Teaching and Learning Argumentative Writing in High School English Language Arts Classrooms

Focused on the teaching and learning argumentative writing in grades 9-12, this important contribution to literacy education research and classroom practice offers a new perspective, a set of principled practices, and case studies of excellent teaching. The case studies illustrate teaching and learning argumentative writing as the construction of knowledge and new understandings about experiences, ideas, and texts. Six themes key to teaching argumentative writing as a thoughtful, multi‐leveled practice for deep learning and expression are presented: teaching and learning argumentative writing as social practice, teachers’ epistemological beliefs about argumentative writing, variations in instructional chains, instructional conversations in support of argumentative writing as deep learning and appreciation of multiple perspectives, contextualized analysis of argumentative writing, and the teaching and learning of argumentative writing and the construction of rationalities.

George E. Newell is Professor, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, USA.

David Bloome is EHE Distinguished Professor of Teaching and Learning and Director of the Center for Video Ethnography and Discourse Analysis, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, USA.

Alan Hirvela is Professor, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, USA.

Tzu-Jung Lin is Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Studies, The Ohio State University, USA.

Jennifer VanDerHeide is Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, USA.

Allison Wynhoff Olsen is Assistant Professor, Department of English, Montana State University, USA

Eileen Buescher, Brent Goff, MinYoung Kim, SangHee Ryu, and Larkin Weyand are doctoral students at The Ohio State University, USA.