1. Introduction

Reading and writing represent well-established approaches to studying and learning natural sciences. However, studying that centres on reading and writing faces new challenges when learners look up information on the Internet. For instance, reading may entail copying web-based information on the notepad and writing in turn entail pasting this information on the document-in-progress. In such cases, learners neither process information nor understand the meanings of new concepts not to mention integrating these concepts within their own existing knowledge structure.

Thereby learning presupposes processing the available information by, for instance, reading and writing. In addition, mindmaps and knowledge structuring serve as effective means to process information (Bentley & Watts 1989). In fact, by processing information learners learn the skills and thinking necessary for information processing to take place. Moreover, when processing information in small groups, learners practise collaboration and communication skills as well. These skills are a pre-requisite for professionals serving in various fields of expertise (Tynjälä 1999).

Students may be encouraged and inspired to read and write by using information and communication technology. By employing the Internet, students have access to meaningful information by consulting, for example, electronic books, hypertexts and hypermedia in the CD-rom format or diverse web-based hypermedia documents, such as www-pages. When looking up information in varied sources, students at the same time actively structure the flow of information they encounter into meaningful entities in order to be able to create a report on a given topic. Similarly, this exploration of information in varied sources forces students to evaluate the reliability of both the information and the sources they use.

These online learning materials focus on reading and writing as processes leading to and facilitating learning. Thus these materials serve as examples of how teachers of natural sciences can guide their students to read and write in a manner that leads to learning. Both reading and writing are directly connected with learning and thinking. This is why the Introduction briefly discusses thinking abilities and metacognitive skills. Therefore what immediately follows deals with learning and sources of information. Moreover, Chapter 2 deals with reading as a process, and Chapter 3 discusses writing as a process. Furthermore, Chapter 4 introduces various projects that centre on reading and writing, and Chapter 5 features short exercises aimed at training writing and thinking skills.

Meaningful learning

Learning takes more than just transferring information from a book or some other source into a student’s memory. Rather, learning represents each individual learner’s own personal knowledge construction process which presupposes each learner’s active, goal-oriented and feedback-seeking role. This quest for the student’s own active role is by no means a new idea. For instance, John Dewey (1916, 51) stated that effective independent learning represents one of the most crucial goals of learning.

Meaningful learning engages students in tackling the topic to be learnt in such a way that they create meaningful and understandable knowledge structures on the basis of a given topic. The constituents of meaningful learning are the following: activity, intentionality, contextualization, constructivity, communality, interactivity, reflective skills and transferability. These qualities serve as selection criteria when choosing activities that guide the reading and writing processes.

Activity and intentionality mean that students take responsibility over their own learning. Thus they set their learning goals and proceed according to the plan to reach the set goal. This process may be facilitated by using a calendar program. Activity may be enhanced also by self-evaluating and keeping a learning journal.

Reflective skills mean that students examine their own learning and develop metacognitive skills to guide and regulate their learning. Again, self-evaluating, taking tests, doing multiple-choice exercises and consulting answer keys support developing reflective skills.

Communality and interactivity mean that students actively take part in group activities and support each other by discussing and sharing knowledge. For example, web-based discussions and peer evaluating texts develop interactivity.

Constructivity and contextuality mean that students combine their earlier knowledge with the new topics to be learnt and thereby tailor information structures that they can comprehend. Thus learning takes place in situations simulating real-life instances. This in turn presupposes that the studying setting allows for authentic and real-life simulating learning experiences. For instance, when writing it is crucial that students write to prospective readers other than the teacher.

A video about learning by reading and writing

Thinking skills

All learning centres on thinking skills. However, what is meant by thinking and problem-solving skills is dependent on the contexts in which these skills are deployed. Here thinking skills refer to the following: comparing, creating a summary, classifying, internalising, drawing conclusions, collecting and organising information, presenting a hypothesis, decision making and generalising (Rates, Wassermann, Jonas & Rothstein, 1986, 5-24; 85-152).

People draw information from their surroundings by concentrating on information representations that they use in learning and guiding other activities. These representations may be both linguistic and visual. For instance, retelling an incident represents a linguistic representation. Thinking represents a core process in learning and it is part of developing thinking that representations develop as well by shifting from activity-based representations to symbolic ones.

Thinking skills may also be displayed hierarchically as a taxonomy of cognitive skills. For example a taxonomy by Bloom organise thinking skills into six levels, from the most basic to the higher order levels of thinking: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation (Fisher, 1990, 69-74). Nowadays a revised version of Bloom's taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 200 1) is used. This revised taxonomy provides also six levels, from the most basic to the higher order levels of thinking: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analysing, Evaluating and Creating. In the highest level of both taxonomies, higher-order thinking by students involves the transformation of information and ideas. This transformation occurs when students combine facts and ideas and synthesise, generalise, explain, hypothesise or arrive at some conclusion or interpretation. Manipulating information and ideas through these processes allows students to solve problems, gain understanding and discover new meaning. When students engage in the construction of knowledge, an element of uncertainty is introduced into the instructional process and the outcomes are not always predictable; in other words, the teacher is not certain what the students will produce. In helping students become producers of knowledge, the teacher’s main instructional task is to create activities or environments that allow them opportunities to engage in higher-order thinking.

