About
Early in my career as a writing instructor, I had the following eureka moment: there is a seismic difference between the direct and explicit teaching of writing – versus merely assigning written tasks.
But here’s the conundrum – 91% of secondary ELA teachers attest to having never been taught how to teach composition in their practicums.
Imagine if the likes of doctors, engineers, and electricians were only trained to perform half of their professional responsibilities???
And then one day while I was lecturing into the ether about the theory and technique of writing, a voice inside of my head asked …
“What if we taught composition like Bob Ross teaches painting?”
Here’s what that would look like:
1. Teachers, ala Bob Ross, would position themselves as expert writers in the classroom and “paint” with their students
2. Teachers would equip students with meaningful and versatile writing heuristics
Early in my career as a writing instructor, I had the following eureka moment: there is a seismic difference between the direct and explicit teaching of writing – versus merely assigning written tasks.
But here’s the conundrum – 91% of secondary ELA teachers attest to having never been taught how to teach composition in their practicums.
Imagine if the likes of doctors, engineers, and electricians were only trained to perform half of their professional responsibilities???
And then one day while I was lecturing into the ether about the theory and technique of writing, a voice inside of my head asked …
“What if we taught composition like Bob Ross teaches painting?”
Here’s what that would look like:
1. Teachers, ala Bob Ross, would position themselves as expert writers in the classroom and “paint” with their students
2. Teachers would equip students with meaningful and versatile writing heuristics
29 August 2022