Unlocking Creativity: Increasing the Artistry of the ... · Underdeveloped ideas • Reluctant writers A look at student [s writing: Created by Bence, Gillespie Noble & Ramzy, 2016)

By PresenterMedia.com

SolvingThe

Mystery

From Reluctant Writer to Masterful Author: Pedagogy That Supports the Gifted Child's Early Writing Development

Michelle BencePatti Gillespie NobleAnna Ramzy

PowerPoint available in PDF format at www.lovingliteracy.ca

http://www.presentermedia.com/mspp.html

http://www.lovingliteracy.ca/

Putting the Pieces Together…A room full of disengaged, unsuccessful children with advanced linguistic and cognitive abilities

Children experiencing frustration, inadequacy, anxiety, despair and ultimately avoidance behaviours

A separation of the incidental from the critical

The 5 pronged approach to effective writing

Engaged, persistent, joyful writers

The Crime Scene

An examination of students’ writing unearths questions leading to an investigation

Precipitating Event

The Prologue

The Red Herring & Theory

The Suspects

The Evidence

EpilogueTwo Years Hence

Created by Bence, Gillespie Noble & Ramzy, 2016)

The Crime Scene

From Inspiration to Defeat!

…and so we began our search


The Characters: Gifted StudentsThe Gifted & Overexcitabilities

• Psychomotor: A surplus of energy and nervousness.

• Sensual: heightened experiencing of sensual behaviours

• Intellectual: intensified and accelerated activity of the mind

• Emotional: extremes of feelings, inhibition, strong affective

memory

• Imaginational: frequent distraction, wandering attention,

daydreaming


The Characters: Gifted Students

Analytical and critical, concerned with justice, curious

Intense, prone to self-criticism, heightened anxiety, can perseverate

Imaginational

Intellectual

Emotional

Difficulty focusing, divergent thoughts, tangents, think in images

OE’S & Literacy


OverExcitabilities – A Triple Whammy?Imaginational OE Impacts…

Where do I start?

I don’t know what to focus

on.

I have too many things in my

head.

But what about this…


OverExcitabilities – A Triple Whammy?Intellectual OE Impacts…

I have lots of ideas why can’t I

do this?

Why is this happening to

me?

This just isn’t fair.

Why is this so easy for

everyone else?


OverExcitabilities – A Triple Whammy?Emotional OE Impacts…

I am getting further behind, I’ll never finish.

Everyone else has already

started!

I hate this! I can’t do it, I am

an awful person!

Why can’t I do this? Why am I

so dumb?


The Prologue

Overall, disappointing literacy outcomes

• Weak vocabulary

• Underdeveloped ideas

• Reluctant writers

A look at student’s writing:


“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.”

Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four


This led us to question…


Did they have the vocabulary?

Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT) Results.

Grade 2 & 3 Students Placement on EOWPVT


Did they have the ideas?

Limited Plans or Limited Transfer


Why was there so much variability in writing samples?


Investigative Leads….

How do …

• Strong foundational skills impact writing?

• We mobilize their extensive vocabulary?

• We activate their idea selection for writing?

• We connect pre-writing to their final product?


“I ought to know by this time that when a fact appears to be opposed to a long train of deductions it invariably proves to be capable of some other interpretation”

Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet


The Red Herring

• The gifted do not need direct, explicit instruction

• Gifted children will “just pick up” literacy skills

• Gifted children do not struggle with lower level skills

Assumptions About Giftedness


The Red Herring

“Because gifted children have more advanced high-level cognitive abilities (as measured by their IQ) than their average IQ peers, we are often inclined to assume that they will master lower-level processes sooner and/or more completely than their average –IQ peers… That is an erroneous assumption.”

Yates et al. (1995)


Yates et al. (1995)

Gifted Children Do Have Weaknesses!


Our Theory

We concluded that lack of control over foundational skills such as printing and spelling might be the underlying cause of the writing struggles that we observed.


Our Theory

Over-excitability, intensities and sensitivities may be a symptom or outcome rather than a cause of under achievement with literacy tasks. If we work on the cause, perhaps the symptoms will lessen, or diminish.


“Having gathered these facts, Watson, I smoked several pipes over them, trying to separate those which were crucial from others which were merely incidental”

Sherlock Holmes


The Suspects

Flow Automaticity Mobilization

Activation Connection

Printing? Spelling? Vocabulary?

Pre-

writing?

Text

Structure?


Suspect # 1: Printing

Printing is not always easy…

Many or our students struggle with printing

• Laborious

• Pressure

• Formation (not fluid)

• Alignment


Suspect # 1: PrintingResearch Shows

• Handwriting automaticity – strong predictor of composition quality

(Medwell & Wray, 2014)

• Significant gains after 20 minutes a day for 9 weeks with direct explicit instruction

(Roberts, et al., 2014)

• Handwriting automaticity significantly frees up working memory

(McCarney et al., 2013)

Flow


“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”

Sherlock Holmes, The Bascombe Valley Mystery


Investigative Leads:

Summer 2013 Pilot

Handwriting without Tears


PRINTING BEFORE PILOT PRINTING AFTER PILOT

The Evidence


Modus Operandi: Super Skills!

