Education Publications
Title
Effects of persuasion and discussion goals on writing, cognitive load, and learning in science.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Journal
Alberta Journal of Educational Research
Volume
61
Issue
1
First Page
40
Last Page
64
Abstract
Argument writing is challenging for elementary students. Previous experimental research has focused on scaffolding rhetorical goals, leaving content goals relatively unexplored. In a randomized experiment, 73 students in Grades 5, 6, and 7 wrote persuasive texts about difficult-to-classify vertebrates. Each student received one of three sets of writing prompts: a persuasive goal only (control); persuasive goal + rhetorical subgoal prompts; or persuasive goal + content subgoal prompts. Rhetorical subgoals increased text quality, variety of rhetorical moves, number of complex propositions, and classification knowledge. Content subgoals increased the number of simple propositions in text. A path analysis indicated that content subgoal prompts and rhetorical subgoal prompts elicited different paths to writing and learning.
