Writing at School: Test-Prep Writing and Digital Storytelling

This article presents a study on two students’ from nonmainstream and working class backgrounds writing experiences in two different writing situations: writing for test preparation and writing for digital stories. The students’ writing behaviors, processes and products in these two settings are contrasted. The differences of the students’ writing experiences in this classroom during a four-month period suggest that it may be our teaching that trails behind the time rather than students from diverse backgrounds trailing behind in their school learning. The research findings point out that a test-driven teaching approach tends to limit students’ ability as learners and in contrast, the instruction that values students’ home literacies energizes students’ learning, reaches their potential, and ensures their school success. The article concludes by advocating change in our teaching and curriculum and stresses the importance of inviting students’ home literacies in our curriculum, valuing their interest in our teaching and preparing them to be literate citizens for the 21st century