Cognitive skills can also be classified to include creative and critical thinking and problem solving. Creative thinking presupposes a positive and encouraging atmosphere. This atmosphere can be created by fostering positive thinking and a positive attitude. Critical thinking involves searching for the truth (Fisher 1990, 1-28, 34-44). Critical thinking is needed when providing grounds for argumentation or questioning things that have been taken for granted. Critical thinking and writing are thus inseparable. Writing explicates thinking and generates new ideas. This type of writing features argumentation in its core. Argumentation involves, for instance, giving grounds for claims and maintaining a discussion with previous studies. The starting point for argumentation is to recognise the problem, criticism or opinion stated in a given situation or text. This in turn leads to further criticising or forming of an opinion. Argumentation involves putting forth claims that often deal with a fact, value or instruction.

Metacognitive skills

Studying and learning essentially deal with consciously monitoring one’s actions. Metacognition refers to persons’ awareness of the strategies, procedures and thinking involved in learning (cf. reading, writing, listening and speaking). Metacognitive processes are believed to form basis for persons’ ability to regulate and guide their level of learning and understanding. Students need both access to a wide selection of strategies and also the ability to plan, evaluate and apply these strategies (Fisher 1990, 16).

When describing the actions of people who master metacognitive skills and employ them during the different stages of studying, the following characteristics come up (Kaartinen 1996). First of all, during the planning stage, these students evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their information processing skills in a given situation. Furthermore, they recognise and define the goals of the activity or choose the tasks and decide which strategy to adopt.

Secondly, these students monitor how they execute the task and thus regulate their actions. This is evident in how they evaluate their level of knowing and understanding as well as the efficiency of their actions. If necessary, in the light of these observations made, these students modify and adjust the strategy that they have adopted.

Thirdly, during the reflective stage these students check the results and thereby conclude the processing of the task. This involves evaluating one’s success in reaching the set goals and figuring out how to improve one’s performance.

When properly guided, students start working increasingly independently. This guidance starts with the teacher taking responsibility over students’ learning by setting goals, planning, evaluating and steering students to pay attention to meaningful points. Gradually, when students develop their skills, the teacher hands the responsibility over through joint planning. Finally, students are self-sufficiently able to make decisions. All this demonstrates that it takes practice to master metacognitive skills. (Alverman 1987)

Studies indicate that metacognitive skills can be learned and that these skills enhance learning. This in fact is one of the most salient results of studies that have focused on cognitively oriented learning. Metacognitive skills can be developed, for instance, by reading and writing. Thus when actively reading, the reader discusses the text. The goal of the reading is to find out the types of conclusions that can be drawn and interpretations that can be made on the basis of the text. Similarly, writing should orient writers to reflection upon their own thoughts; the goal is to process information rather than merely summarise the read text or quote another speaker. (Kaartinen 1996)

The relationship between metacognitions, information and representations of information.

Learning as the development of expertise

Bransford, Brown and Cooking (2000) examine learning as the development of expertise. The salient differences between experts and novices are the following:

• Experts find the meaningful points in information that novices completely miss.
• Experts have well developed schemes for the concepts of a given field, and this in turn enables thorough reflection when processing information.
• Experts can effortlessly bring things to mind and do not have to be especially attentive to do this.
• Experts are able to apply the information they have in mind and thus solve problems.
• Experts are flexible in how they deal with new situations concerning their field of specialisation.
• Experts may not, however, be able to teach although they thoroughly master their field of specialisation.

Studies on expertise have demonstrated that learned information and skills may be efficiently applied in new situations (Bransford, Brown & Cocking 2000) when the following principles are observed in studying settings:

1. New concepts are learned in context. For instance, when using a search machine (Google), students are encouraged to read printed books featuring facts on the concepts to be dealt with. This enables the students to treat the concepts in various contexts and thereby deepen the meanings these concepts acquire. It pays off to keep in mind that Internet-based sources usually need to be read against printed materials to ensure the facts are right (source criticism).

2. Studying is constructive and encourages students to bring up their previous views and beliefs and thereby construct new knowledge on the basis of this shared information. For example, prior to starting reading or writing, students need to be guided to bring up their prior views on the subject to be dealt with.

3. Studying is communal. Learning new concepts presupposes a dialogue both between the teacher and the students and amongst the students (explaining, debating, questioning).

