Inquiry and Observation of Peers in Learning to Write: The Yummy Yummy Case

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Inquiry and Observation of Peers in Learning to
Write The Yummy Yummy Case

• Martine Braaksma Gert Rijlaarsdam
• University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• AERA Conference, April 2009, San Diego

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Aims of our research

• Designing effective learning environments for
  writing education in secondary education
• Key elements inquiry and observation of peers
• Students participate in a community of learners
• Interactive dialogue about texts
  (student-to-student)
• Students themselves investigate qualities of
  texts in order to possess genre knowledge

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Student-as-learner participation model

• Students as participants in communication
  (writers and readers)
• Students as researchers (observers)

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This study

• Focus on acquisition of pragmalinguistic
  knowledge knowledge about text features that
  make a text effective
• Avoid knowledge transmission model
• But focus on already available but implicit
  knowledge in students
• Lesson series about argumentative writing the
  Yummy Yummy case
• Four lessons
• Small scale study one class (7th grade) of a
  multicultural school, 16 students
• Spring 2003, researcher as part-time teacher

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Sequence of activities Yummy Yummy Case
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Lesson 1

• Introducing the case
• Writing the first version of a letter

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The case

• Imagine.
• On the wrappers of the Yummy Yummy candy bars,
• which you occasionally eat, you have seen that
  you
• can get two free movie tickets.
• The wrapper reads

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Text wrapper

• SAVE FOR TWO FREE MOVIE TICKETS!!!
• This is what you must do
• On each Yummy Yummy candy bar wrapper you will
  find 1
• Saving point. Save 10 points and send these to
  Yummy Yummy Candy Saving Points Action, PO Box
  3333, 1273 KB Etten-Leur, the Netherlands.
• Include a stamp of 39 cents for the mailing
  costs. Mention clearly your name, address and zip
  code, and the free
• (FREE!) movie tickets will be sent as soon
• as possible to your address. This offer ends on
  April 15th 2003.

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Communicative situation

• It is April 7th 2003. Now, you have saved 8
  points, nearly all 10 points required. But you
  cannot find any more bars with points. The bars
  in the shops have no points on the wrappers,
  although it isnt April 15th yet. So it seems you
  cant collect 10 points!
• But you still want to get the two free movie
  tickets. Therefore you decide to send your 8
  points and two Yummy Yummy wrappers without
  points.

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Writing assignment

• Write a letter that you send with the 8 points
  and the wrappers. Explain why you cannot send 10
  points. Convince the Yummy Yummy Company that it
  isn't your fault that you didnt collect 10
  points and that you still want to receive the two
  movie tickets.
• Be sure they will send you the tickets!

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At work!
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First version of Adrian

• Dear employees of Yummy Yummy Candy Bars
• I participated in the Yummy Yummy Candy Bars
  offer to win two movie tickets. After some time I
  had already saved eight points. After some time I
  could find no more Yummy Yummy candy bars with
  offer points. I went to every sweetshop where
  Yummy Yummy candy bars are sold, but I have found
  absolutely nothing! Therefore, I give you two
  wrappers with no points on them to prove that I
  have eaten ten bars. I hope that you can help me
  by still giving me the movie tickets. I hope that
  you understand my problem. Yours faithfully,
• Adrian
• Address

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Lesson 2

• Class divided in two parts
• Two management teams select two winning letters
  (out of 8)
• Two research teams observe MT to find out which
  criteria were used to select winning letters

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Lesson 3

• Inquiry research teams listed criteria on a
  poster
• Sharing information presentation and
  clarification of posters in front of the class
  room
• Presentations presentation of the winning
  letters (referring to the posters)

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Poster research team 1
Explain that you did everything you could
Must be convincing
Be clear what you want from them
Explain the problem
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Lesson 4

• Revision of letters
• Evaluation of the lessons

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revised letter of Adrian
April, 14th, 2003

• Dear employees of Yummy Yummy Candy Bars,
• Concerning the Yummy Yummy Candy Bars offer, I
  read that you can win
• two movie tickets if you collect ten points. For
  this reason I participated
• and after a while I had obtained 8 points!
  Joyfully I went to a sweetshop
• where they sell Yummy Yummy candy bars, but I
  have not been able to
• find a single bar with a point on it! Therefore,
  I then thought that the
• offer was already over, but of course that is not
  possible, because the
• offer is open until April 15! Then I went to
  another shop but it was the
• same there, and when I had gone along to a lot
  shops I thought of buying
• two wrappers without points and writing you a
  letter to explain that I
• have done everything possible to collect ten
  points. In this letter you will
• also find the two wrappers without points and the
  wrappers with points to
• prove to you that I have bought ten bars. I hope
  that you understand my
• problem and that you can help me with my problem.
  Is it possible that you
• can still send me two movie tickets?
• Yours faithfully, Adrian Address

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Revisions of Adrian
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Questions

• Are changes between the two versions indications
  of pragmalinguistic knowledge?
• Is there a different learning effect between
  text experiencing and observation?
• How do students experience the active way of
  learning?

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Effect of lessons
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Measurement of text quality (11 items)

• Main points / central points
• Request sending tickets
• Free tickets
• 8 points
• 2 wrappers
• Explanation 2 wrappers
• Offer not yet ended
• Pragmalinguistic
• Extra efforts of persuasion on reader
• Proved to have done anything
• Nice offer
• Quality Yummy Yummy bars
• Formulations
• Minus weak, unclear formulations

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Improvements

• Pragmalinguistic items most sensitive
• Item proved to have done everything to meet the
  requirements
• Version 1 10/16 version 2 15/16
• Item extra efforts on reader to persuade
• Version 1 8/16 version 2 11/16

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Effect of conditions
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Role effects Effect sizes
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Students experiences of lessons

• High appreciation scores mean mark 8
• 81 indicated they learned a lot

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Conclusions

• Students are able to create their own frame of
  reference of what a letter of complaint should
  include match MT discussions posters
• Awareness about what works in communication was
  expressed in MT discussions, and studied and fed
  back to whole group via research presentations
• Researchers and MT experienced their task as a
  meaningful learning task that inspires and
  stimulates dialogue about relevant content

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Recommendations

• Create learning environments in which all
  components of the Student-as-learner
  participation model are implemented
• Create learning communities where students can
  do research activities to explore how texts work
  in readers
• Children can learn a lot without direct teacher
  intervention (under certain circumstances)

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More information

• Slides, lesson materials, publications, at
• http//www.ilo.uva.nl/homepages/martine/.htm
• Email braaksma_at_uva.nl

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Research Poster 2

• The letter should meet
• Must not be too neatly
• Writer must have a good reason
• Not too short or too large
• In the letter you must see that a child wrote it
  (not too formal)
• Must be properly/reasonable
• Few spelling errors
• Not always using the same words
• Not too much hoping and drawling
• Addressing more persons

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Matched with discussion management team

• Writer must have a good reason Disc Must have a
  reason
• Not too short or too large Disc Length must be
  good (adequate)
• In the letter you must see that a child wrote it
  (not too formal) Disc You must recognize that a
  child has written the letter
• Few spelling errors Disc No spelling errors Not
  using the same words always Disc Do not repeat
  same words
• Not too much hoping and drawling Disc Letter
  must not be too sticky, not hoping, drawling.
• Addressing to more persons Disc Multiple
  addressees

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Not matched

• From discussion
• Not overdone
• No advertisement (for Yummy Yummy candy bars)
• Writer must be able to read Reasonable
• From poster
• Must not be too neatly
• Disc
• Must be properly/reasonable
• Disc.. 

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Posters and levels