Effective teaching and learning: writing

The main purpose of this study is to analyse the teaching of writing and its impact on students' progress and use in daily life. Evidence suggests that components of effective teaching of writing are: using a variety of writing styles in the classroom; contextualising resource material; and integrating feedback and support into lesson designs. Areas of significance in the relationship between teaching and learning are: the teacher's flexibility and responsiveness to students' work; and practice that draws upon 'real world' scenarios. Learners report that they place emphasis on acquiring technical skills of writing, handwriting, spelling, grammar and punctuation and measure success in these terms. Findings demonstrate that teachers must: emphasise writing as a form of communication; encourage personal compositions; use feedback and talk as learning tools; contextualise technical aspects of writing rather than use exercises; adapt to learners' needs, in particular when they are drafting, revising and proofreading work; and make linkages with contexts outside the classroom that are meaningful to students. Show less