Alister Cumming’s scientific contributions

Goal theory offers perspectives to understand L2 writing development as well as for the design of curricula, instruction, and learning activities. In this chapter I review these perspectives in relation to my research on two contrasting populations in Toronto: adult international students preparing for university admission and at-risk adolescents participating in an afterschool tutoring program. These analyses show that students' goals for writing reflect their relative development of literacy as well as orientations to knowledge and the world, both shaping the potential for educators to intervene effectively to enhance the students' abilities. Educators need to respect and attend to such differences when organizing curricula, selecting tasks for writing, and assessing individual needs for learning and students' achievements. It may only be from interacting with students about their writing individually over extended periods that instructors can perceive, distinguish, and establish appropriate goals for students' writing development. As indicated in principles of dynamic assessment, goals emerge from the convergence of students' development with relevant opportunities for learning and instruction. Goals follow from but also determine development. For these reasons, goals cannot be predicted in advance nor separately from close analyses of individual students' abilities at specific points in time. As a consequence, goals make suitable foci for teaching as well as self-assessment, as demonstrated by the present findings. An implication, however, is that goals are not suitable as content for general curricula or large-scale tests because goals are contingent upon contexts, learners, and purposes for writing improvement.