GHEA21 Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 8-2026

Abstract

This project investigates the impact of writing-to-learn practices on the critical thinking skills of first-year students in a graduate teacher preparation program in the Kyrgyz Republic. For this purpose, multiple writing-to-learn strategies (such as Focused Freewriting, Loop Writing, Private Freewriting, Writing in the Zones, Dialectical Notebooks, and others) were integrated into the academic writing course instruction. The analysis of student responses at the beginning and end of the course demonstrated a movement from general statements towards richer re- sponses with evidence of perspective taking, metacognitive reflection, and synthe- sis. Additionally, student reflections revealed that writing-to-learn practices provid- ed space to overcome writing anxiety, organize and analyze thoughts, and engage more deeply with the course material. The findings suggest that integration of writ- ing-to-learn practices into a course design facilitates the development of critical thinking skills and also promotes a safer, more supportive learning environment where students feel more comfortable taking intellectual risks.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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