Graves, D. H. (1983). Writing: teachers and children at work. Exeter, New Hampshire: Heinemann Educational Books. P280 Similar : There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. Ernest Hemingway

Bruning, R. H., G. J. Schraw, et al. (1999). Cognitive psychology and instruction. Upper Saddle River, N.J, Merrill.

p53 Sadoski, M., & Paivio, A. (2001). Imagery and Text: A Dual Coding theory of Reading and Writing. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. General model of DCT showing the verbal and nonverbal systems including representational units and their referential (between system) and associative (within system) interconnections as well as connections to input and output systems

Mayer, R. E., Heiser, J., & Lonn, S. (2001). Cognitive constraints on multimedia learning: When presenting more material results in less understanding. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 187-198.

p77 Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

p 77 Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

p77 Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Source jmo-rl Yr 5 girl

Source jmo-rl Yr 5 girl

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Eduational Research, 77(1), 81-112

The Full Stop Effect: Using Readability Statistics with Young Writers Velma Beaglehole HDR Forum 2010

“There is nothing to writing: all you do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein.” W.W. “Red” Smith American sportswriter

Task Environment Writing Assignment Topic Audience Motivating cues External Storage Text produced Other resources Translating Reviewing Reading Editing Organizing Goal setting Generating Planning Working Memory The writer’s long-term memory Knowledge of topic Knowledge of audience Stored writing plans The Flower and Hayes Model of Writing (p. 297) Bruning et al 1999

Verbal stimuli Nonverbal stimuli sensory systems logogens imagens referential connections representational connections V E R B A L S Y S T E M N O N V E R B A L S Y S T E M verbal responses nonverbal responses associative structure associative structure DCT

words pictures ears eyes sounds images Verbal model Pictorial model Prior knowledge Multimedia presentation Sensory memory Working Memory Long-term Memory selecting selecting words images organising organising words images integrating Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning Mayer, 2001

words pictures ears eyes sounds images Verbal model Pictorial model Prior knowledge Multimedia presentation Sensory memory Working Memory Long-term Memory selecting selecting words images organising organising words images integrating Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning Mayer, 2001 Spoken words are processed through the auditory/verbal channel

words pictures ears eyes sounds images Verbal model Pictorial model Prior knowledge Multimedia presentation Sensory memory Working Memory Long-term Memory selecting selecting words images organising organising words images integrating Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning Mayer, 2001 Written words are processed through the visual/pictorial channel

words pictures ears eyes sounds images Verbal model Pictorial model Prior knowledge Multimedia presentation Sensory memory Working Memory Long-term Memory selecting selecting words images organising organising words images integrating Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning Mayer, 2001 Pictures are processed through the visual/pictorial channel

Research Design Problems Solution

Research Questions What is the impact of visual stimuli on the quality and quantity of children’s writing? Does the provision of visual stimuli in a multimedia computer environment promote better quality writing? Under what conditions do students benefit from these stimuli? Are some students helped more than others?

Research Design

Images for Class WPi

How many colours can you see in a rainbow? Write the colours in ‘rainbow’ order. What causes rainbows? Where is the sun when you are looking at a rainbow? What might you find at the end of a rainbow? List songs you know that include rainbows. List stories you know that include rainbows.

Today you are going to write a narrative on a rainbow theme. Think about the part the rainbow could play in your story. Who or what else is in your story? What happens? What moves the story along? How does the story start? How does the story end? Think about possible purposes for your story. What do you want your readers to do or feel? What are you aiming to do? e.g., “I aim to …. (audience related purpose such as entertain, inform, persuade).” Remember to: plan your story before you start; write in sentences; pay attention to the words you choose, your spelling and punctuation; check and edit your writing when you have finished

NAPLAN 2010

Writing Sample (Year 5 Girl ) One bright sunny after noon my family went for a trip to the outback well my family loves to travel around Australia it isn’t like just hoping in the car and driving around the coast of Australia its basically you stay at one thousand places and you visit a lot of people and places. When we got home from the out back we went to Sydney and saw the Sydney harbour bridge, the Sydney opera house. The day after that it was pouring with rain when the rain had stoped there was a beautiful coloured rainbow

