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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Writing as a Learning Tool

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How learning is understood in everyday schooling and conceptualized in research varies a great deal, as does the way in which writing is used for enhancing learning. This paper reviews recent research conducted mainly in Europe, North Arrierica, and Australia to outline what kind of challenges research is facing at the moment. The paper begins with examining how the concept of learning is defined in everyday use and in research. It considers the analysis of learning conceptions important because the way that learning is understood greatly determines how writing is used as a tool for learning. Second, it analyzes the theoretical basis for using writing as a learning tool--theories are divided into three categories: (1) theories from writing research; (2) theories from cognitive research on learning; and (3) theories representing the sociocultural approach to research on learning and language development. Third, the paper reviews recent empirical research based on these theoretical backgrounds. The studies reviewed in the paper illustrate the wide range of the ways writing is used for learning in schools and colleges. The paper's general conclusion is that the conception of learning underlying instruction is a decisive factor defining the nature of writing for learning. (Contains 127 references and a table of examples of how different views of learning lead to different pedagogical aims.) (NKA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.