What is the impact of peer-assisted sentence-combining teaching on primary pupils' writing performance?
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English
How were all the lessons designed?
In each teaching group (sentence-combining and grammar) there was a combination of:
- teacher instruction;
- teacher-guided practice; and
- peer-directed independent practice.
The teacher would first explain and model the new writing procedure. The pair then practiced orally followed by writing down their sentences individually with assistance from the instructor. For example, grammar pupils would discuss the best words to complete a sentence in which target parts of speech were missing, pupils in the sentence-combining group would apply their new procedure for combining sentences they had been taught first orally and then in writing. The pairs then took it in turns to coach each other with the coach being provided with instruction cards, these included the following directions:
1) first, read the sentence aloud;
2) second, decide either the best word to fit in the gap in the sentence, or the best way to combine the sentences;
3) third, write the answer on the sheet; and
4) fourth, read the new sentence.
The coach would offer suggestions of changes if the sentence was not grammatically correct. The pair would then swap roles once the sentence was written correctly.
