SUPPORTING FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS’ DEVELOPMENT IN PERSUASIVE WRITING THROUGH THE USE OF A CLASS BLOG

Abstract

In this sequential explanatory mixed methods study the researcher examined a) the quality of persuasive writing, and b) attitudes toward writing of two groups of fourth graders, one that blogged and another group that did not. The purpose of this study was to investigate how blogging could be used to assist in students’ persuasive writing development. In the study the researcher collected both quantitative and qualitative data. For quantitative data, the researcher administered pre and post writing assessments, which were scored using two different writing rubrics. Attitudes toward writing were assessed with a survey. Interviews were conducted with purposefully selected fourth grade students. The blog writing group perceived that they improved in five of the seven areas on the Six-Point Writing Rubric (also known as the 6 + 1 Traits Writing Rubric) and in all areas except punctuation on the Opinion Writing Rubric as elucidated in the assessments. However, the results from the inferential statistical analyses of the quantitative data suggest that none of the differences reached the level of statistical significance. Yet, analyses of qualitative data suggest fourth graders in the blog writing group perceived that blogging enhanced the quality of their writing, increased the quantity of their writing, and improved their writing mechanical skills. In addition, fourth graders who blogged had more positive attitudes toward writing than fourth graders in the traditional writing group upon the completion of the study.