4. Studying is an active process and students thus plan and set goals, study with commitment and evaluate their own learning and studying. On the other hand, students neither master the logical structure of the subject nor recognise their own biased preconceptions, and therefore students’ goal setting needs to be supported and guided. Thus teaching involves using methods and styles that support planning and evaluating studying.

5. Studying is cumulative and students are aided in noticing how a new concept is related to other already familiar concepts (the network of concepts). Students get help in internalising the new concepts and conceptual networks in the given field.

6. Studying develops metacognitive skills. These skills are necessary for planning and evaluating one’s own work. These skills make studying a self-regulatory process in which the student becomes less dependent of the teacher.

2. Learning by reading

When studying, several types of texts can be used as sources of information, such as, for instance, course books, encyclopaedias and web-based texts. Once readers understand the meaning of a given text, this text first activates the previous knowledge readers have in mind on the subject and then initiates the learning process. This leads into constructing previous knowledge and new information to form a new combination altogether. Previous knowledge affects reading, and it is easier to understand a text that deals with a familiar topic. Moreover, contexts, topics and discussions affect interest and learning. For instance, when discussing, readers can be asked to tell what they already know about the topic and thereby design reading activities that foster learning both concepts and social skills.

Säljö (1986) differentiates between voluntary reading and school-initiated reading. The most salient difference between the two is that voluntary reading enables students to choose what they read, where and when. In contrast, school-initiated reading involves the teacher assigning set readings and the time and place allocated for carrying out this activity. Therefore learning by reading requires distinctive cognitive activities that enable the reader to communicate with the text to be read. This in turn is the only way to learn to understand a text whose contents may be very far from the reader’s daily life.

Reading represents an active process in which the reader constructs new knowledge by processing the read text. At the first time when glancing over a text, the reader creates the ‘first interpretation’ that keeps being reinterpreted on subsequent readings. Both reading and writing involve creating and modifying meanings. For instance, Tynjälä (1999) states that learning by reading, creating meanings, may be facilitated by carrying out writing exercises and discussions. The exercises that support learning may include the following:

• activating students previous views and knowledge
• comparing students previous views and knowledge with the information featured in the text
• dissecting the views presented in the text
• applying the general principles presented in the text to imaginary practical settings
• voicing critical opinions
• writing a summary.

By memorising texts students develop into skilled readers and writers of exam answers but these types of skills are rarely needed during studies and at work places. Thus instead on asking students to memorise texts it is more useful to guide them to

• manage information
• critically evaluate information
• apply and develop the information available and create new knowledge on the basis of this information.

Learning by reading is affected both by the reader’s strategies and the text to be read. Baker (1991) lists the types of problems that students encounter when reading texts on natural sciences:

• Learning materials abound in texts that are abstract and difficult to understand.
• Learning materials feature texts that neither encourage readers to notice things on their own nor guide to problem solving.
• Learning materials start by explaining concepts and phenomena, established information.
• The number of new terms and concepts (information density) is high and concepts are vaguely explained.
• Introduced concepts do not draw from the previously discussed ones.
• The information structure in learning materials is blurred.
• Students have several preconceptions on concepts dealing with natural sciences. These preconceptions are often contradict what the learning materials state.
• Students lack substantial previous knowledge in comparison with what understanding a particular text presupposes. The extent to which students have previous knowledge varies depending on a given student.
• Students have never been guided to studying by reading.

Strategies for learning from a text

Both choosing strategies for learning from a text and thereby learning by reading a text are affected by how especially students approach reading a given text. Although several researchers have labelled these approaches by using various concepts, the essential contents of these concepts seem to remain constant. Namely, Matron and Säljö (1976) distinguish between two ways of processing a text: surface and thorough (deep) processing. Another dichotomous ways to approach describing text processing is the atomistic-holistic one (Svensson 1976). When surface processing or atomistically approaching a text, the reader focuses on the text itself and aims at verbatim memorising the text, whereas when thoroughly processing or holistically approaching a text, the reader tries to understand the contents as a whole and actively combine the new information with previous knowledge.

Developing learning strategies heavily relies on developing metacognitive skills. This is, readers who are able to process a text thoroughly are also capable of examining those strategies that they use for text processing and thereby choose a suitable strategy.

By means of the reading experience and with the help of teaching readers develop several strategies for learning from a text. Both skilled and less fluent readers resort to reviewing in order to understand and memorise the contents of a given text. Moreover, many readers resort to looking for cue expressions and strategies dealing with the text structure. However, the most efficient strategies involve looking for the main points, organising the contents, taking notes, creating mind maps, drafting summaries, and anticipating what the text states next.

