Writing and Learning

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with how writing can be used to enhance, extend, and deepen students' learning. Students normally think of writing as difficult and challenging—as a kind of work. And to some extent, it is. Even so, writing also has its pleasures, including the pleasure of discovery through the act of writing. One of writing's greatest pleasures is using one's minds actively and imaginatively—considering ideas, exploring them, and finding ways to express them effectively. Hence, the chapter shows that the teacher's goal is to help students experience writing as an opportunity to grow intellectually and imaginatively, to develop their thinking, and to enrich their learning. This can be done by designing assignments that engage them in meaningful, productive intellectual work. These assignments can often be linked with reading, another critical faculty that can help students develop.