Escritura inicial y estilo cognitivo

Abstract

Comparative effects of two methods used for teaching writing at the initial level were examined: the global and syllabic approaches and their interaction with cognitive style in the field dependence-independence dimension (FDI), in 31 first-grade children from two school groups and from two different institutions, where each one of the methods were implemented. CEFT test was applied to determine the cognitive style, and a writing test called "text-building exercise" was also used at the beginning of the academic year and four months later. The final results were esamined through covariance analysis, in which the achievements recorded four months earlier were controlled as covariates. In general, data show clear advantages of the global method over the syllabic method, specifically for field-dependent and intermediate style children in six out of eight indicators examined. These results are explained on the basis of distinctive features of the cognitive style in this dimension