Moving in the "Write" Direction: Learning to Write, Writing to Learn
Moving in the "Write" Direction: Learning to Write, Writing to Learn - Part II
12
Moving in the “Write” Direction Learning to Write Writing to Learn Allison Mackley Michelle O’Brien Hershey High School February 2009
-
Upload
allison-mackley -
Category
Education
-
view
439 -
download
2
Transcript of 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.
