Process-genre instruction with co-constructed rubrics for L1 expository writing: critical thinking as criterion-referenced judgement in collaborative action research

Le résumé fourni par la source

This collaborative action research examined process-genre writing instruction supported by rubrics co-constructed with a primary school teacher. The study investigated how this approach influenced Grade 3 students’ L1 Japanese expository writing and evaluative-metacognitive engagement during revision. In contrast to rubric studies treating criteria as assessment instruments, the rubrics were embedded across the process-genre cycle and used as shared mediational resources for instruction, feedback, and peer editing. Rubric ratings and student texts were collected at five time points, including a four-month delayed follow-up. Results indicated sustained improvement in overall text structure and connective use, alongside gains of varying durability in body organisation and visual aids. Additional artefacts (peer comments and reflection sheets) showed increasingly explicit, criterion-referenced justifications and more purposeful revisions, suggesting heightened engagement in evaluative reasoning and metacognitive regulation during writing. This is interpreted as domain-embedded critical thinking enacted in writing, rather than an independently measured outcome. The teacher reported increased confidence in aligning instruction with rubric criteria that made the evaluative demands explicit, and spontaneously developed additional supports as the collaboration progressed. The findings illustrate how collaborative inquiry can enhance primary writing instruction while supporting teacher learning by making quality criteria visible, negotiable, and actionable in classroom practice.

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