Thinking Routines for Writing (TRW): Optimising the Writing Experience Within and Beyond the English Language Classroom
The Thinking Routines for Writing (TRW) Seed project is designed to explore the use of “thinking routines” to develop students’ writing skills in various stages of the writing process, from pre-writing and drafting to revising and editing. A common concern about secondary student writing is the difficulty students experience in generating, expressing and elaborating on ideas. This project therefore aims to address this concern by developing English language teachers’ capability to refine the thinking processes that students undergo to make thinking visible during writing through interaction with other students. It is believed that getting students into the habit of using thinking routines will lead to more logical and sophisticated writing.
The objectives of the Seed project are to:
- explore how thinking routines can be applied to develop and refine students’ writing skills;
- familliarise English language teachers with a range of thinking routines that can be used for different purposes, such as introducing and exploring ideas, synthesising and organising ideas, digging deeper into concepts, giving targeted feedback, and self-reflection;
- develop English language teachers’ capacity to cultivate a classroom environment conducive to using thinking routines regularly and naturally to enhance students’ writing;
- develop English language teachers’ capability to design units of work with writing activities structured by thinking routines; and
- develop English language teachers’ ability to facilitate the use of learning journals and e-portfolios for formative assessment and to assess students’ application of the thinking routines and to track students’ progress in the development of their writing ability.
Please click here for the briefing PPT and here for the briefing video.