Assessing Written Products NAPLAN Criteria Readability Criteria

Readability Formulas Based on 1. syntactical complexity (measured by sentence length) 2. semantic complexity (measured by either word length or word frequency) Over 200 different formulas

Sample of Readability Formulas

Flesch Reading Ease Score e.g. FRE = 206.835 – 1.015(total words/total sentences) – 84.6 (total syllables/total words) Easy text has short sentences and few syllables per word

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level FKGL = (.39 x Av. sentence length) + (11.8 x Av. syllables per word) – 15.59 Approximates – no. years schooling needed to read text

*Verma, A.K. (2010). New drugs, old drugs. Medical Journal of Australia, 192(7), 407-412

Readable ≠ comprehensible At home I have a poorarn and her name is coco. She likes to Play waser me and my bunes soweball and beurcs. One day my dog coco lekerd my buned sowe ball. (Year 4 boy) FRE = 93.1 FKGL = 2.6

Writing Sample (Year 5 Girl ) Once upon a time in the Spirit world, there was a Spirit called Kawakawato. Kawakawato was the rainbow Spirit who made every body happy. When the Rain and the Sun where fighting Kawakawato got in the middle and said "let's all be happy and stop fighting" and they did. But the rain spirit was jelos because Kawakawato got he girl of his dream's, the Sun Spirit. Her nam was Kakwa. One evening the rain spirit told Kawakawato to go pick some wild flowers for Kakwa but Kawakawato did not know that Once you leave the Spirit world you can never go back. So every day Kawakawato call's out her name but she can never here him call. The END FRE 75.9 FKGL 6.4 9 complex words

Impact of Syllables

http://www.editcentral.com/gwt1/EditCentral.html Original Text

No Significant Differences

Original Mean Scores

103 ten-year-old students 64 omitted full stops

Readability statistics - driven by sentence length Investigate impact - adding appropriate full stops Reread stories 460 full stops were added to the 64 stories Av. 7 full stops/story (SD 5.06)

Full Stops Added – Mean Scores

FRE -116 to 62.6 vs 80 to 114.2 FKGL 84.4 to 14.3 vs 9 to -0.4 More sentences Less av. words/sentence Same Same Range

FRE Scores FRE -116 to 62.6 FRE 80 to 114.2

Flesch Reading Ease Scores

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels FKGL 84.4 to 14.3 FKGL 9 to -0.4

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels

More Sentences

Less Words per Sentence

http://www.editcentral.com/gwt1/EditCentral.html Full Stops Added

Edit Central Output – Year 5 Girl Original Text Full Stops Added

The Power of Feedback Hattie & Timperley, 2007 Effective feedback asks – Current goals? Progress making towards goals? Activities needed to make better progress? Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely achievement (O’Neill, 2000)

Response to Feedback Yr 4 original Yr 4 corrected Yr 5 original Yr 5 corrected

Year 5 Girl – original text There was one day I looked out of my window from my new house to our field the best thing I liked about the new house was the field. The field meant we could have a horse but when I asked my parents that night they said the same thing they always say “they are to much money we just can’t afforded one”. But that night there was a thunder storm as I lay in my bed I thought “I am going to get a horse and I will call her rainbow”. The next morning I woke up and the birds were singing I got up and looked out the window and there was a rainbow I quickly got up and got dressed and the rainbow was still there so I ran down to breakfast .After breakfast I ran out to the field to see the rainbow better but when I got out the rainbow was gone but then I heard some thing strange I heard a whinny of a horse .So I ran to the field there in the field was a rainbow mare (a female horse). I was shocked because mum and dad said I could not have one . I edged closer to the mare as I moved forward the mare pricked her ears in interest but continued to stay still .As I reached the horse I patted her rainbow neck .The mare was astonishingly beautiful every 3 inches of here body was a different couleur .Suddenly the mare bent down for me to ride her I got on very carefully .Soon I was on the horse and we galloped around the field . Soon my mum came out to see were I was she came out to see me .When she saw me I was jumping over a jump. Then I rode over to mum and explained and mum let me keep her. I lived happily with my horse. The end

