy of English instruction.

Journal of Teaching Writing

Published by the Indiana Teachers of Writing and edited by Barbara Cambridge, the Journal of

Teaching Writing developed out of a 1980 discussion at the Indiana English Association meeting about the need to address the problems of writing (Weaver par.2). The Journal of Teaching

Writing is one of the most focused journals about writing instruction. JTW “publishes articles of interest to teachers of all grade levels, from preschool through university, whose interest or responsibility is the teaching of writing” (Cambridge par.1). The publication’s goal is to allow the reader to connect its content to what could or does happen in the classroom (Cambridge par.1). Like other teacher oriented publications, the material contained within the journal focuses not only on writing instruction and theory but also the educational practices and pollicies associated with it. While the articles within the text contain classroom ideas, lessons, and reflection, they seem to have a stronger focus on research and theory than the English Journal or the Arizona English Bulletin. Since the first issue was published in 1982, JTW has included articles which focus on the development of a writing lab, peer evaluation, teaching grammar, argumentation, plagiarism, and writing conferences. Most of the manuscripts range in length from 10-15 pages and as stated in the submission guidelines, “have a clear philosophical or theoretical basis” (Cambridge par.2).

This publication’s direct, somewhat formal style and focused content make it the most useful to high school writing teachers even though its intended audience is teachers at all levels.

Assessing Writing

In its seventh year of publication, Assessing Writing explores the various approaches to writing assessment from kindergarten through college and issues related to assessment both in and outside the classroom. The editors, Brian Hout and Kathleen Blake Young, see the journal’s goal as putting writing assessment into perspective when it is frequently driven by “some pressure from school administrators, politicians, and others” (Hout 113). In the 2002 editions, the journal focused on portfolio assessment (volume 7.2) and teacher-student relationships

(volume 7.1). Each issue opens with the editors’ introduction of the topic followed by articles relating to the topical area as well as reviews of texts about writing and assessment.

Currently, Assessing Writing is undergoing a change in editorial staff. The first issue (volume

8.1) under the guidance of editor Liz Hamp-Lyons still seems to remain focused on a central topic, in this case writing assessment and non-native speakers; however the publication seems to be taking on a broader audience. The new editor notes some minor changes in the content: “This paper, appearing in my first issue as Editor of Assessing Writing: An International Journal, attempts to put the field of writing assessment into an historical, linguistic, and geographical/cultural context, in order to stimulate work in writing assessment from across as broad a set of perspectives as possible.” (Hamp-Lyons 5). It remains to be seen if there will be significant changes in the publication; however, the content of the articles and reviews in this issue seem to follow past practice.

The Writing Instructor

Once published as a print journal, The Writing Instructor has been published on the Internet since June, 2001. Until 1996, TWI was published as a print journal. Its new format is meant to

“bring much-needed coherence to the broad and influential developments in the teaching of writing that have occurred over the past twenty years, with the aim of setting the stage and marking a precedent for the future of writing instruction as a pedagogical and scholarly enterprise conducted in a variety of media for a diverse constituency across a wide range of venues” (Blakesley and Formo).

The editors of the publication, David Blakesley and Dawn Formo, have developed a site which has the potential to change the format and function of journals. The TWI web site not only contains articles relating to the history of writing instruction, technology and writing instruction, self assessment and pedagogy, but it also contains electronic forums for discussion, interactive articles, hypertext, classroom resources as well as links to Purdue’s OWL. While the journal is open to a wide variety of areas related to teaching writing and to a wide variety of perspectives, it seems to focus mostly on the issues and topics related to teaching writing at the university level. Similarly, the editorial staff is made up of mostly university professors. However, a great deal of the content seem to be relevant to writing instruction in high schools. In a recent “multi-journal release” TWI Beta 2.5 focused on Electronic

Publication. Past print volumes have focused on conferencing, service learning, and critical thinking. The archives of print volumes will be made available on the site in February 2002.

Conclusion

It seems clear from the journals available online and in print that there are plenty of resources for high school writing teachers to turn to for information. The key for teachers to remain current and informed in their area lies in their diligence to look beyond the obvious/most easily accessible titles (like the English Journal). While teacher-centered publications provide a wealth of classroom ideas and pedagogy, they seem to lack the theoretical explanation for classroom practice. In order for instruction to be meaningful and effective, teaching methods need to be based on a clear understanding of theory. The deeper theoretical content of scholarly journals which are meant for a wider audience can supply the needed understanding.