In two weeks and a half weeks I will be talking with pre-service teachers about writing instruction in Virginia classrooms. I have so many thoughts about the current status of writing instruction in Virginia elementary school classrooms; how do I focus my thoughts and use a positive lens to launch their thinking and planning and hoping for next year?
My biggest challenge as a writing coach is to convince teachers that writing instruction is best centered around the writer and not the writing. This is a darned hard concept for teachers to grasp. Teacher education programs in Virginia, and across the nation, need to dedicate additional coursework hours to writing pedagogy. Because, sadly, now that Virginia no longer tests writing in elementary school via the Standards of Learning end-of-year assessments, what was already limited professional development in writing pedagogy, research, and innovation may now be non-existent in many places.
Over the next five posts, I will explore what I believe to be the most critical habits of mind that both teachers and students need to embrace in order to be successful writers. These "star points" are at the heart of the writing process. Every teacher can be an inspirational influence on his or her student writers. And every single child deserves a teacher who believes that #allkidscanwrite!
Christy Weisiger
My biggest challenge as a writing coach is to convince teachers that writing instruction is best centered around the writer and not the writing. This is a darned hard concept for teachers to grasp. Teacher education programs in Virginia, and across the nation, need to dedicate additional coursework hours to writing pedagogy. Because, sadly, now that Virginia no longer tests writing in elementary school via the Standards of Learning end-of-year assessments, what was already limited professional development in writing pedagogy, research, and innovation may now be non-existent in many places.
Over the next five posts, I will explore what I believe to be the most critical habits of mind that both teachers and students need to embrace in order to be successful writers. These "star points" are at the heart of the writing process. Every teacher can be an inspirational influence on his or her student writers. And every single child deserves a teacher who believes that #allkidscanwrite!
Christy Weisiger
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