History

     Within the past thirty years there has been a paradigm shift from behaviorist theories and approaches for teaching writing to constructivist theories and approaches. The shift continues even today. Writing, particularly at the secondary level, has been under the watchful eye of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This government agency helps assure that students graduating from high school have the writing skills necessary to be productive members of society. Writing in education continues to evolve as researchers explore ways in which writing can be taught as a skill and as a thoughtful way to look beyond the self into others (Applebee, 1999).

     Theories about the reading/writing connections developed during the more recent years. Two of those theories are reading reduction (Gaff, 1999 as cited in Smagorinsky et al) and reciprocity (Nystrand, 1986 as cited in Smagorinsky et al). These theories relate to memory and remembering what is read. Complex material can be reduced or synthesized so readers can construct meaning from otherwise sophisticated material. Reciprocity refers to the reader and writer being in sync with one another. The writer is aware of what the reader needs to make sense of the text. When writers and readers understand each other, meaning can be molded into a few manageable words instead of many intricate paragraphs (Smagorinsky & Smith, 1999).

     During the 1980s and 1990s research on writing as social and cognitive processes has come to the forefront of academia.   Through research it has been discovered that the writing process is not linear, but recursive. Students/writers move back and forth between the planning, scribing, and reviewing stages of the writing process. Writing intermingles with other forms of communication, particularly oral language. Speaking influences writing and visa versa. Likewise, reading and writing intertwine and the coupling is encouraged as a pedagogical technique to engage students in the writing-to-reading-to-writing process (Sperling & Freedman, (2001).

     The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) set forth guidelines to help teachers keep abreast of the most current and recommended writing practices. The NCTE recognizes that writing and ways to produce writing have change over the past few decades. The current principles reflect their understanding of the technological advances available to education systems. The guidelines emphasize that the teaching of writing is a process and that there are many forms and devices for writing. When teachers instruct writing it is important to weave into the process the skills necessary for a multitude of audiences and purposes (Writing Study Group of the NCTE Executive Committee, 2004).

     Many high school graduates have the writing styles of people who do not have command of the English language. Concerns over this phenomenon have researchers reviewing the pedagogical ideologies and practices at the preservice and graduate level course work for teachers. It is necessary that colleges and universities that teach teachers recognize that a sizable number of intelligent people still need strategies for composing authentic and academic written material (Wurr, 2004).