Write To Learn
Faculty working in the Franklin Central Supervisory Union (FCSU) spend a sizable chunk of time editing and revising students' written work, and so the purpose of this professional development opportunity is to introduce teachers and support staff to a web-based instructional writing and automated assessment tool titled WriteToLearn.Why?
We want our students to become better writersWe want our teachers to spend more time on writing instruction and less time grading papers
We want to better support literacy, and the Common Core State Standards require us to do it!
We want to give our students more formative "ungraded" practice opportunities to develop their writing
Students are writing about what they are reading in selected passages- so reading comprehension further strengthened.
All teachers are now responsible for teaching writing across every academic discipline. This is a tremendous time-saving device and a valuable asset for teachers who have not spent much time on writing instruction and assessment
I have created a Prezi presentation that details several compelling reasons why WriteToLearn is worth the investment
How?
Implement automated assessment software for reading comprehension and writing instructionStudents compose their written responses to a writing prompt in WriteToLearn
Students receive instant feedback that is broken down into easy-to-understand language and graphics
Automated, color-coded reporting on the mechanics (six traits) of writing aggregated through WriteToLearn's Summary Street.
You can navigate through a demonstration of how WriteToLearn's automated scoring software assesses student work here.
What?
Digitized writing instruction and formative assessment tool called the Intelligent Essay Assessor
More flexibility of prompt selection for students
Teachers can use NECAP released items or Study Island prompts for practice (Math Dept. has a membership)
Essays are scored on the six traits of writing (synonymous with AP scoring guidelines)
This amounts to hours of time saved on grading written work. Digital text is also always legible!
KAT (Knowledge Analysis Technologies) used to assess whether or not students understand the meanings (i.e. denotation and connotation) of the passages they are reading
Teachers can find out which students need additional instructional supports and which students need to move on to challenge more skilled readers and writers
More flexibility of prompt selection for students
Teachers can use NECAP released items or Study Island prompts for practice (Math Dept. has a membership)
Essays are scored on the six traits of writing (synonymous with AP scoring guidelines)
This amounts to hours of time saved on grading written work. Digital text is also always legible!
KAT (Knowledge Analysis Technologies) used to assess whether or not students understand the meanings (i.e. denotation and connotation) of the passages they are reading
Teachers can find out which students need additional instructional supports and which students need to move on to challenge more skilled readers and writers
What Next?
The district needs to purchase the software licensing agreement for WriteToLearn, which is about $19.00 per student per year).
Use the one of the two faculty-initiated in-service days in the first semester to train teachers. There will be about a one-hour presentation, which could be flipped, and a one-hour workshop
Administration sets up teacher accounts
Guidance uploads student rosters
Teachers assign the learning activities and writing prompts
Students can receive immediate feedback on their writing progress and acquire suggestions about what they can do to improve without having to wait for their teacher to assess their work along with the written work of 80-100 other students.
Additional Online Resources and Praise for WriteToLearn:
Use the one of the two faculty-initiated in-service days in the first semester to train teachers. There will be about a one-hour presentation, which could be flipped, and a one-hour workshop
Administration sets up teacher accounts
Guidance uploads student rosters
Teachers assign the learning activities and writing prompts
Students can receive immediate feedback on their writing progress and acquire suggestions about what they can do to improve without having to wait for their teacher to assess their work along with the written work of 80-100 other students.
Additional Online Resources and Praise for WriteToLearn:
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