Mackenzie & Veresov on Drawing and Writing

Mackenzie, N. & Veresov, N. (2013). How drawing can support writing acquisition: Text construction in early writing from a Vygotskian perspective. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(4), 22-29.

Summary:

This study examined the ways children use visual texts to transition to written text, and suggests that using drawings as a transitional tool may prevent writing problems. The research question was: “How does sign creation (visual text creation or drawing) support the learning of sign use (written text construction)?” (p. 23). The research took place in primary classrooms where children were immersed in print. “Teachers introduced conventional written language use as ‘another way’ of text construction, alongside (talking and drawing)” (p. 24). Findings suggest drawing is “an important stage in the genesis of written language” (p. 28) because it provides a safe, transitional space, and conversations about the drawings may lead to more complex text generation by children.

Research Specifics: Theoretical underpinnings-Cultural-historical theory (CHT) and Genetic Research Methodology (GRM), p. 23 Methodology-GRM-“The advantages of this method is that is discloses ‘real connections that are hidden behind the external manifestation of any process’ (Vygotsky, 1997, p.69)” (p. 24).

Sample-60 randomly selected children, age 4-6, 26 girls, 34 boys, families were low SES, all spoke English as first language; 10 volunteer teachers

Findings:

-reported with student drawing/writing samples and explanations of tools and processes. According to Vygotsky (1994), mature speech is the final or ideal form. Real and primary forms are “early attempts at speech” (p. 25).

1. “As children become proficient in the ideal form of written language the primary form (drawings) may take on a more illustrative or supportive role” (p. 27).

2. “…ability of children to continue to express their ideas during the process of transition from sign creation to use of signs” (p. 28).

3. “…difficulties” … in writing… “may be the result of a forced disruption of the text construction process” (p. 28). With forced disruption, children may then view writing as “a meaningless activity” (p. 28).

4. Children’s drawings are a “legitimate form of self-expression and text construction and an important stage in the genesis of written language” (p. 28).

Key quotes:

Quote within the text from Vygotsky’s (1987) In Thinking and speech: “meaning is an inseparable part of the word; it belongs not only to the domain of thought but to the domain of speech…It is both at one and the same time; it is a unit of verbal thinking” (p. 47-48) (as cited on p. 25).

Reflection: The idea of introducing written text “alongside talking and drawing” (p. 24) is key. It appears the authors did not privilege one form of text production over another, and students experienced success in text production using multimodal text generation. In some schools, there is a heavy emphasis on building students’ stamina in reading and writing. Yet, students are asked to complete writing assignments in less than an hour and begin a new assignment each day. There is not continuity in the thought process, but rather continuity for test preparation. The conditions for this experiment “allowed persistent self-expression or text construction to be maintained” (p. 24). These conditions allow children to move beyond the limits often placed on them in classrooms to experience text generation over time, and increase stamina in a purposeful setting. We need to provide a transitional space in the early years. We need to spend more time assisting students in their transition from drawing to print, or allowing multimodal text generation if that is the student choice so students develop into proficient writers who understand writing carries meaning.

This study seems to support the work of Katie Wood Ray (2010) and her book, In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study.