Abstract: The writing-to-learn movement is supported by constructivist theory, which draws attention to the generative nature of human knowledge and communication. Writing and learning, whether viewed from a cognitive perspective, with the focus on individuals, or from a social perspective, with the focus on groups, have selective, organizational, and connective dimensions. This chapter considers four aspects of the connective dimension that have been examined in studies of writing and learning: connections among ideas, connections among texts, connections among authors, and connections across disciplines and domains. In this discussion, attention is given to the two major rationales for the writing-to-learn initiative: the authority rationale, which posits that writers gain command of a topic through written engagement with that topic, and the authenticity rationale, which maintains that, as writers gain knowledge of the subject matter of an academic discipline, they benefit from also learning the ways of writing associated with the discipline.
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 13
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