Module EFPM318 for 2019/0
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
EFPM318: Writing: the Future
This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.
Module Aims
The principal aim of this module is to enable you to develop a stronger theoretical understanding of writing and the teaching of writing which will have a direct impact on your own pedagogical practices and a direct impact on your students’ outcomes in writing.
Specifically, the module aims to:
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develop your understanding of theoretical models of the writing process;
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support your ability to make connections between theoretical models and your own classroom practice;
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enable you to articulate and enact an effective pedagogy for writing;
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nurture your own writing development and sense of ‘teacher as writer’;
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develop your subject knowledge of grammar and your pedagogical knowledge of teaching grammar; and
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support your ability to manage effective classroom talk about writing.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate systematic understanding of theoretical models of writing; 2. demonstrate understanding of students learning needs in writing and interpret these learning needs in order to plan, teach, assess and evaluate lessons and schemes of work which involve writing; 3. demonstrate critical awareness of conceptualisations of creative writing and the role of teacher as writer; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. critically evaluate the relevance of writing research to classroom practice; 5. synthesise relevant writing research literature in support of an argument; 6. use appropriate technologies for data handling and writing in education; 7. present data and findings in a form appropriate for educational contexts; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 8. manage your own learning and show the independence required for professional development; 9. learn effectively and be aware of your own learning strategies; 10. demonstrate effective communication by expressing ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes; and 11. think creatively about the main features of a given problem and develop strategies for its resolution. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
Introduction: the place of writing in the language curriculum; an overview of research in writing; learning to write; developing as a writer; articulating a pedagogy for writing.
The Writing Process: cognitive models of the writing process; process theories of writing; students’ composing processes; the writing process in the curriculum; re-thinking planning, drafting and revising as classroom processes.
Creative Writing: theories of creativity; defining creativity writing; teachers’ thinking about creative writing; professional writers’ perspectives on writing; teachers as writers; the creative writing workshop; developing students’ critical responses to writing; assessing creative writing.
The Grammar-Writing Relationship: the historical grammar debate; prescriptive and descriptive grammar; grammar as choice; functionally-oriented grammar; metalinguistic understanding; teaching grammar to support writing development.
Writing Conversations: the importance of talk in the teaching of writing; talk to support the writing process: generation, formulation, revision; managing effective classroom talk about writing; supporting metalinguistic conversations.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | 274 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 26 | 8 Seminars of 3 hours each (4 Study Days): Face-to-face or online webinar, plus 2 one hour webinars |
| Guided Independent Study | 50 | Independent Study using online Cybergrammar website to develop grammatical subject knowledge and undertake self-testing. |
| Guided Independent Study | 40 | Database searching and reading research articles on writing and the writing process |
| Guided independent study | 9 | Preparation of a research proposal for the research assignment. |
| Guided independent study | 40 | Data collection and analysis for research assignment |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Preparation of a portfolio of creative writing and an accompanying critical commentary. |
| Guided independent study | 85 | Completion of written assignment for summative assessment. Task includes further reading in relation to focus of the project, synthesis of material and drafting/redrafting the final piece of work. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Module Dropbox for sharing resources and materials
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research proposal for research report | 1000 words | 6, 7, 11 | Written feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of creative writing and a critical response | 40 | 1500 words equivalent | 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 | Written feedback |
| Written assignment: research report | 60 | 5000 words | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 | Written feedback |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio of creative writing and a critical response | Portfolio of creative writing and a critical response (1500 words) | 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 | 6 weeks |
| Written assignment: research report | Written assignment: research report (5000 words) | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 | 6 weeks |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Beard, R (2000) Developing Writing 3-13 London: Hodder and Stoughton
Cremin, T and Myhill, D.A. (2012) Writing Voices: Creating Communities of Writers London: Routledge
Dymoke, S. Lambirth, A. and Wilson, A. (2013) Making Poetry Matter: international research on poetry pedagogy London: Bloomsbury Academic
Fisher, R. Jones, S. Larkin, S. and Myhill, D. (2010) Using Talk to Support WritingLondon: Sage
Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Hillocks, G (2006) Research in Writing, Secondary School 1984-2003 L1 Educational Studies in Languages and Literature 6 (2) 27-51
Kellogg, Ronald. T (1994) The Psychology of Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press
Myhill, D.A and Wilson, A.C. (2013) Playing it safe: Teachers’ views of creativity in poetry writing Thinking Skills and Creativity 10: 101– 111
Myhill, D.A. Jones, S and Watson, A. (2013) Grammar Matters: How Teachers’ Grammatical Subject Knowledge Impacts on the Teaching of Writing Teaching and Teacher Education 36:77-91
Smith, J and Elley, W (1998) How Children Learn to Write London: Longman
Wilson, A.C. and Myhill, D.A. (2012) Ways with Words: Teachers’ Personal Epistemologies of the Role of Metalanguage in the Teaching of Poetry Writing Language and Education 26 (6):553-568
