Sample of Stronger Moffett Essay

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. 2^nd 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.