The third way of differentiating between different orientations to dealing with a given text differs somewhat from the two other previously mentioned approaches but essentially the main features remain the same. The following illustrates how the characteristics of active and passive readers have been described (Kaartinen 1996, 38):

Kairavuori (1996) has studied learning from factual texts amongst seventh-graders. The results indicate that half of these students lacked structured strategies for learning from factual texts. Thus learning resulted in shallow and scattered outcomes: learning was characterised by shallowness and disconnectedness, and information management was passive and uncritical. This is why it is essential in schools to develop strategies for active reading:

Strategies for active reading in the different stages of reading:

1. Preparing for reading
Preparing for reading involves activating background knowledge which means thinking about what one already knows about the subject. This information is jotted down on a piece of paper in the form of a bulleted list or by sketching a mind map. At the same time those types of questions are generated which can be answered by reading the text. This preparing for reading makes the reading process easier and sets goals for the reader, which in turn help the reader to focus on the subject to be dealt with. This way the active reader optimally manages her personal capacities.

2. Taking notes
An active reader takes notes while reading by writing down the key words or creating a mind map on the most crucial issues in the text. She orders the contents by, for instance, recognising, classifying, comparing, and evaluating new information. In addition, she redefines the questions posed in the beginning and evaluates her work.

3. Connecting previous knowledge with new information
After reading the active reader combines her previous knowledge with new learnt information. This combining can be facilitated either by writing about one’s own thoughts after reading or answering those questions generated during the reading process.

Supporting independent reading

When students read independently, they can be asked to write down key expressions and pose questions that come to mind when reading a given text. These questions voice points that students have not understood. The questions can be collected on a white board or on a transparency for everybody to reflect. While reading, students can create a mind map on the basis of the text. This mind map serves as a visual representation on the ideas generated by the reading process and the connections between these ideas.

The following lists some tangible activity types that can be carried out while reading:

• Add subheadings to the running text.
• Summarise the text; in other words, tell the main points in your own words. Summaries discuss the topics in full sentences instead of featuring bulleted lists. A summary is always genuinely created by the writer of an article or a study whereas a paraphrase merely lists another person’s ideas.
• Skimming: Reading rapidly in order to get the general sense of what is read. The aim is to discover the main idea, to get the gist of it, the eyes run quickly through the text.
• Scanning The aim is to find a particular piece of information. The effective reader must also be able
  - to anticipate both the form and the content
  - to identify main ideas
  - to recognize the relationship between the main ideas and their expansion
  - to infer from the text – read between the lines
  - to draw conclusions
  - to recognize the writer’s purpose.
• Create a mindmap or a conceptual map on the basis of the text. Of these two, a conceptual map displays in two dimensions the connections between the key concepts of a given field. Visually speaking, this involves linking the key concepts with arrows or lines, and naming these links in such a way that the naming characterises the link in question (“is an example of”, “is part of”, “comprises”, “explains”,...). Furthermore, a conceptual map clearly displays the concepts high up in the hierarchy. In contrast, a mindmap is less rigid and thus does not necessarily feature named links connecting the key concepts.

Reading card

Readers can be given reading tips by using a reading card while reading. These reading tips guide the student to effective reading. The reading tips featured below may be given to students in the form of a handout or be displayed in class by using a data projector or an overhead projector. Moreover, these tips may be tailored to take into account the age of the students in question.

Questions testing comprehension

Readers’ comprehension skills may be tested by using appropriate questions that indicate in which way understanding the text is difficult. The list of comprehension questions shows the reader how reading necessarily presupposes interaction between the student and the text.

Questions posed by teachers

When teachers pose questions, they do so in order to help students understand a given concept or object. This means that teachers guide students to discover rather than settle for set answers. Posing questions thus serves in teaching students to discover by asking students to reflect a concept or an object from a particular point of view. For instance, the question “how many?” suggests that the student look into the matter from a numerical point of view. Similarly, the question “where?” guides the student to focus on the location, and the question “why?” to focus on the relationships of a given phenomenon. (Aebli 1991, 395-399)

Reciprocal reading in groups

Reciprocal reading aims at activating students to read and study in groups. Students are instructed to form pairs or small groups. After independently reading for a short while (for instance, one page), the following activities can be carried out:

• Each member of the group creates an outline on the basis of the read text and then explains the rest of the group this outline (the main points of the text). Afterwards all the outlines are compared with each other and the goal is to focus on the main point of each outline.
• Each member of the group creates a mindmap on the read text and presents it to the rest of the group. The created mindmaps are studied and the aim is to find the essential points in each one.
• Each member of the group generates questions on the basis of the read text and asks the rest of the group these questions. The generated questions and answers are examined, and a couple of questions (1-3) are chosen to be presented jointly in class.
• The read text serves as the basis for organising a joint discussion, role play or debate.

