Abstract
Effective writing instruction is essential to the development of a competent and diverse 21st century workforce in the agricultural social sciences. Writing instruction can be illustrated using a model framework that describes its relationships, elements and characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to use a mixed method research design to develop a model to augment critical thinking and create knowledge through writing in the agricultural social sciences. Writing instruction in the agricultural social sciences is effective if the writing process is supported by students’ confidence, cognitive processes and content knowledge, which are influenced by students’ discourse knowledge and social context. The illustrative model is a model of reality because it is a graphical representation of physical relationships between concepts. It presents writing in the agricultural social sciences as a complex integrated system—each element has a relationship with other elements within the system—that requires the layered writing process to be embedded in context-specific knowledge domains, cognitive processes and societal influences. This model has the potential to guide practice and provide a foundation for scientific discovery, but more research is needed to understand the interactivity, interdependence and interrelationships among its elements.
 17 Leggette_Sept2015 NACTA Journal-11.pdf | [ ] | 695 kB |