• Direct, explicit printing instruction

• 40 consecutive school days

• 20 minutes a day

Handwriting without Tears: Printing Power


“Training transcription skills is like giving an artist a box of paints; he needs the tools for creative work.”–Kris Begay (Berninger, 1999)


Suspect # 2: SpellingSpelling is not always EZ

Many of our students struggle…

• Do not have high frequency words under control

• Rely on simple phonetics

• Lack an understanding of word patterns

• Lack spelling strategies


Suspect # 2: Spelling

Research Shows…

• Gifted students can be poor spellers

(Berninger et al., 1992)

• Word study instruction increases risk taking

(Williams, 2007)

• Knowledge of common words frees up memory

• Better word choice

• More sophisticated ideas

Automaticity



Began a search for a spelling program that …

• Works with a developmental spelling continuum

• Focuses on word study within & across categories


“There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before.”



Modus Operandi:

Words Their Way

• Explicit and systematic

• Sound and pattern activities

• Identification of patterns within words


• Engaged gifted

learners

• Differentiated

above and below

grade level

• High transference

The Evidence


Spelling

A highly differentiated program focusing on word patterns works for the gifted.

Evidence 2 years hence…

Emergent /

EarlyMiddle Late Early Middle Late Early Middle Late Early Late

Consonants Short

Vowels

Digraphs Blends Common

Long

Vowels

Other

Vowels

Inflected Endings Syl lable Junctures Unaccented Final

Syl lables

Harder

Suffixes

Bases or

Roots

GRADE THREE GRADE FOUR GRADE FIVE

2 (Grade Equivalent Progess)

2.2 (Grade Equivalent Progess)

1.63

2.92

1.50

2.97

Starting Point

Starting Point

KINDERGARTEN GRADE ONE GRADE TWO GRADE SIX +

Words Their Way - Stages of SpellingLetter Name – Alphabetic Within Word Pattern Syllables & Affixes Derivational

CONTROL GROUP

WTW INSTRUCTION GROUP


“There is nothing like first hand evidence.” Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet


BEFORE WORDS THEIR WAY AFTER WORDS THEIR WAY

The EvidenceTransference


Suspect # 3: Vocabulary“!I have all the words… I can’t

get them down!”


Suspect # 3: Vocabulary

Research shows…Explicit vocabulary instruction teaches students…

• Words connect ideas

• Organization of ideas

• Complex sentence structure

(Applebee et al., 2003)

Mobilization


Modus Operandi:

Eli Johnson’s Graded Academic Word Lists

Academic Language


SEA OF BLUE RAINBOW OF COLOUR

The EvidenceLex Tutor Profile of Vocabulary Usage


Suspect # 4: Pre-Writing

So many ideas…so little energy

• Prewriting did not often enhance the final product

• A lack of connection between plans and final product

• Writing fatigue…”I am done!”

Activation


Suspect # 4: Pre-Writing

Research Shows

• Most 7-8 year olds are concrete thinkers

• Pictures help scaffold

• organize ideas

• attach words

• Move thoughts to print

(Colello, 2014)

Activation


Investigative Leads

The search began for a pre-writing activity that would...

• Limit the amount of writing during pre-writing

• Ensure transference of pre-writing ideas to writing

• Activate vocabulary and prior knowledge


“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”

Sherlock Holmes,


Modus Operandi

• Elaborative, detailed, coloured pictures

• Highly specific to each task

• Narrowing the focus

• Modelling the link between pre-writing and the task


The EvidenceLowering the affective filter & experiencing success

• Drawing/colouring is a skill at which most of our children feel competent.

• Drawing lowers students’ emotional oversensitivity.

• Drawing acts as a rehearsal strategy, activating ideas and related images.

Activation


The EvidenceElaborate, detailed, coloured pictures or adding detail


“Just…

one more thing.”

Colombo


Suspect # 5: Text StructureTrying to find my way…

• Despite modelling, lack of structure in writing

• List making

• Disorganized writing

Connection


Suspect # 5: Text StructureResearch shows

Explicit teaching of text structure…

• Helps to select main ideas & details

• Reduces cognitive load

(Jones, et al., 1989)

• Significantly improves students’ expository writing

(Raphael, et al., 1986)

Linking specific vocabulary helps organize thoughts

(Gibbons, 2009)

Connection



• Mariconda workshop ‘spoke to’ the possibility that text structure was the missing piece

• Early attempts using Mariconda at Grade 2 netted

positive results

• Paragraph frames with transition words in grade 8 increased the quality of writing

The pieces fall into place…


Modus Operandi:

• Direct, explicit instruction using text structure

• Compacted the program from the recommended 5 hours per week to 2 hours

• Annotation of expository and narrative text structures

• Modelling and linking

• Chunking of writing tasks

Piloting and Adapting Barbara Mariconda’s Writing Program


Text Structure Suspense


PRE-WRITING PICTURE NARRATIVE STORY

The EvidencePutting it all together…


“There is nothing new under the sun. It has all been done before.”