The text as a frame

The visual display of the main points in a text is called a frame. The frame features the relations between the key concepts of the text, compares concepts with each other, juxtaposes or draws parallels between concepts and related examples and defines concepts. These frames may take the form of tables, sketches, figures and diagrams. In this sense, mindmaps and preplanning tools serve as frames.

Several course books and other similar texts provide suitable models for frames. Furthermore, new frames may be created and existing ones be tailored to meet the needs of a given situation. For instance, the teacher may sketch on a white board a prototype frame that the students complete when reading the set text. When creating a frame, the following questions are answered: Which are the seminal conceptual categories of the field in question and how are the categories divided into subcategories? What types of parallels may be drawn between the concepts? Once the answers to these questions are cleared, a preliminary frame may be created. The text meant to be analysed is read and then the usability of the frame is assessed. On the basis of this assessment, the frame develops further. Thereby creating a frame follows the same principles as creating preplanning tools or mindmaps and conceptual maps.

For instance, the following basic frame may be created on the methods of heat transfer and thermal conduction. Students fill out this basic frame as they keep reading the set text.

Frame from the text

For example, a table may be created to enable comparing different energy sources with each other.

Teacher-initiated reading and discussing

On the basis of the learning theory formulated by Vygotsky (1896-1934), each individual’s consciousness is formed in a context affected by social relationships as well as societal cultures and traditions. Vygotsky points out that children are naturally social and, as children develop, language first serves as a tool for social interaction and later on as a tool for thinking. This involves “internalising” the language. Moreover, Vygotsky describes thinking as “inner speech” to make a distinction between this and the language used in social interaction. In fact, the key concept for this description of learning is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) that Vygotsky coined to describe the zone or level of activity in which a student can operate, not independently but with the help of a qualified trainer. This means, for instance, that a teacher can help a student to operate in the zone of proximal development by setting appropriate questions.

It is important to note that the traditional set instructions and questions posed after reading do not necessarily help the student to operate in the zone of proximal development. Therefore, instructions and questions need to be carefully formulated in order for a student to be able to work with the concepts featured in the text and learn these concepts. The table below compares traditional guidelines and questions with those that activate students learning. These examples have been chosen to serve when dealing with a chapter of a text that discusses the spectrum. Prior to this reading session, students have looked into how a prism disperses white light into a spectrum. T=teacher, S=student.

These dialogues feature distinctive differences. The teacher adopting the traditional approach focuses on testing whether or not the students remember what the text stated. Thus the questions posed serve in controlling the remembering of those facts stored in the teacher’s mind. In contrast, the teacher adopting the activating approach ended up

• guiding the students prior to reading to tell about what they already know about the topic in question
• trying to activate the students’ information structures involving this field of knowledge to be receptive of new information
• asking students after reading to compare new information with their previous knowledge
• attempting at creating links to situations in which students have previously encountered the phenomena and concepts belonging to this particular field of knowledge
• posing open questions.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Traditional approach

1.
2.
3.
4.

Activating approach

3. Learning by writing

People have always expressed themselves by means of writing. Take, for instance, the cave engravings and hieroglyphic writings, or the examples that some have left on tree trunks or foundations of buildings. Apart from leaving a trace, writing serves in analysing the links between our inner world and the one surrounding us. During the writing process, the writer develops both as a writer and a human being. Furthermore, expressing one’s ideas, even by just keeping a journal, serves an effective way of testing how convincingly one is able to argue for one’s points. This in turn enables the writer to retrospectively examine the development of the thinking process. In essence, developing one's thinking entails being conscious of one’s thinking process. Writing inextricably involves thinking, which secures it as a cognitive activity. It is common for writing to be a solitary activity by individuals since writing usually demands a high level of concentration. It is also a linguisticactivity because the writer has to think about and be careful in selecting grammar structures and vocabulary, especially in interpreting “scientific” ideas. Overall, a teacher should consider that creating a written piece of work is a whole process which involves learners in:

• gathering ideas - through reading, for example
• organizing ideas into sentences and paragraphs; ideas need to be put into a logical order, paragraphs need a main idea and supporting points with a few details
• drafting
• editing

Rivard (1994) has pointed out several factors that are crucial when trying to develop learning by writing. These factors involve, for instance, the requirements set for the student by the writing exercise, the learning atmosphere in class and the students’ metacognitive knowledge and skills. Thus such writing exercises that facilitate learning require the student to reprocess, question, interpret and synthesise issues and principles already learnt. In contrast, traditional exercises only orient students to represent previous information, copy ideas directly from a source, such as, for instance, a course book or a website.