Year 5 Girl – full stops added There was one day I looked out of my window from my new house to our field .The best thing I liked about the new house was the field. The field meant we could have a horse, but when I asked my parents that night they said the same thing they always say .&#x1CThey are to much money we just can&#x19t afforded one&#x1D. But that night there was a thunder storm .As I lay in my bed I thought &#x1CI am going to get a horse and I will call her rainbow&#x1D. The next morning I woke up and the birds were singing .I got up and looked out the window and there was a rainbow .I quickly got up and got dressed and the rainbow was still there. So I ran down to breakfast .After breakfast I ran out to the field to see the rainbow better .But when I got out the rainbow was gone but then I heard some thing strange .I heard a whinny of a horse .So I ran to the field there in the field was a rainbow mare (a female horse). I was shocked because mum and dad said I could not have one. I edged closer to the mare .As I moved forward the  mare pricked her ears in interest but continued to stay still .As I reached the horse I patted  her rainbow neck .The mare was astonishingly beautiful. Every 3 inches of here body was a different colour .Suddenly the mare bent down for me to ride her .I got on very carefully .Soon I was on the horse and we galloped around the field. Soon my mum came out to see were I was .She came out to see me .When she saw me I was jumping over a jump. Then I rode over to mum and explained and mum let me keep her. I lived happily with my horse. The end. Added fs original

Full Stops Added, But ... There was one day I looked out of my window from my new house to our field .The best thing I liked about the new house was the field. The field meant we could have a horse, but when I asked my parents that night they said the same thing they always say .’They are to much money we just can’t afforded one’. But that night there was a thunder storm .As I lay in my bed I thought ‘I am going to get a horse and I will call her rainbow’. The next morning I woke up and the birds were singing .I got up and looked out the window and there was a rainbow .I quickly got up and got dressed and the rainbow was still there. So I ran down to breakfast .After breakfast I ran out to the field to see the rainbow better .But when I got out the rainbow was gone but then I heard some thing strange .I heard a whinny of a horse .So I ran to the field there in the field was a rainbow mare (a female horse). I was shocked because mum and dad said I could not have one. I edged closer to the mare .As I moved forward the  mare pricked her ears in interest but continued to stay still .As I reached the horse I patted  her rainbow neck .The mare was astonishingly beautiful. Every 3 inches of here body was a different colour .Suddenly the mare bent down for me to ride her .I got on very carefully .Soon I was on the horse and we galloped around the field. Soon my mum came out to see were I was .She came out to see me .When she saw me I was jumping over a jump. Then I rode over to mum and explained and mum let me keep her. I lived happily with my horse. The end.  

Full Stops Added, But ... There was one day I looked out of my window from my new house to our field .The best thing I liked about the new house was the field. The field meant we could have a horse, but when I asked my parents that night they said the same thing they always say.’They are to much money we just can’t afforded one’. But that night there was a thunder storm.As I lay in my bed I thought ‘I am going to get a horse and I will call her rainbow’. The next morning I woke up and the birds were singing.I got up and looked out the window and there was a rainbow.I quickly got up and got dressed and the rainbow was still there. So I ran down to breakfast .After breakfast I ran out to the field to see the rainbow better.But when I got out the rainbow was gone but then I heard some thing strange.I heard a whinny of a horse.So I ran to the field there in the field was a rainbow mare (a female horse). I was shocked because mum and dad said I could not have one. I edged closer to the mare .As I moved forward the  mare pricked her ears in interest but continued to stay still .As I reached the horse I patted  her rainbow neck .The mare was astonishingly beautiful. Every 3 inches of here body was a different colour .Suddenly the mare bent down for me to ride her .I got on very carefully.Soon I was on the horse and we galloped around the field. Soon my mum came out to see were I was.She came out to see me.When she saw me I was jumping over a jump. Then I rode over to mum and explained and mum let me keep her. I lived happily with my horse. The end.  

Full Stops Correctly Added 3rd 2nd 1st

Write Check readability Feedback FSE 70 – 100 FKGL ≤ your grade Av. wps < 12 ? OK

Thank You Any Questions? velma.beaglehole@postgrads.unisa.edu.au

Extra

Achievement Data for Students in Two Classrooms Moderate (.4-.6) to strong (.7-.9) correlations across all criteria

Prior Knowledge and NAPLAN

Difference Prior Knowledge Makes

Difference Prior Knowledge Makes Total NAPLAN Score