Important Messages from Students' Responsive Writing: s a big holloboleoos

Abstract

This thesis explores responsive written feedback as a means of mediating the written language of six to eight year olds, including students traditionally minoritised within mainstream New Zealand classrooms because of cultural and/or language differences. This research aimed to develop understandings about the effect responsive writing has on all of the students who participated, including those students whose second language was English.

A review of the literature identified the importance of socio-cultural contexts for mediating students' learning, including a specific examination of responsive written feedback and its effects on students' written language in English and in Māori medium settings. Chapter two presents the mixed methods approach utilised in this research, which involves a retrospective look at two different responsive writing studies. In chapters three and four, the results from these two studies are presented in terms of how effectively the responsive writing was undertaken by the responders and the extent to which the responsive writing strategy mediated both the quality and quantity of writing for the students who participated, including students whose second language was English. These results suggest a very positive impact from mediating the learning of all students, including second language learners, within the context of responsive written feedback. The thesis concludes with implications for other teachers, from the existing students' outcome data and participants' interviews.