An Investigation into Effects of Teacher Mediation on Students’ Writing Skills Performance, Strategy use, and Self-Efficacy Belief
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Date
2024-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study examined the effects of teacher mediation on students' writing skills performance, self-efficacy belief, and strategy use of learning writing skills. A mixed research approach was employed, collecting data through tests, questionnaires, and interviews at Hawassa University's Institute of Technology and Main Campus. Participants of the study were first-year undergraduates in the Natural Sciences Stream in 2022, with the experimental group (N=31), the control group (N=31) and the mediator. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in writing content, organizing, grammar, and vocabulary. The paired samples t-test also showed significant improvement in the post-test. The overall result showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the paragraph and essay writing performance, with a strong teacher mediation effect. The learning writing strategies usage analysis revealed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of memory, cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, emotional, and social strategies. Pre- and post-mediation showed significant changes, with a modest effect of teacher mediation. The teacher mediation significantly impacted participants' beliefs about their writing skills, with the experimental group outperforming the control group in mastery experience, adult-based vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological and emotional state sources. Pre-mediation and post-mediation tests also showed a significant difference in mastery experience, adult-based vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological and emotional state efficacy sources. The study revealed that mediation for meaning, goal-setting, and self-assessment were quite important. Mediation for intentionality and reciprocity, transcendence, competence, managing learning, challenge, sharing, and individuation were found to be very important. However, participants were uncertain about the importance of mediation for optimistic behaviour and a sense of belongingness. A significant difference was found between pre- and post-mediation ratings on the overall importance of mediation principles. There was a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-mediation on the mediator’s use of the principles, with a strong effect of teacher mediation. The mediator used very often mediation for transcendence, competence, self-control, and self-evaluation ideas. The interview findings showed that the MLE application increased students' writing performance, degree of self-efficacy belief, and utilization of strategies for acquiring writing skills. Further studies on its applicability to other language skills are needed.
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writing skills performance, self-efficacy belief, and strategy use of learning writing skills