The Effect of Explicit Writing Instruction on Students’ Writing Ability and Content Knowledge Comprehension in a Middle School Social Studies Classroom
Date of Award
5-1-2025
Degree Name
M.S. in Education
Department
School of Education and Health Sciences
Advisor/Chair
Mary-Kate Sableski
Abstract
Implementation of writing in the content areas has been encouraged since the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, there is minimal research on how to effectively deliver this instruction in the classroom (Galbraith & Baaijen 2018). Teachers utilize activities such as free writing, journaling, and argumentative writing to promote learning, but there is little evidence that teachers of different content areas provide the explicit writing instruction students need to successfully write in the specific content area (Graham, Kiuhara & MacKay, 2020). The main question explored in this study is, “Does explicit writing instruction in the content area of social studies in a middle school classroom influence students' writing ability and content knowledge retention?” The hypothesis is that while most students will make some progress in understanding the content materials, students who receive the intervention will make greater progress in developing content knowledge through writing with instruction. There were two main objectives while conducting this research: 1) Explore how explicit writing interventions in a social studies classroom at the middle school level impacts student understanding in the classroom, 2) Develop a deeper understanding of how different instruction that teachers provide in social studies impacts students' writing abilities. To determine the effect of explicit writing instruction in a different content area on students’ writing abilities and content 3 knowledge in middle school classrooms, the intervention of a single paragraph outlining template was implemented in the content area classroom of social studies. A triangulation of data was implemented throughout this research. Interviews were conducted with the teachers for both pre-intervention implementation and post-intervention implementation. Documents of students' work samples were collected and analyzed. Finally, observations of the writing instruction in each classroom were conducted.
Keywords
Education, Literacy, Social Studies Education
Rights Statement
Copyright 2025, author.
Recommended Citation
Bogues, Casey, "The Effect of Explicit Writing Instruction on Students’ Writing Ability and Content Knowledge Comprehension in a Middle School Social Studies Classroom" (2025). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7513.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/graduate_theses/7513