Is the mystery solved?

“I have been blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.”

-Sherlock Holmes, The Man With The Twisted Lip


The Characters: Gifted Students The OE’s become positive attributes

Analytical and critical, concerned with justice, curious, find connections

Intense, feel intense joy & pride, can cope with their anxiety,

Imaginational

Intellectual

Emotional

Range of ideas, divergent thoughts, think in images


The Epilogue

3 Years Later…

Research Informs Practice


Another Way To Look At It!

SPELLINGPRINTING

PRE-WRITING

VOCABULARY

TEXT STRUCTURE


Examining Cognitive and Linguistic Resources

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

• Involves cognitive, linguistic and neuro-motor activity

• Numerous constraints on working memory

• Working memory scarce in young children


Writing is a multi-faceted, complex undertaking

that involves the interaction and integration of

idea generation, linguistic and neuro-motor

activity in working memory.

Dr. H. Roessingh


Keys To Writing InstructionThere is a hierarchical structure to these elements!

TEXT STRUCTURE

PRE-WRITING

VOCABULARY

SPELLING

PRINTING

Grades 1 & 2 development of foundational skills


What we know for sure…

Flow Automaticity

Activation

Mobilization

Connection


Calming Those OverExcitabilities …gives us engaged, autonomous, confident writers!

I know how to get my thoughts out of my head

I have some great ideas

I love this! I am an amazing

writer!

Others really like my ideas


Questions?

Contacts• Michelle Bence – [email protected]• Patricia Gillespie Noble – [email protected]• Anna Ramzy – [email protected] available in PDF format at www.lovingliteracy.ca

Picture credits:Audfriday13 Dreamstime.com & Colourbox.com &

Special thanks to our amazing mentor and fearless leader, Dr. H. Roessingh.

“A visionary leader doesn’t look at what is, rather she looks at what could be!”.


Selected ReferencesAckerman, C. M. (1997). Identifying gifted adolescents using personality characteristics: Dabrowski’ over-excitabilities. Roeper Review, 19 (4), 229-236.

Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F., (2009). Words Their Way. Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary and Spelling Instruction (2nd ed.) Upper SaddleRiver, NJ. Prentice Hall

Berninger, V., & Yates, C. (1993). Formal operational thought in the gifted: A post-Piagetian perspective. Roeper Review, 15, 220-224.

Collelo, S. (2001). The role of drawing in children’s writing. Study presented at II Seminário sobre Letramento e Alfabetização of the 13th COLE – Congresso de Leitura do Brasil, in Campinas (SP), July 2001. Translated by “English for You”. Jones, B., Pierce, J., & Hunter, B. (1988). Teaching students to construct graphic representations. Educational Leadership, 6, 20-25.

Gibbons, P. (2009). English Learners, Academic Literacy, and Thinking: Learning in the Challenge Zone. Portsmouth, NH : Heinemann

Gibson, S. (2008). An effective framework for primary-grade guided writing instruction. The Reading Teacher. 62, (4). 324 – 334.

McCarney, D., Peters, L., Jackson, S., Thomas, M. & Kirby, A. (2013). Does Poor Handwriting Conceal Literacy Potential in Primary School Children? International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 2013 Vol. 60, No. 2, 105–118.

Mendaglio, S., & Tillier, W. (2006). Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration and giftedness: Over-excitability research findings. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 30(1; 1), 68-87.

Medwell, J., Strand, & Wray (2007). The role of handwriting in composing for Y2 children. Journal of Reading, Writing and Literacy, 2 (1), 11-21.

McCutchen D. (2011). From novice to expert: Implications of language skills and writing-relevant knowledge for memory during the development of writing skill. Journal of Writing Research, 3 (1), 51–68.

Piechowski, M.,& Colangelo, N. (1984). Developmental potential of the gifted. Gifted Child Quarterly, 28, 80- 88.

Raphael, T., Englert, C., & Kirschner, B., (1986). The impact of text structure instruction and social context on students’ comprehension and production of expository text. The Institute for Research on Teaching, Research Series No. 177.

Roberts, G., Derkach-Ferguson, A., Siever, J. & Rose, M. (2014). An examination of the effectiveness of Handwriting Without Tears® instruction. Journal of Occupational Therapy, 81 (2), 102-113.

Roessingh, H. (2013). A look at Grade 2 Writing: Successes and challenges in early literacy development.

Learning Landscapes, 7 (1), 269-281.

Williams, Cheri; Lundstrom, Ruth P.(2007). Strategy instruction during word study and interactive writing activities: word study and interactive writing instruction can support young children’s spelling growth and their early writing development. The Reading Teacher. 61, (3), 204. Created by Bence, Gillespie Noble & Ramzy, 2016)

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Unlocking Creativity: Increasing the Artistry of the ... · Underdeveloped ideas • Reluctant writers A look at student [s writing: Created by Bence, Gillespie Noble & Ramzy, 2016)