The case for a National Writing Project

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The case for a National Writing Project

• Richard Andrews

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Contents

• The problem
• A National Writing Project for teachers is one
  solution
• What would it look like in the UK?
• Proposals for a pilot
• How would we fund it?
• Its potential significance

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The problem

• Writing has lagged behind reading performance by
  an average of 20 over the last 10-11 years 80
  attain required levels in reading at 11 only
  two-thirds in writing
• Recent improvement at 11-14, but a persistent
  problem 7-11
• Why?
• Inevitable?
• The productive skills of writing and speaking are
  more difficult than reading and listening
• Literacy has been defined narrowly as reading,
  especially in the US
• The problem with writing has been hidden under
  the canopy English
• Over the last forty years, more emphasis in
  research on reading than writing
• Most (English) teachers are advanced readers, but
  not advanced writers
• An over-emphasis on the surface features of
  writing as opposed to the whole picture (content,
  structure, position/stance, sentence fluency,
  vocabulary, accuracy)

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A National Writing Project for teachers is one
solution

• Focus on teacher confidence, competence and
  capability
• We would not want to adopt the US model, but
  develop our own
• Success of NWP in the US over 35 years
• First, as a model of continuing professional
  development
• Second, to develop teachers as writers
• A broad range of writing, characterizing
  creative widely
• Including primary as well as secondary teachers
  and teachers from all subjects
• Being able to do what we ask children to do
• Third, the impact on childrens performance
• Recent results show improved performance compared
  to control groups on all aspects of writing
• The importance of such improvement in terms of
  expression, self-esteem, learning, citizenship,
  engagement across the curriculum and beyond
  school

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What would it look like in the UK?

• 10 day summer institute with follow-up during
  year cascading to other teachers through INSET
  days annual showcase conference an example
• A workable model for the UK context
• Timing
• Summer institute followed by evaluation/refresher
  shorter units
• At least 10 of teachers from each pilot school,
  and no less than 2
• Annual conference to showcase development
  website support
• Dissemination
• See model on p10 of report
• Policy and practice context
• Importance of fitting into current and future
  initiatives National Strategies
• personalised learning new GCSE criteria and
  specifications 14-19 Every Child Matters
  development of teaching as a Masters-level
  profession (see p19), etc.

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Proposals for a pilot

• Three-year, relatively small-scale (Model A) or
  two-year, larger scale (Model B)?
• The type of pilot depends on its purpose
• Model A
• To test the model ensure its workability work
  out costing/funding
• Four clusters of schools, each with a primary and
  secondary school
• Impact on children measured, e.g. last year of
  primary, first two years of secondary
• Model B
• More of a pathfinder approach working toward
  national rollout faster
• Ten clusters of schools, each with ten schools
• More limited impact on children measurable but
  wide impact on teachers
• Could reach national scale in four to five years
  with Model A in three years with Model B
• Governance high level advisory board management
  team regional HEI/School partnerships

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How would we fund it?

• Ideally, a single funder realistically, a
  consortium
• Model A would cost c. 260,000 per annum Model B
  more
• Model As costs are set out on p22 of the report
• Works out at about 15,000 per teacher overall,
  initially expensive, but worth it. Costs would
  drop per teacher, year on year.
• Would need external evaluation
• Would hope that government, independent
  charities, local authorities, industry local,
  national and international sponsors would come on
  board
• (In the US, federal funding began to flow in the
  late 1990s, supporting the central coordinating
  office of the NWP grants are offered to
  individual writing projects/consortia via the
  centre for development and research plus they
  raise their own local funds)

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Its potential significance

• Closing two gaps between reading and writing
  performance, and between disadvantaged families
  and the rest
• A range of benefits
• Increased confidence and capability in teachers
  in a core professional area
• Networked social professionalism and support for
  teachers bringing research on writing close to
  practice in writing
• Impact on children already evident in the US
• Writing confidence leads to engagement,
  enfranchisement, ownership/power and well-being
  and a more competent workforce
• Writing must be seen in a 21st century context
  multimodality, the continued importance of
  writing in the digital age
• In national and international terms, we would
  want to see literacy rising in the UK, especially
  addressing problems of the long tail
• Impact across the curriculum and beyond school

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Any questions?
Institute of Education University of London 20
Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL Tel [phone]
6000 Fax [phone] Email
info_at_ioe.ac.uk Web www.ioe.ac.uk