Effects of Interactive Writing on Student Writing Achievement in a Primary Classroom

Abstract

This study looked at the effective of the interactive writing technique on primary teachers and their students over a six-month period. The study consisted of three, urban, first grade teachers and eighteen students. Teachers used a self-assessment rubric to rate themselves at the start and close of the study on how well they utilized the technique in the classroom. Teachers were also interviewed at the close of the study to determine if there were benefits or drawbacks associated with using the technique. Students were selected for the study by their performance on an emergent literacy survey. Two writing samples were gathered from each student, one at the start and one at the close of the study. The samples were examined for growth in writing skills for categories that included mechanics, spelling, and communicating through print. The writing samples were rated using a holistic rubric developed by a team from the school that study participants attended. All teachers in the study reported an increase in their ability to use the interactive technique in their daily writing instruction. The study showed an increase of 28% for instructors. Teachers described both benefits and drawbacks when using the technique including time requirements, refining basic· skills and text elaboration. All students showed an overall increase in writing skills from the start to the close of the study of 36%. Several students surpassed first grade expectations on their writing pieces. These samples were scored using a second grade rubric. The study findings indicated the interactive writing technique has value as one element of primary writing instruction.