Technology’s Role with Supporting Effective Writing Instruction

GISA 2007

Some Background• Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York– Published by the Alliance for Excellent Education– Authors - Dr. Steve Graham: Professor of Special

Education and Literacy at Vanderbilt’s College of Education

– Dr. Dolores Perin: Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University

– Writing Next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools

The Case for Need

• “Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy.”

• “Every year in the U.S. large numbers of adolescents graduate from high school unable to write at the basic levels required by colleges or employers.”

Writing Next ReportEleven Elements of Effective Adolescent

Writing Instruction• Writing strategies: involves teaching students

strategies for planning, revising, and editing their writing

• Summarization: involves explicitly and systematically teaching students how to summarize texts

Writing Next Report

• Collaborative writing: uses instructional arrangements in which students work together to plan, draft, revise and edit

• Specific product goals: assigns students specific, reachable goals for their writing

• Word Processing: uses computers and word processors as instructional supports for writing assignments

Writing Next Report• Sentence Combining: involves teaching

students to construct more complex, sophisticated sentences

• Prewriting: engages students in activities designed to help them generate or organize ideas for their writing

• Inquiry Activities: engages students in analyzing immediate, concrete data to help them develop ideas and content

Writing Next Report• Process Writing Approach: interweaves a

number of writing instructional activities in a workshop environment that stresses extended writing opportunities, writing for authentic audiences, personalized instruction, and cycles of writing

• Study of Models: provides students with opportunities to read, analyze, and emulate models of good writing

Writing Next Report

• Writing for Content Learning: using writing as a tool for learning content material

• This one is more than just taking notes!!

What patterns do you see?

• Look at the 11 key elements and indicate any themes recurring or any patterns developing.

Did you notice what was not in the list?

Writing Strategies

• Teaching students strategies for planning, revising, and editing their writing

• Goal: teach students to use the strategies independently

• Transportable – a part of their student “bag of tricks” to be pulled out and used as needed

• Transparent – part of the landscape

Writing Strategies

• You Speak/I Write Strategy: http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/6-12youspeakIwrite.htm

• Writing Strategies:http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/6-12.htm

• Purdue University – OWLhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/

Writing Strategies• A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words lesson plan -

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=116

• Read-Write-Think Story Maphttp://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/student_material.asp?id=8

• Read-Write-Think Student Materialshttp://readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

• Inspiration Software• Bubbl.us - http://bubbl.us/

Collaborative Writing• Developing instructional arrangements where

students work together to plan, draft, revise, and edit their writing.

• Goal: show a strong impact on improving the quality of students’ writing

• Collaborative groups draw upon the strengths of all their members. Although one student may be stronger in critical thinking skills, another may excel in organizing. By working in groups, students learn from each other while they complete assigned tasks.

Collaborative Writing

• Workplace activities involve project teams• Students can take advantage of group

members for built-in peer review• Collaborative writing assignments usually

entail much less grading time for the instructor

• Not all writing assignments can be converted from individual writing tasks to group writing tasks, nor should they all.

Collaborative Writing• Bubbl.us - http://bubbl.us/• Google docs – http://docs.google.com• Wikis - http://pbwiki.com/edu.html– http://gacsosteenclass.pbwiki.com/– http://technoteach.pbwiki.com/Technology's+Role

+with+Supporting+Effective+Writing+Instruction• Blogs – http://classblogmeister.com/index.php– http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id

=17192• Microsoft Word

Specific Product Goals• Identifying the purpose of an assignment• Identifying characteristics of the final product• Writing with the final product in mind• Identifying student goals for writing so as to

impact writing quality• Use of rubrics• Use of exemplars• Have students answer – when will we know

when quality has been achieved?

Specific Product Goals• Rubrics– http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/– Writing checklist -

http://4teachers.org/projectbased/58wrt.shtml– Rubistar – http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php– English Zone -

http://www.english-zone.com/teach/writing01.html

– Reflective writing – blog– http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec296/assign

ments/blog_rubric.html

Word Processing

• File formats – be careful• Word 2003 - .doc• Word 2007 - .docx• File—Save As– Word 97-2003 file type

• File storage• Track changes

Prewriting• Gathering information• Reading• Developing a visual representation of their ideas• Discuss ideas• Organize ideas– Inspiration– Read/write/think– Bubbl.us– Online graphic organizers:

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html?wtlA

Inquiry Activities

• Think Write Share– http://www.mciu.org/mciu23/cwp/view.asp?A=62

0&Q=429397

• Cosmic Oranges: Observation and Inquiry Through Descriptive Writing and Art– http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/

lesson_view.asp?id=60

Process Writing Approach

• writing is the result of a very complex, highly individualized process

Process Writing Approach

• Authentic audience– When the audience is not real and the

communication not authentic, the writing is often weak.

– National Writing Project report - http://www.writingproject.org/pub/nwpr/voice/2001no2/peterson.html

– Blogs– Wikis– Publish – consider non-traditional ways to publish

writing

Digital Storytelling Project

Responses to Reading

Writing for Content Area Learning• Short• Impromptu• Informal• Help students think through key concepts or

ideas presented• Summarize and respond to readings • Summarize key points from prior class • Pose problems based on class material

Source: http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop2d.cfm

Writing for Content Area Learning• Clarify unclear points in reading or class • Plan writing or speaking projects • Discover potential audiences • Practice format for paper/projects • Record observations over time • Define key terms • Record round-robin comments for inductive

learning • Organize group-response sheets

Source: http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop2d.cfm

A modern-day writing assignment?

Other Resources

• Writing:Instructional Philosophy and Teaching Suggestions

• http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/write.html

• Write Next report: • http://www.all4ed.org/publications/

WritingNext/WritingNext.pdf

Contact Information

• Julia Osteen – Greater Atlanta Christian School• josteen@greateratlantachristian.org• http://greateratlantachristian.org• 770-243-2285

• Slide presentation can be downloaded from slide share: