Abstract
A random sample of teachers in grades 3 and 4 (N = 157) from across the United States were surveyed about their use of evidence-based writing practices, preparation to teach writing, and beliefs about writing. Teachers’ beliefs included their efficacy to teach writing, their orientations to teach writing, their attitude about teaching writing, and their attitudes about their own writing. The teachers’ responses raised some concerns about the quality of writing instruction third- and fourth-grade students receive, as teachers reported spending only 15 min a day teaching writing and students spend only 25 min a day at school writing. While teachers indicated they used a variety of evidence based writing practices in their classroom, a majority of these were applied infrequently. Further, three out of every four teachers reported that their college teacher preparation programs provided no or minimal instruction on how to teach writing. They further rated their preparation to teach writing lower than their preparation to teach reading, math, science, or social studies. On a more positive note, a majority of teachers asked students to write multiple paragraph texts relatively frequently (4 times a month or more often) and complete at least one narrative, informative, and persuasive writing assignment monthly. Teachers were also generally positive about teaching writing, their efficacy to teach writing, and their beliefs about their own writing. Finally, efficacy to teach writing and philosophical orientations to teaching writing each made a unique contribution to predicting teachers’ use of evidence based practices, whereas teacher preparation did the same for reported time spent teaching writing and reported time students wrote at school and home.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Applebee, A., & Langer, J. (2011). A snapshot of writing instruction in middle and high schools. English Journal, 100, 14–27.
Bridge, C., & Hiebert, E. (1985). A comparison of classroom writing practices, teachers’ perceptions of their writing instruction, and textbook recommendations on writing practices. Elementary School Journal, 86, 155–172.
Bridge, C., Compton-Hall, M., & Cantrell, S. (1997). Classroom writing practices revisited: The effects of Statewide reform on writing instruction. Elementary School Journal, 98, 151–170.
Christenson, S., Thurlow, M., Ysseldyke, J., & McVicar, R. (1989). Written language instruction for students with mild handicaps: Is there enough quantity to ensure quality. Learning Disability Quarterly, 12, 219–222.
Coker, D., Farley-Ripple, E., Jackson, A., Wen, H., MacArthur, C., Jennings, A. (in press). Writing instruction in first grade: An observational study. Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal.
Copeland, C., & Rideout, J. (2011). Freshman English and theme-correxcting in Harvard College. Beaver Dams, NY: Silver & Burdett.
Cutler, L & Graham, S. (2008). Primary grade writing instruction: A national survey. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 907–919.
DeVellis, R. F. (2012). Scale development: Theory and applications (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: SAGE Publications.
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2009). Internet, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Foorman, B. R., Schatschneider, C., Eakin, M. N., Fletcher, J. M., Moats, L. C., & Francis, D. J. (2006). The impact of instructional practices in grades 1 and 2 on reading and spelling achievement in high poverty schools. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 31, (1), 1–29.
Freedman, A. (1993). Show and tell? The role of explicit teaching in the learning of new genres. Research in the Teaching of English, 27, 222–251.
Gibson, S., & Dembo, M. (1984). Teacher efficacy: A construct validation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 569–582.
Gilbert, J., & Graham, S. (2010). Teaching writing to elementary students in grades 4–6: A national survey. Elementary School Journal, 110, 494–518.
Gillespie, A., Graham, S., Kiuhara, S., & Hebert, M. (2014). High school teachers’ use of writing to support students’ learning: A national survey. Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 27, 1043–1072.
Graham, S. (2000). Should the natural learning approach replace traditional spelling instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 235–247.
Graham, S., & Santangelo, T. (2014). Does spelling instruction make students better spellers, readers, and writers? A meta-analytic review. Reading & Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 27, 1703–1743.
Graham, S., Harris, K.R., & Hebert, M. (2011). Informing Writing: The benefits of formative assessment. Alliance for Excellence in Education. Washington, D.C. (Commissioned by the Carnegie Corp. of New York).
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Santangelo, T. (2015). Research-based writing practices and the common core: Meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. Elementary School Journal, 115, 498–522.
Graham, S., Cappizi, A., Kiuhara, M., & Hebert, M. (2014). Teaching writing to middle school students: A national survey. Reading & Writing: An interdisciplinary Journal, 27, 1015–1042.
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., Fink, B., & MacArthur, C. A. (2001). Teacher efficacy in writing: A construct validation with primary grade teachers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5(2), 177–202.
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., Fink, B., & MacArthur, C. (2002). Primary grade teachers’ theoretical orientations concerning writing instruction: Construct validation and a nationwide survey. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 147–166.
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., Fink-Chorzempa, B., & MacArthur, C. (2003). Primary grade teachers’ instructional adaptations for struggling writers: A national survey. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(2), 279–292.
Graham, S., McKeown, D., Kiuhara, S., & Harris, K. R. (2012a). A meta-analysis of writing instruction for students in the elementary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 879–896.
Graham, S., Bollinger, A., Booth Olson, C., D’Aoust, C., MacArthur, C., McCutchen, D., & Olinghouse, N. (2012b). Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers: A practice guide. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
Heck, R. H. (2009). Teacher effectiveness and student achievement: Investigating a multilevel cross-classified model. Journal of Educational Administration, 47(2), 227–249.
Hillocks, G. (1986). Research on written composition: New directions for teaching. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Kiuhara, S. A., Graham, S., & Hawken, L. S. (2009). Teaching writing to high school students: A national study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 136–160.
Krashen, S. (1989). We acquire vocabulary and spelling by reading: Additional evidence for the input hypothesis. Modern Language Journal, 73, 440–464.
McCarthy, S., & Ro, Y. (2011). Approaches to writing instruction. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 6, 273–295.
MDR. MDRtips: Myths in database marketing. http://www.schooldata.com/mdrdbsmyths.html
Moats, L. (2005/2006). How spelling supports reading: And why it is more regular and predictable than you may think. American Educator, Winter, 12–43.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2011 (NCES 2012–470). Washington, D.C.: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
National Commission on Writing. (2003). The neglected “R”: The need for a writing revolution. Washington DC: College Board.
Nye, B., Konstantopoulos, S., & Hedges, L. V. (2004). How large are teacher effects? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 26, 237–257.
Ray, A., Graham, S., Cunningham, J., & Harris, K.R. (2015). Teachers use of writing to support students’ learning in middle school: A national survey in the United State. Submitted to Reading & Writing: An International Journal.
Rogers, L., & Graham, S. (2008). A meta-analysis of single subject design writing intervention research. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 879–906.
StataCorp. (2009). Stata multiple-imputation reference manual: Release 11. College Station, TX: Stata Press.
Stein, M., & Wang, M. (1988). Teacher development and school improvement: The process of teacher change. Teaching & Teacher Education, 4, 171–181.
The National Writing Project. (2010). Annual report 2010. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/about.csp
Troia, G., Lin, S., Cohen, S., & Monroe, B. (2011). A year in the writing workshop. Elementary School Journal, 112, 155–182.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Melvyn I. Semmel Dissertation Award and Special Education Endowment for Dissertation Research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brindle, M., Graham, S., Harris, K.R. et al. Third and fourth grade teacher’s classroom practices in writing: a national survey. Read Writ 29, 929–954 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-015-9604-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-015-9604-x