WRITING TO WIN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
The backbone of any instructional initiative is its training program. Writing to Win training occurs at three different levels.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING VISITS
Schools or districts contract with Writing to Win trainers to visit a school four days a year for three years. Each visit involves the training of teachers in setting up and using routines for journal and process writing in their classrooms. Teachers practice the demonstrated routines, completing specific assignments prior to the trainer's next visit.
WRITING TO WIN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING view pdf
1. Jumpstart workshop. An annual Writing to Win Jumpstart Workshop ensures program longevity by launching teachers’ writing routines at the beginning of each school year. Writing to Win trainers conduct the first jumpstart workshops in a school. The days should be scheduled sometime during weeks 4, 5 or 6 of the school year. By that time, two teachers per grade level are ready to demonstrate their writing routines for fellow teachers to observe from the back of the room.
- One teacher—daily journal writing and a process-writing lesson (prewriting-drafting)
- A second teacher—daily journal writing and a process-writing lesson (revising)
A 20-minute debriefing session allows the observing teachers to share what is strong about the demonstration and what questions they have.
Consulting Day: 2½-hour session per grade level in an average-sized school. Two grade levels per day.
2. Mock writing test. A Writing to Win trainer coaches students through a Writing Sample that includes a topic written in the format of an upcoming writing test. The teachers of the students observe the workshop from the back of room and write along with the students. It is good for the Writing to Win trainer to return annually to prepare each new group of students until the teachers feel confident in delivering the workshop themselves. The workshop may be scheduled
- One week before a test as a final preparation
- One month before so teachers have time to remediate those who need additional help.
The workshop requires test-taking behaviors of students yet allows the trainer to prompt students in performing the steps of the writing process. The trainer and observing teachers write along with the students as model test-takers. The workshop concludes with some students and teachers reading their final drafts aloud for group evaluation. The provided Writing Sample test booklets are correlated to the state writing tests.
Consulting Day: 2½-hour session of up to 50 students. Two sessions per consulting day.
3. Reliable Scoring Session. When students have completed the mock writing test, their papers need to be scored within 72 hours. Writing to Win trainers help Georgia teachers learn how to:
- set up an effective Reliable Scoring Session
- use a rubric based on the Analytic Scoring System to score students’ final drafts
- use student scores as benchmarks for student progress throughout the year.
In a two-and-a-half-hour session, a group of five teachers can score 80 student papers. The procedures of the Reliable Scoring Session can be used to create ongoing student performance data in any subject of the curriculum.
Consulting Day: 2½-hour session. Two sessions per day.
Possible Combination of Mock Writing Test Workshop and Reliable Scoring Session:
Mock Writing Test Workshop with students in the morning, followed by a Reliable Scoring Session with teachers in the afternoon. Advantage of this combination: test is administered and rated in the same day.
4. Exemplary School of Writing Recognition. Writing to Win recognizes schools that meet 11 standards for writing correlated to the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). When a school documents that 80% of its teachers meet the Writing to Win standards for writing, then the school exceeds the standards of the GPS for writing (*W1-W4), conventions (*C1-C2) and reading across the curriculum (*RC1c-d). Recognition takes place in the fall. In addition, the schools receive a press release for the local newspaper, their state congress person and for publicizing the school’s achievement. View applications here.
*indicates that the standards listed apply to all grade levels, 4-12. K-3 have one writing standard, standard W1.
Consulting Day: None required. Onsite assistance may be contracted at the current rate.
5. Coaches Workshop. In a three-day session, Writing to Win trainers provide concentrated professional learning in managing student learning across the curriculum. The theme for the 2007 Coaches Workshop is GPS genres and Analytic Scoring Systems. The sessions prepare participants to support three phases of writing—short writing, long writing and language skills. They will be introduced to these Writing to Win professional learning products:
- Action Research Focus Studies
- Mock Writing Test Workshop
- Reliable Scoring Session
- Exemplary School of Writing recognition
- Jumpstart Workshop.
In the workshop, participants begin a timeline of administrative support for writing activities in their school(s). They practice ways to use and create student performance data to chart student progress.
Instructional leaders, curriculum directors, academic coaches and classroom teachers benefit from this training as they become coaches of writing in their schools. View future workshops here. Registration includes lodging and all materials needed for the workshop.
5. Action Research Focus Studies. This service product addresses low student achievement scores and achievement gaps. In a one-day session, a Writing to Win trainer leads teachers in designing an instructional routine that measures how much students are benefiting from instructional programs. Adopting a research-based program is one matter; ensuring that students benefit from it fully is quite another. The trainers help teachers choose a state test for generating data for the study or create their own pretest and posttest. Time is spent on creating a semesters worth of writing topics that are “non-fiction writing assessments” of what students are learning. Training includes follow-up consultation by e-mail and phone at no additional cost. This session insures that on-going instructional changes are data-driven.
Consulting Day: Two 2½-hour sessions on a single day. Participants bring school report card of achievement, curriculum guide and course textbooks.