Writing

Bernie Hawker, Head of Department Teaching and Learning at Goondiwindi State High School in Queensland, joins us to talk about the school’s award-winning STEAM Program, which has been successful in improving student writing outcomes. You’ll also hear about the strong culture of sharing and collaboration among staff, including through Professional Learning Communities, that’s been key to the program’s continued growth and success.

Findings from an action research project in three West Australian schools suggest the use of quality mentor texts when explicitly teaching how to write narratives can improve students’ storytelling ability. Ron Gorman and Dr Sandy Heldsinger share more details about the teaching and assessment strategies used, and samples of student writing.

The process of comparative judgement for schools in the first ever Australian project resulted in student data that provided a writing age and an assigned NAPLAN band. The question for the Year 3/4 Team at Templestowe Heights Primary School was what to do with the information.

In today’s article, Daisy Christodoulou and Jeanette Breen share details of the Australian Writing Assessment Project, which brings together 25 schools to trial a technique called Comparative Judgement, and some of the early feedback and findings.

In a recent Teacher article, Learning Specialist Jeanette Breen shared how Templestowe Heights Primary School (THPS) in Victoria has improved its writing moderation process. Here she describes a new step that aims to bridge the gaps that still exist for staff, through an assessment process known as comparative judgement.

Video gaming and non-academic internet use can improve student achievement, but moderation and timing are key, according to a new Australian study by researchers from the University of Southern Queensland and UNSW Sydney.

Explicit teaching of vocabulary helps students develop their speaking and listening skills, writing and reading comprehension. Oxford University Press has analysed the word choice and grammar use of students in 2020. Here, we take a look at their findings.

Working with colleagues to assess and moderate student work enables teachers to make consistent judgements of achievement and progress. In our latest reader submission, Learning Specialist Jeanette Breen shares how Templestowe Heights Primary School has improved its writing moderation process and five tips for a more successful experience.

Children aged 8-14 in Australia recently submitted a 100 word story responding to the prompt ‘A different world – living in lockdown’ for a story-writing event. Their word choices were analysed and in this infographic, we see how their word choices compare to previous instalments of the event.

‘Feedback is identified as one of the most powerful strategies to progress student learning.’ Today’s article explores the nature and impact of high quality feedback, and shares how one school’s focus on teacher feedback on students’ writing is driving real change and improving outcomes.