Medierande verktyg som stöttning av studenters skrivande i högre utbildning

Abstract

With a sociocultural perspective on learning, and theories of mediated tools and zones of development (Säljö, 2000, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978), the article aims at contributing to the research field discipline-embedded writing. As student writing is socially situated (Lillis, 2001), academic literacy must be learned in contexts where discipline knowledge is communicated (Wingate, 2015). Pedagogical activities discussed are mainly based on the project A sustainable pedagogical model for the development of students’ reading and writing skills (Hållbar pedagogisk grund för studenters läs- och skrivfärdigheter). The action research, a collaboration between critical friends and discipline teachers, has resulted in modified mediated tools and the development of three forms of scaffolding: structural, practical and conceptual. Mediated tools must initially illuminate students’ perceptions and knowledge of academic writing, and thereafter scaffold discipline embedded writing. Thorough consideration of forms of scaffolding and how and when to apply them is crucial for progression in an educational programme.