Moving in the "Write" Direction: Learning to Write, Writing to Learn - Part II

Moving in the “Write” DirectionLearning to WriteWriting to Learn

Allison Mackley

Michelle O’Brien

Hershey High School

February 2009

Excellence and Equality for All

• Student literacy is a civil right.

• Faculty collaboration is the foundation of fairness.

• Learning communities are the essence of respect.

Impacting Student Achievement

• How can we best expand and extend the most powerful teaching and learning strategies?

• Recognize Challenges

– The challenge is not the initiative.

– The challenge is increasing the degree of implementation.

– Although enthusiasm may be genuine, the actual degree of implementation rarely breaks 10% of the entire faculty.

Implementation Gap

• Every organization—every person—suffers to some degree from a gap between intention and action.

• Only at deep levels of implementation do efforts significantly improve student achievement.

Formative AssessmentSupportive and Corrective Feedback

• Immediate• Specific

• Generated by the teacher, the student and peers• Effective with Gradual Release of Responsibility

Model Share Guide Independent

Practice

Next Steps…

• Short-term Wins– immediate, continuing reinforcement to

sustain meaningful changes

• Formative Assessment– activities designed to give meaningful

feedback to students and teachers and improve professional practices and student achievement

• Objectives– meaningful and attainable

What Influences Teacher Professional Practice?

0

1

2

3

4

Degree of Influence

Degree of Influence 1.8 2.3 2.6 3.6

Undergraduate Classes

Professional Reading

Graduate Classes

Advice from Colleagues

1 – not influential 4 – very influential

Learning Communities

• Recognize effective content area writing practices throughout the year

• Emphasize effectiveness, not popularity

• Share strategies and student work

• Seek to find best methods– Practicality– Relevance– Rigor– Consistency

Writing-to-Learn

• Writing to help students get their ideas on paper and discover what they know about a topic

• Writing to provide correct information in response to a particular question – promotes thought; completed quickly

– Journal– Reading Log or Reader Response– Learning Log or Double-Entry Notebook– Brainstorming– Freewriting or Focused Freewriting– Bell Ringer– Entry Slip/Exit Slip– Writing Definitions to Empower Students– List and Itemize– Cubing – looking at topic from different viewpoints– Short Summary

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

When we expect that we have an impact on student achievement, we are right.

When we expect that we are impotent, we are also right.

Exit Slip

• In paragraph form, explain how you will use one of the writing-to-learn activities in your classroom. How do you see this strategy impacting student achievement in your content area?

Please place you name at the top of your card.

Resources

Culham, Ruth. 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2003.

Reeves, D. B. Reframing Teacher Leadership: To Improve Your School, ASCD, 2008.