Writing to Improve Learning
Learning to write is important for success in a global society as well as for academic achievement.
Research shows that writing develops higher-order thinking skills and, when writing is
focused on content and process, performance in all areas increases.
Sound writing instruction and student achievement in schools can be attributed to teachers’
knowledge about best practices in the teaching of different genres of writing across all disciplines.
Continuous progress in writing can be attributed to the institutionalization of research-based practices
in every classroom.
We target this specific professional development area while balancing ever increasing demands for
high academic achievement with the tenets of research based quality instruction. The need for a
focused writing program, consistent within and across classrooms and schools, has created an urgent
need for this strategic professional development.
We have a professional staff with extensive experience training teachers and leaders to maximize
the impact of writing instruction. They have helped educators focus, analyze, and guide instruction
based on research based models and best practices. These practices move beyond the student and
classroom to school wide improvement based on implementation of agreed upon processes and
products that provide focus, practice, and feedback to students of all ages.
A solid writing program that develops fluent and competent writers must include:
- Adequate time to write every day
- Understanding by teachers and administrators about how focus on
and assessment of writing enrich learning
- Ongoing support for teachers to gain sophisticated understanding of the writing
process and related teaching strategies
We offer the solutions that meet these demanding requirements of a solid
writing program.
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| Planned Elements of Writing Instruction to
Improve Learning
- Focus on Writing as a Window to Thinking, Progress, and Mastery
- Examine writing priorities, grade level emphases, and attributes of
critical thinking to focus writing instruction.
- Connect Reading Strategies, Prompts, and Questions to Guide Writing
- Analyze pre-writing strategies as well as the prompts and questions
that guide responses and quality.
- Analyze and Calibrate Quality That Maximize Results
- Use rubrics to develop agreements that guide the
analysis of student writing, progress, and instruction toward mastery.
- Use Effective Feedback to Guide Students and Teachers
- Clarify feedback strategies and specific steps to help students improve
thinking, writing, and results.
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