Teaching Developmental Writing: Background Readings

Research & Teaching in Developmental Education, Fall 2004 by O'Donnell, Karen D

Teaching Developmental Writing: Background Readings

Bernstein, S. N. (2004), Teaching Developmental Writing: Background Readings, 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Susan Naomi Bernstein addresses a wide variety of issues that are common to those of us who teach developmental writing in Teaching Developmental Writing: Background Readings. Some of the questions she addresses deal with the philosophy of education. "What is the purpose of a developmental writing course?"(p. iii) What is the impact of technology on all developmental courses? "How do we create an environment in which a culturally diverse student body can thrive?"(p. iii) Other questions address pedagogy. What kinds of activities can we use in the classroom to make our varied student populations successful, not just as writers but as students as well?

This book is divided into fourteen chapters, and each chapter has a similar arrangement. There is an introduction that briefly summarizes the readings that will follow in the chapter. Bernstein then discusses issues that will be raised in the readings. Each chapter consists of two or three articles written by educators such as Mina Shaughnessy and Peter Elbow. Each article is followed by suggestions for classroom activities and also by a section titled "Thinking about Teaching". Bernstein concludes the book with an extensive (and very useful) bibliography. Chapter topics include: basic writing from both the teachers' and students' perspectives, writing and its connection to reading, approaches to grammar instruction, learning differences, writing with adult learners, technology and writing, basic writing and the writing center, collaborative learning, and ESL writers, to name a few.

If you are tempted to skip Chapter 12, "Teaching ESL", don't. The readings are insightful and the strategies suggested are beneficial for all teachers of developmental writers. The authors of the three articles included in this chapter discuss the need for understanding the "wide range of student voices and experiences."(p.339) All three articles address the need for student-centered learning as opposed to the traditional focus on the teaching of English grammar to ESL students. In the first article included in this chapter, "ESL Writing and the Principle of Nonjudgmental Awareness: Rationale and Implementation," author Loretta Frances Kasper reminds teachers that "the priorities of the instructor become the priorities of the student" (p.340). This does not apply just to ESL students. How often does the instructor of writing hear this question from his or her students, "What do you want?" Kasper writes that it is important to give timely feedback to student writing using the principal of nonjudgmental awareness advanced by Timothy Gallwey in his book, The Inner Game of Tennis, (p.341) Kasper explains that instead of correcting almost all student errors as she had previously done, she identifies errors and allows students to correct their own mistakes through a variety of revisions as well as using peer review in the classroom. This approach focuses on the process of writing, not grammar, as the most important part of writing and leads to a student-centered classroom.

The second article in this chapter, "The Need to Understand ESL Students' Native Language Writing Experiences" by Yu Ren Dong also addresses the traditional method of teaching English grammar to ESL students. "Teachers are quick to recognize ESL students' grammatical errors in their writing, but often they are slow to get to know their students, who differ widely in their expectations of schooling ..."(p.352) Dong's teaching strategy is to ask students to write about how they learned to write in their native languages and to write about their writing experiences up to this point, hoping to help students see that writing in any language requires following a process. Thus, the writing of a literary history would benefit all developmental writers.

The final essay included in this chapter, From "Classroom Instruction and Language Minority Students: On Teaching to "Smarter" Readers and Writers", Linda Lonon Blanton also argues that traditional methods used for teaching ESL students "such as teaching grammar, vocabulary, and rhetorical modes"(p.362) are often ineffective. Her suggestion is to have students interact with readings, thus focusing "on critical literacy", (p.362) The ability to respond to the written word (textbooks, journal articles, short stories, etc.) is a skill lacking in many developmental writers.

The three essays in Chapter 12 focus on the writing process and the value of understanding what a student brings to the writing classroom. These authors also remind readers that all students must be active participants in their learning to be successful. This chapter, as well as the other thirteen in this book, will help instructors design strategies that lead to active participation and student success.

Teaching Developmental Writing: Background Readings is appropriate reading for all teachers of developmental writing, no matter how long they have been teaching. This book is also appropriate for preservice teachers. Many of the activities detailed in this book can be utilized immediately in any developmental writing classroom. A practical advantage of reading this book is that it can be read one chapter at a time and in any order. This is certainly helpful for those of us who find it difficult to find the time for professional reading.