Although writing serves as a natural way of creating meanings and viewing the world, writing tasks at school rarely motivate students. We all remember these all too familiar questions “How many pages?”, “Do I have to use full sentences?”, “Are bulleted lists allowed?”. This apprehension to learning may also stem from how writing is equated with taking a test. Linna (1994, 16-19) lists tools that help transforming writing tasks at school into pleasant experiences:

• Writing will not feel like taking a test for as long as the atmosphere in class is such that it is easy to ask help from the teacher and class mates.
• Students are instructed to write in small groups in class and keep the conversations going. Students are guided to give each other constructive feedback so that instead of focusing on what the writings lack they ask questions, such as, How to create a more concise introduction?, How to emphasise the key concepts more?.
• Students are guided to discuss the topics of their essays because talking (thinking out loud) aids understanding.
• Students are encouraged to structure the topic of an essay or an answer by creating a mindmap or specifying questions.
• Writing is given a purpose, in other words, the prospective readers are other than the teacher.
• There will be no rigid timeline for writing which means that writing is viewed as a message to others rather than just a task to be completed.
• The class jointly explores how to analyse writing with techniques, such as mindmapping and organising information.
• Writing is integrated with using information and communication technology.

The most crucial issue in bringing about the motivation for writing is to have a recipient or at least an intended recipient and the means to publish the writings. Thus the texts are created for classmates or other potential readers rather than the teacher. The publication may take the form of a school bulletin, a booklet, or a website. Furthermore, the texts may be displayed in the science class, published on an online learning environment or on the Internet. During the writing process, writers can be supported by giving them the following questions for reflection:

• What else do I know about this issue?
• Shouldn’t I try to explain some concepts?
• Should’t I give more grounds for my claims?
• Am I proceeding in the right direction?
• Does this take me to the conclusion that I want?
• Does the text fluently proceed from one topic to another?
• Have I provided enough evidence to convince a beginner?

Active writing

Writing is considered to be a seminal element in learning because it facilitates the active processing of information. Thus writing enables individuals to reflect upon their thinking “in the mind of an outsider”. By writing learners may overcome their limited capacities to process information and thereby expand their mental capacities. This is why learners should be guided to write in the active manner typical of experts. The following table lists the traits characteristic of active and passive writers:

Active writers...	Passive writers...
are experts who have developed a thorough knowledge structure on their field of expertise, and this helps them in problem solving and giving grounds for their claims	are novices whose knowledge structures are fragmented and who are unable to recognise and solve problems or give grounds for their claims
argue well for the points they make	express ideas without backing them up
resort to the strategy of developing knowledge	use the strategy of retelling information
are aware of the contents and meaning of their text	have not internalised what and why to write
plan their writing on the basis of either what the intended readers know about the topic in question or what they want the readers to grasp	do not plan how to write but instead start “in medias res”
aim at developing the ideas that serve as the starting point of the text and generating new ideas	do not further develop original ideas and always display issues in the exact order and form that they come to mind
view writing as a challenge	do not view writing as a challenge for as long as a high enough number of memorised topics on a list comes to mind
allocate time for writing and developing the text.	repeat other writers’ ideas which consumes very little time.

Passive writers rigidly follow the set instructions whereas active writers view the instructions as tools that help in supporting one’s own unique solutions. Active writers typically come up with creative solutions. Thus excellent texts are produced in a liberating and creative atmosphere. Writing can be fun!

In order for students to become active writers, they need support. Although students traditionally get feedback on how well they managed, this type of post-writing feedback is not as effective as the support given during the writing process. The following chapters feature tangible writing exercises suitable for studying natural sciences.

Process writing

Writing skills can be developed in science classes as well as in any other subjects’ classes, and process writing represents one way of developing writing skills. Process writing views writing as a process that involves writing, reading one’s own text, having others read the text, receiving feedback and editing the text (White & Arndt,1991). This writing process may be divided into sub-processes which help in managing writing more easily than when dealing with enormous units of information. Linna (1994, 35) lists the phases of process writing as follows:

In fact, phases 2 and 3 serve in bringing about thoughts and ideas. The text is not supposed to be immediately ready as the goal is to create first an outline by using, for instance, the technique of mindmapping. During the brainstorming phase (1) it pays off to get feedback to be able to deepen the writing process and edit the text so that it can eventually be published.

Even though this model of process writing is only supposed to serve in visualising the steps involved in the writing process, this model may end up shackling the writing which, of course, does not serve the purpose. First and foremost, process writing is all about flexibility and emphasising the uniqueness of each student.

If students have no previous experience from their language classes of process writing, they have to be taught this technique by organising, for instance, short information sessions for this purpose. And even if the students master this technique, it still pays off to remind the students of the basic principles of process writing.

