Student Experiences With Writing: Taking the Temperature of the Classroom

Abstract

This article offers insights into students’ perceptions of writing through the use of drawings and written responses. In a descriptive qualitative study of fifth graders across two diverse elementary schools, students were prompted to draw a picture about a recent experience with writing and how that experience made them feel. Students were then asked to write a description of their drawings. We studied features in the drawings and written responses and constructed four thematic categories. Findings highlight the range of both positive and negative experiences with writing as well as a realistic tool for literacy teachers to use to take the temperature of the classroom.

Toward a More Complete Understanding of Writing Enjoyment: A Mixed Methods Study of Elementary Students

“…However, findings such as these stress the need for teachers to be attuned to their personal influence on students’ emotions and motivation related to writing. Through their instructional decisions as well as the attitudes and values they communicate in the classroom, teachers send students important messages about how they should feel about writing (Zumbrunn, 2016; Zumbrunn et al, 2017).…”

“…Asking children to tell us when writing is enjoyable and when it is not provided a more complete explanation of the statistical model. As highlighted in the introductory paragraph, asking students to draw a picture about their writing experiences also revealed how strong students’ emotions toward writing can be, both positive and negative (Zumbrunn et al, 2017). Giving students a voice in their learning has the potential for informing instructional practice, both related to writing and in general.…”

“…When we asked elementary students to draw a picture of a recent writing experience and how that experience made them feel, joy was a prominent feature within the responses of many students (Zumbrunn, Ekholm, Stringer, McKnight, & DeBusk-Lane, 2017). Whereas some children represented themselves writing with beaming smiles, others included hearts, balloons, or grinning teachers with phrases such as, “Yay, I get to write!” in their drawings.…”

“…Further, intended or not, teachers send messages—both implicit and explicit—about their own beliefs in the classroom, and students’ perceptions of these messages are often tied to student motivation and engagement (Skinner & Belmont, 1993). Indeed, students have clear perceptions about their teachers’ beliefs about writing, and research highlights the potential of students’ perceptions of teacher enthusiasm to serve as a catalyst for writing enjoyment (Patrick, Hisley, & Kempler, 2000; Zumbrunn, 2016; Zumbrunn et al, 2017).…”

Literacy Curricula, the Common Core, and Defending an Unpopular Profession: The Lived Experiences of Undergraduate Preservice Literacy Teachers

“…Next, the participants talked at length about how they felt comfortable with planning effective literacy instruction, many of them mentioning long-recognized and research-based practices such as guided reading (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996;Lyons & Thompson, 2012;Underwood, 2010), strategic comprehension instruction (Boardman et al, 2016;Stahl, 2004), and offering choice-based writing (Graves, 1994;Zumbrunn, Ekholm, Stringer, McKnight, & DeBusk-Lane, 2017). Every participant provided detailed descriptions for how to go about aligning literacy lessons to the Common Core Standards and even writing literacy block plans.…”