WriteForward: What have we learned about writing?

Last week’s Share the Wealth session provided a great opportunity to discuss what we have been discovering about writing during the first year of the WriteForward project and to open up the conversations about writing here in CEFL. There were six main facts that I wanted to share with the group which are currently influencing our project work.

1. As a field, we have not defined what writing is. Our definition is influenced by our values and shapes the way we instruct.
2. Writing is individually situated and writing instruction needs to be learner-centred.
3. Writing instruction, practice, and assessment need to be authentic. This means that the learner can see how it connects to his or her life outside of the classroom.
4. Writing assessment approaches have been limited by the use of psychometric theory and the definitions of valid and reliable constructs. We need to rethink these in the context of writing.
5. Using technology for writing is part of being a literate Canadian. This means technology needs to be integrated into instruction, practice, and assessment.
6. Writing instructors need more professional development to understand how to choose writing assessments, how to interpret them, and how to integrate them into the instructional plans.

As a group on Friday, we just made it through a discussion of the first three points. We spent time contemplating what counts as writing; we approached this question as instructors and as readers and found that context played a huge role in how we define writing. Overall, an attempt at communication and expressing thoughts on paper were two common ways of expressing how we define writing. We also took time to think about what we value in writing. Again, context was key - what we value in a learner’s written assignment may differ than what we value in a co-worker’s email. In general, we talked about valuing the expression of thought and understanding, being clear, providing information, appropriate grammar and spelling, and use of voice or showing personality.

Current research encourages us as writers and writing instructors to collaborate and define writing locally - in a way that makes sense in our programs and classes with our instructors and learners. There is the acknowledgement that one size does not fit all and that we need to address this in order to best help our learners improve their writing. I’m glad that we had this opportunity to start this conversation within our department on Friday, and hope that we will make time for further discussions in the future. Thanks to everyone who participated!

For more information, please see our project website: writeforward.ca

Alberta Writes Conference

Alberta Writes 2

Conversations about writing: Exploring shared responsibility for the teaching of writing in Alberta

As part of the WriteForward project team I recently attended the one-day conference on teaching writing Alberta Writes 2. The focus was on Alberta education and the perspectives of educators on writing across the curriculum. Roger Graves (University of Alberta) and David Slomp (University of Lethbridge) presented and co-hosted the event with presentations from Robin Bright (University of Lethbridge), and Heather Graves (University of Alberta). The presentations were relatively short to allow the focus to be on conversation with conference attendees at the round tables. The conversations at the table were then shared with the larger group (about 100 people), and as the conversations were happening, a facilitator recorded notes on the Alberta Writes 2 blog.

The presentations asked the participants to read samples of student writing, and then discuss the merits, challenges, and strengths of the writing. The conversations around the student samples were interesting and intriguing. At the table with me and the WriteForward project coordinator Deanna Jager, were three English professors from the University of Alberta. Their experiences with writing and teaching writing were quite different from mine, allowing for some captivating conversation. In discussing the student writing (all from high school or post-secondary), with our table and the larger group, several key questions and themes cropped up.

Gaps at all levels

The entire group at the conference seemed to feel there were writing gaps at every level and a stronger emphasis needs to be placed on writing across all courses. Those with a high school perspective voiced concerns that the students were not fully prepared to write for high school, and those with a post-secondary perspective voiced concern high school didn’t fully prepare the students for post-secondary. It was clear there were concerns at all levels about student writing and their ability to communicate in a written format and complete written assignments.

Putting pen to paper

Another observation that stood out was about student ability to translate thoughts to paper. A student may fully understand a concept or idea taught in class, or with background knowledge, but many students have difficulty “putting pen to paper” to explain that concept. This was interesting from a WriteForward perspective in that we are developing an assessment tool for adult literacy learners, and yet students in high school and post-secondary have difficulty with writing and writing concepts. This may inform the WriteForward framework in terms of audience and skills developed in the assessment tool.

Technology, students and writing

As an assessment tool, WriteForward will develop adult learners’ writing skills and abilities. There has been discussion around the medium of the writing (pen and paper or using technology). One of the comments made was pertinent to our technology discussion. The facilitator Robin Bright stated students are writing more in their daily lives than ever before. They’re writing emails, texts and social media posts daily, often many times a day. There is a disconnect for the students, however, in that they don’t think of these acts as “writing”. This is interesting and made me wonder if the same is true for adult literacy learners. What do adult literacy learners consider to be writing? How can we determine their thoughts on writing and what writing is to them?

What difference does genre make?

When we are thinking about writing, the question of genre and structure is important. At the conference, there was discussion about genre and how that changes a person’s writing. Robin Bright brought up the idea of teaching genres in writing so that students can write well in a certain genre (she used the example of letter to the editor). Writing well in a genre allows the students to have a voice in their writing. She also stated that some of the most interesting writing and writers are ones who challenge conventions and “resist” the normal conventions and genres. I think this speaks to the importance of taking risks in writing, and allowing students to take those risks. If the students feel they are in a safe and respectful place, and they feel confident in the genre, they may take more risks, allowing them to expand their skill set.

Does spelling count?

Many of the teachers were concerned about the spelling in one of the writing samples we received. I thought this was interesting, especially in terms of taking risks, and fostering writers who take risks. The paper in question was written by a grade 10 student. It was a persuasive essay on the legalization of marijuana. The essay was an interesting read and the writer’s voice and passion were clear and consistent. The writer made several spelling mistakes, but all words were phonetically spelled, and I found the spelling errors did not detract from meaning or from her argument. Some of the participants felt the spelling was a distraction. I had the sense that spelling was important to some of the instructors at the conference. Thinking about WriteForward, I wondered if and at which point in the assessment we will assess spelling.

Other questions that materialized for me need further reflection, and I feel these are questions all teachers should consider. These questions were:

·         What do learners value as writers?

·         What do teachers do in inhibit writing?

·         What can teachers do to promote writing?

·         What are some successful writing prompts? Are they written, oral, or visual?

·         How do you incorporate theory in the classroom?

The conference was very interesting and provided great food for thought in looking at the writing assessment of WriteForward. The Alberta Writes team is hoping to host a conference in Calgary on writing and the workplace, and I look forward to attending this as well. The conversations from our day at Alberta Writes 2 were incredibly valuable and provided many questions for consideration. I was thrilled to be invited and participate in the conversation.

Deanna Jager has also recorded her thoughts and reflections on the conference which you can find on the WriteForward website.

Writing Collection

What do your learners write? What do they want to write?

The WriteForward project is looking closely at these questions and we are asking for your help. In late February we will be creating a Writing Collection that will house examples of what learners are already writing and what they want to be able to write - anything from a grocery list, to job applications, to class assignments. We will use these samples to guide the development of our writing assessment framework and as inspiration to create test items.

Want to get involved?

We want to get as wide a variety of samples as possible. If you would like your Writing or English learners to participate, here is all it takes:

1. Set aside 15 minutes in one class on February 25th or 26th for Maureen to come in and explain to your learners what the collection is and why we are collecting writing samples. She will also explain how anyone who submits something can have his or her name entered in a draw to win a prize.
2. Remind your learners to bring in their samples and keep the collection box in your classroom until the end of the collection.
3. Set aside 10 minutes in class on March 1st for Maureen to return and collect the samples and the names of the learners who participated and want to be in the draw.

Interested?

Contact Maureen Stewart at mstewart@bowvalleycollege.ca. Any BVC learners are welcome and encouraged to participate.

For more information about the WriteForward project, please see our website: writeforward.ca.