Structuring information

The method for structuring information serves in organising information when, for instance, writing exam answers, papers, essays, or even magazine entries. This method is useful also when outlining the contents of a course book or taking notes. This method draws from the notion that it is possible to understand what information, a phenomenon, an item, a structure or a gadget mean and how they function for as long as we know their functions, structures, and example cases as well as know how to evaluate the given item. Thus understanding presupposes answering the following four questions that help in structuring information:

1. What is the function of this information/phenomenon/gadget?
2. What is the structure of this information/phenomenon/gadget?
3. What types of example cases go together with this information/phenomenon/gadget?
4. How can this information/phenomenon/gadget be evaluated and explained?

The method of structuring information is taught to students by using, for instance, the following instructions:

For instance, when the topic to be structured deals with lever as a mechanical machine, the answers to the questions that help in structuring information are as follows:

1. What is the meaning of a lever?
When “muscle power” is not enough to move a stone, a lever needs to be used. The lever helps in changing the magnitude and direction of the power affecting the stone. All simplified machines, the lever included, are designed to help people work effectively.

2. What is the structure of a lever?
Levers come in two types, some with one handle, others with two. When using a lever, the lever twists in relation to the point of support. In the case of a lever with two handles, the load and the human impact are on opposite sides of the point of support, whereas in the case of a lever with just one handle, the load and the human impact are on the same side of the point of support. The lever is balanced when the twisting effects of the powers are of equal impact in relation to the point of support. The lever may be examined as a balanced system which means that the twisting effects of the power and the load in relation to the point of support cancel each other out.

3. What types of example cases are connected with a lever?
Levers are, for example, many tools, such as pliers, pincers, crowbars, and can openers. Levers have either one or two handles.

4. How can a lever be evaluated and explained?
Evaluating a lever entails with, for instance, the old saying: “What is won in power is lost in distance”. Levers may also be evaluated on the basis of their purpose and easiness of usage, usability, price and availability.

4. Projects focusing on reading and writing

This chapter deals with various projects that emphasise reading and writing. These projects have been designed to support active learning and writing. These projects characteristically result in report texts that outline the results of the given projects.

Journals and blogs

A basic method to write a story is to connect the story line with some sort of tangible action, and both journals and blogs fulfil this function. Small scale journals can be kept on themes that have been narrowed down. This sort of theme may in turn be connected with science themes, such as, for instance, “saving energy” or “the lifespan of a product”. The following tangible example represents the field of energy consumption:

Studies based on interviews

The previous example drew from the student’s own actions as the source of information. Interviews are used to get information from other persons’ actions. The following example features interview guidelines that have been formulated in accordance with the task prompts given for students.

Reports on branches of industry

When writing, information can be drawn from various course books and specialised publications, newspapers and magazines. Furthermore, the Internet and websites of various organisations as well as newspaper databases and homesites of magazines and journals serve as excellent sources of information. In addition, information can be collected when visiting a museum or an industrial site. The following student instruction illustrates how writings can draw from written and digital sources.

Manuals

Our world abounds in various types of manuals. Once you create a manual for another person, you at the same time learn the topic in question. The following instructions apply to creating manuals on the following topics, among others: preparing cement, analysing the nutrients in a meal, creating recycled paper.

Booklets

The idea of a booklet is identical to the manual discussed above. The following student instructions may be used when creating booklets on how to safely use household chemicals and maintain safety in electricity issues at home.

5. Exercises facilitating reading and writing

This chapter features various exercises that primarily focus on writing short texts. These exercises aim at facilitating the comprehending of concepts in a humorous and engaging way. Moreover, carrying out these exercises necessarily involves working in small groups and discussing.

Combined sentences

The class is divided into groups of three and the students are assigned the labels A, B, and C. The task is to create cards, and sentences that are based on these cards. Student A writes down at least five items (sponge, ice cream cone, ...) and on the reverse side the letter A. Student B in turn writes on the cards at least five magnitudes (time, length, ...) and on the reverse side the letter B. Similarly, student C jots down on the pieces of paper at least five verbs (walk, float, ...) and on the reverse side C. These cards are organised in three piles at the table. Each student takes one of each cards, A, B, and C, respectively, and tells the rest of the group a sentence that features the words indicated on the cards. (While floating on the lake I measured the time it took to consume an ice cream cone.) The best sentences are shared with the rest of the class. The class may also organise a competition on who needs the least connecting words to create an intelligible sentence.

Word-associations

The class is divided into groups of three. The students’ task is to think about what two connected words have in common. No easy answers, such as “both have two syllables” or “both are human artefacts” are accepted. The goal is to find the most innovative uniting factors. It can be also agreed that the common ground needs to be established in the field of physics in some way. For instance, the word-pair car wheel – rubber boot could be combined by saying that both provide a firm grip on the road surface which enables movement. The student groups compete with each other in the number of the uniting factors they come up with.

