This article presents a revised version of the writer(s)-within-community model of writing. Writing is conceptualized as a social activity situated within specific writing communities. Writing in these communities is accomplished by its members. The model proposes that writing is simultaneously shaped and bound by the characteristics, capacity,…

This article proposes that two processes are involved in the generation of content during writing: (a) an active, knowledge-constituting process in which content is synthesized by constraints within semantic memory representing the implicit structure of the writer's understanding, and (b) a reflective, knowledge-transforming process in which…

Despite the importance of source attention and evaluation for learning from texts, little is known about the particular conditions that encourage sourcing during reading. In this article, basic assumptions of the discrepancy-induced source comprehension (D-ISC) model are presented, which describes the moment-by-moment cognitive processes that…

During the late 1970s and 1980s, as interest in Lev Vygotsky's work was growing rapidly, most of his writings were unavailable in English. Translations of Vygotsky's work that reflect the breadth and depth of his thinking became available in the mid-to late 1990s. However, this work has yet to become an integral part of educational psychology.…

The development of advanced writing skills has been neglected in schools of the United States, with even some college graduates lacking the level of ability required in the workplace (National Commission on Writing, 2003, 2004). The core problem, we argue, is an insufficient degree of appropriate task practice distributed throughout the secondary…

A cognitive model of human learning with understanding is introduced. Empirical research supporting the model, which is called the generative model, is summarized. The model is used to suggest a way to integrate some of the research in cognitive development, human learning, human abilities, information processing, and aptitude-treatment…

Merlin C. Wittrock was a friend and colleague who influenced me and many other contemporary mathematics educators on how students learn. In this article I summarize my interactions with Merl beginning in 1965, and how over the following half-century he influenced my thinking on student learning for understanding and, in turn, on how to design…

Among his many accomplishments in educational psychology, Merlin C. Wittrock is perhaps best remembered for his enduring contributions to the science of learning. His vision of how learning works is best explicated in articles published in "Educational Psychologist" (Wittrock, 1974, 1978, 1989, 1991, 1992), beginning with his classic 1974 article,…

Schools are a central interface between evolution and culture. They are the contexts in which children learn the evolutionarily novel abilities and knowledge needed to function as adults in modern societies. Evolutionary educational psychology is the study of how an evolved bias in children's learning and motivational systems influences their…