James
Moffett Research Paper
James
Moffett has influenced many educators with the ideas he contributed to the
field of teaching and writing. His ideas went beyond the classroom and the
cognitive mind to improve writing and reading skills for teachers and students.
Moffett advocated the ideas of student-centered curriculum such as dialogue,
developing reasoning skills, getting in touch with emotion and child
psychological development to improve students’ writing. He believed in
student-centered reading activities as well, which helped students develop more
of an interest in reading and writing. He also developed four stages for
students to use to develop their writing. He believed in the idea that learning
is a social and spiritual concept which we learn together. With all his ideas
that he encouraged the education system to adapt, he became an inspiration for
teachers and students to learn to become better writers.
Moffett
believes that there are four stages of discourse: inner verbalization, outer
vocalization, correspondence, and formal writing (Moffett 197). He argued that
this stage process was essential for students to write through so they can find
their own unique style and voice. He believes writing is a socializing process
and by using the world around them in their everyday experiences it can help
students develop their own flair of writing. Moffett stated that using the
senses between speaker and audience heightens development of writing. The activity
changes from thinking to speaking to writing to publishing (Moffett 197).
Piaget and Vygotsky agree with Moffett that early egocentric speech of the
child becomes gradually “socialized” and adapts itself to other people (Moffett
200). This theory is the view from our self to the world, form a point to an
area, and from inner speech to a public universe. We interpret the world around
us based on social experiences and what the world wants us to view it as. Moffett believed that if we give students the
freedom to write from experience than just based on the reading, their writing
would be better.
Moffett
is a big advocator for student-centered curriculum. He was certain that no
matter how different students were in their race, wealth status, or age, if
students were able to express themselves freely their writing would develop and
they would find their own voice. Three important aspects that derive from this
concept are individualization, interaction, and integration. Students learn at
their own level by select what activities they want to do, interact and
interact by learning from other students, and students can develop their
learning using their own cognitive skills. Moffett believes that each student
learns at difference paces and has different strategies to form concepts. By using a more student-centered approach you
are assisting to each child’s needs and they are learning from fellow students
as well.
Moffett’s
theory for student-centered reading gives students the power to choose whatever
they want to read. This theory allows students to develop more of an interest
in reading and broadening their literacy skills. Moffett’s theory also suggests
that using different activities to discuss the readings such as peer discussions
and performing texts help develop their understanding of the reading. By
picking a book of their own choice gives students more encouragement to develop
their writing skills based on something they have an interest in. Moffett
stated that by transforming the text from the literature to another form of
writing such as poetry, or a fable can further the students writing development
(Moffett &Wagner 72). Moffett and Wagner also concurred that collaborative
learning can help students reach their maximum ability in learning literacy
(73).
Moffett’s theory of writing
through dialogue was also a brilliant idea that furthers the education of
writing. He stated that the point of students to write was to see what they
learned and understood. All oral conversation including improvisation, and
discussion, provides pre-writing activities, and transcribing spontaneous
speech provides fine practice on literacy skills. Using dialogue deals with
both reasoning and fictionalizing (Moffett 46). Moffett believed that this
theory generates and clarifies one’s thoughts. The purpose of this theory is to
explore all possible ideas without feeling the pressure to build a case for the
assignment. Being able to discuss infinite possible ideas with someone helps
generate a more focused appropriate case for the writing. This theory ties back
into his previous stages of writing theory, were an audience is necessary for
brainstorming a writing assignment. Moffett believed that sociality is one of
the best learning tools. By using writing and speaking dialogues in social
contexts Moffett stated that when you are equally discussing an issue to
another person, the student is not being assessed which leads to them producing
more ideas, as oppose to a teacher whose role would be to assess. But Moffett
believed if the teachers and all students create an equal discussion it can
lead to important learning (Gage 406).
Moffett
started his advocacy for better writing with the psychological development of
the child. He identified that it wasn’t about higher thinking but about making
thoughts and feeling coherent to one’s self. His research state that as
children we project ourselves first into animals, creatures, heroes, and
legendary figures and then gradually we withdraw projection back to our self.
We start to recognize personal meaning symbolized in our myths (Moffett
418). His theory stated that students
need to be in touch with their inner most self before they can start to write
better. He believes that women are more in tuned with their emotional side than
men are. In Moffetts’s essay The Spiritual Awakening, he argues that learning
is a social and spiritual concept that we all must learn as one. He believes
that students need to learn how to connect within them to be able to write for
themselves. He argues that a student cannot develop that through standardize
testing. Moffett defines spirituality as all inclusive is the one that most
applies to education. Advocates of holistic education, for example, insist on
the total development of all levels of a human being (Moffett 28). He sees
education as a whole not breaking them down to us against them and completion
against each other. In order to change education to a more holistic education,
Moffett suggested that we have to understand the system behind public
education. He believes they are too organizational and political instead
essentials of the learning process. His vision is to have schools that give
access to everything to students and teachers. He wants them to be able to have
an abundance of material to help students learn. Although Moffett has not
further this advocacy of his, it started a trend that led to other researchers
following Moffett’s vision of spiritual perspective in the education system.
The
important ideas, theories, and visions of Moffett’s have led to further
development of our education system to enhance students writing and teachers
teaching writing. His theory has practiced true in most schools. His visions
have also led other researchers to advance his concepts into more practical
use. His theories are constantly evolving the writing process in our education
system.
Work Cited
1.
Gage, Tom. Harmonic Learning: The Congruent Education Models of Fethullah Gullen and
James Moffett. Peaceful Coexistence. (2009),
pp.397-406.
2. Moffet,
James. Active Voice: A writing program across the curriculum. 2nd
Ed Boynton/Cook Publishers. Portsmouth,
NH. (1992)
3. Moffett,
J., & Wagner, B. J. Student-centered
language arts, K-12. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers Heinemann. (1992)
4.
Moffett, J., & Wagner, B. J. The English
Journal, Vol. 80, No. 6. (Oct., 1991), pp. 70-73.