Car wheel – rubber boot
Ladder – clock
Bicycle – snail
Coat – parachute
Pear – spoon

Sayings

The class is divided into groups of four and the students are assigned the labels A, B, C, and D. The task involves creating cards and sentences on the basis of the cards. Students A and B both write on the cards five items or phenomena that generate sound (clock, flute, running water, ...) and on the reverse side number 1. Similarly, students C and D write on cards five adjectives that describe sound (whistling, murmuring ...) and on the reverse side number 2. The cards are organised at the table the number side facing up. Students take turns in taking one card at a time from both 1- and 2-piles and try to create an understandable sentence on the basis of the cards in 15 seconds. (The running water murmurs in the brook.) If the sentence is comprehensible, the student gets to keep the cards. If not, the cards are returned. After this the next student chooses two cards and creates a sentence. The winner is the student who has the highest number of cards at the end of the game.

Poems

It is possible to create poems on both physics and chemistry, either free verse poems or formal ones, such as haikus or tankas. In particular, a technique called cinquaine serves well this purpose; namely, this type of poem features five lines that are constructed by following the orders listed below:

Line 1: A word that characterises the essence of the entity or phenomenon to be described.
Line 2: Two verbs that describe the activity of the entity or phenomenon.
Line 3: Three adjectives that describe the nature of the entity or phenomenon.
Line 4: A four-word sentence that represents the gist of the poem (the backbone).
Line 5: A final word that summarises what has been stated above.

For instance, if the poem dealt with physics, this is what the poem could look like:

Physics
Twisting, winding
Difficult, energy-consuming, exciting
When will I get it?
Tomorrow!

Drawing instructions

Exercises that take after the following description may be carried out on the following topics, among other things: a chart schematising the functioning principles of an optical gadget, a chart displaying an industrial production process, a chart featuring a chemical reaction.

Joint essays

The class is divided into groups of four and the students sit at the table, two people facing each other. The task is to create an essay on “light”. Each student writes on their notebooks the first sentence. Then the handbooks are handed over to the person on the right hand side. He or she in turn reads the first sentence and writes the next one. Once the teacher gives the cue, the notebook is again handed over to the person on the right hand side who reads the previous sentences and writes the following one. This is continued until the teacher asks the students to come up with an appropriate closing sentence. Finally, each student reads out loud the text featured in his or her notebook. At the end, each group chooses the story that is read for the rest of the class.

Metaphors and sayings

The following exercise aims at facilitating the understanding of concepts and relaxing the atmosphere in class. This exercise may well be supplemented by creating a pantomime on the metaphor. In addition, the concepts of physics and chemistry may be transformed into sayings, such as, “in the extremely hot sauna I got extremely hot”.

Collaborative stories

The class is divided into groups of four and the students are assigned the labels A, B, C, and D. The task involves creating a story. Student A comes up with the characters (3-6) and their characteristics, whereas student B decides the time and place. Student C in turn invents a story line that involves household electricity chores (the fuse has blown...) and student D thinks of the morale of the story. Each student works independently for ten minutes so that nobody has an idea of what the others have come up with. Finally, everybody shares their ideas and this results in creating the final story and sharing it with the rest of the class.

Questions

Each student comes up with five questions dealing with radioactivity or radiation and jots these questions down. Half of the class writes their names on a piece of paper and these are placed in a box. The rest draw lots on whom they get as their pair. The students then ask each other questions and answer these questions. It can be agreed that the questions have to somehow deal with finding cover from radiation, utilising radiation, nuclear power plants, the healing applications of radiation, and so on.

References

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In Spanish: Aebli, H. ( 1991) Grundformen des Lehrens: 12 forma basica de ensenar. (Übersetzung von Alfredo Guera) Miralles. Madrid: Narcea.
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White, R. & Arndt, V. (1991). Process Writing. London: Longman.

Further recommended sources

Anderson , N.J. (1999) Improvising reading speed: activities for the classroom. English Teaching Forum 37/2:2-5

Bulman, L. (1985) Teaching Language and Study Skills in Secondary Science. London. Heinemann

Grabe, W. andR.B. Kaplan (1996) Theory and Practice of Writing. London and New York: Longman

Hayes, J.R. and L.Flower. (1983) Uncovering cognitive process in writing: Research in Writing:Principles and Methods New York: Longman pp206-219

Lunzer, E. and Gardner, P.L. (eds.) (1984) Learning from the Written word, London: Oliver and Boyd

Sutton, C. (1992) Words, Science and Learning. Buckingham: Open University Press

Wallace, C. (1992) Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Wellington , J. and Osborne, J. (2001) Language and Literacy in Science Education. Buckingham: Open University Press

White, R.V. and V. Arndt. (1991) Process Writing. London: Longman

Wilson , E. (1998) ‘Language in Science’, in E. Bearne, Language at Key Stage 3. London: Routledge

Wilson , E. (1998) ‘Language in Science’, in E. Bearne, Language at Key Stage 3. London: Routledge