Verbanden zichtbaar maken: Ontwerp en effecten van genregericht, samenhangend lees- en schrijfonderwijs

Reading and writing skills are often taught separately within the Dutch language curriculum. This fragmented instructional practice does not align with theoretical and empirical research, which demonstrates that reading and writing are interconnected. In her PhD-thesis, Moniek Vis examined whether the concept of genre (a cluster of spoken and/or written texts sharing a communicative purpose and various textual features) could serve as a connecting element to develop integrated reading and writing instruction. She also investigated the effects of genre-based, interconnected reading and writing instruction on genre-specific reading and writing skills.

This innovative approach was developed in collaboration with subject experts and teachers. Both reading and writing skills were addressed equally, and explicit knowledge of genres was provided to support reading and writing within these genres. Genre-specific reading skills were practiced through analytical reading, while genre-specific writing skills were developed through targeted practice in applying learned genre characteristics.

The resulting lessons on respectively columns and news reports were tested in grade 10 classes in higher general secondary education (havo 4) at three schools. Positive effects were found for genre-specific reading skills. Students who received instruction in reading news reports achieved better results in that genre than those who received instruction in reading columns, and vice versa. However, no effects on writing skills were observed.

The tested design for genre-based, interconnected reading and writing instruction aligns closely with current curriculum developments in Dutch language education, which emphasize connectivity between language skills and a genre-based approach to language development.