3rd September, 2019
Challenges in the Teaching of Writing
On September 3rd, 2019, we delved into a very important topic which pertains to writing. We identified the challenges that teachers of writing face within the classroom. In order to identify those challenges, we were asked to form groups of five to discuss these challenges. Since there are many factors which contribute to these challenges such as the student, teacher, principal and parent(s); each group was given a specific group of people to focus on. We had to understand from their perspective how they negatively impact on students' ability to write. Therefore, we had to come together to share our ideas, provide feedback to each other within the group and present our information to the entire class. Each group had an opportunity to present their information. Utilizing the strategy group work which fosters collaboration was highly effective. Members were able to generate many ideas as to how certain groups of people affect students' writing. Had this task been carried out on an individual basis chances are a few ideas would have been generated. Further, this setting catered to people who may be shy or introverts when it comes to expressing their ideas. These students were able to express their thoughts within the group or intimate setting which resulted in increased knowledge among members. This strategy should be continued since it allows for collaboration and effective communication among students.
We live in a technologically advanced and fast paced world where many children notably struggle with writing. Composing a simple sentence to developing a paragraph can pose a challenge for many students. Learning to write well is challenging both linguistically and cognitively. National exams at the primary level such as Common Entrance and Minimum Standards every year quantify and qualify that students are not proficient in writing. Teachers of writing have a great task at hand to change the trajectory of writing. They need to be armored with a wealth of knowledge and expertise about writing to make a positive impact on how students write at the primary level.
There are a myriad of factors that affect how teachers teach writing. Among those factors are teacher quality and expertise, lack of experience among students and minimal parental involvement. Writing incompetency stem from numerous factors. First and foremost, the teacher. Teachers of writing lack the necessary skills, training and professional development to adequately teach writing. Many teachers are not proficient spellers, cannot use punctuation marks incorrectly, have a poor vocabulary just to mention a few. With these deficiencies that teachers of writing possess, students will inevitably demonstrate these same weakness too. The writing process can be at times very tedious to teach because of all the intricate details that students must be aware of. If teachers are not good writers themselves, how can they instruct students to write well? Furthermore, many teachers do not know how to use appropriate strategies such as modeling, scaffolding and group work to effectively teach writing.
Another factor that can impede the teaching of the writing process is the minimal experiences that students come to the classroom with. Students are not provided with a variety of experiences and this reflects in their writing. Some parents are not able to take their children on trips to the supermarket, Sulphur Springs, town or hold a simple birthday party and as a result, there is no information stored in the students' reservoir of experiences which inhibits creativity and imagination that are required in writing. Hence, children will not be able to transfer knowledge to their writing. Teacher on the other hand, will now have to provide the experiences through the use of technological or field trips since the learner will need to produce an array of texts. Limited prior knowledge or background information makes teaching writing difficult for the teacher and boring for students.
Parental involvement in the teaching of writing is important. Some people may say that it is not a parent's job to teach his or her child how to write. Others may even argue that there are parents who do not have the educational background to assist their children with writing at home. Parental involvement goes beyond having the requisite education to assist children at home. As stated earlier, it is crucial that parents provide their children with the necessary experiences to write about. Also, there are materials and resources that parents should provide their child with to assist with their learning. When children are provided books to read, this affords them the opportunity to travel and explore the world and acquire experiences. If parents were to purchase or provide their sons or daughters with the appropriate multiple texts to read, students would have an abundance of interesting information to write about.
Furthermore, If teachers were to overcome those three barriers highlighted above, then there would be a significant improvement in the teaching of writing. Teachers would glide through their lessons effortlessly accomplishing the goal of producing competent writers.
The link below has been attached to read more on why teachers struggle to teach writing in the elementary and primary grades.
https://www.writingcity.com/the-top-3-reasons-why-teachers-struggle-with-teaching-writing.html
There are a myriad of factors that affect how teachers teach writing. Among those factors are teacher quality and expertise, lack of experience among students and minimal parental involvement. Writing incompetency stem from numerous factors. First and foremost, the teacher. Teachers of writing lack the necessary skills, training and professional development to adequately teach writing. Many teachers are not proficient spellers, cannot use punctuation marks incorrectly, have a poor vocabulary just to mention a few. With these deficiencies that teachers of writing possess, students will inevitably demonstrate these same weakness too. The writing process can be at times very tedious to teach because of all the intricate details that students must be aware of. If teachers are not good writers themselves, how can they instruct students to write well? Furthermore, many teachers do not know how to use appropriate strategies such as modeling, scaffolding and group work to effectively teach writing.
Another factor that can impede the teaching of the writing process is the minimal experiences that students come to the classroom with. Students are not provided with a variety of experiences and this reflects in their writing. Some parents are not able to take their children on trips to the supermarket, Sulphur Springs, town or hold a simple birthday party and as a result, there is no information stored in the students' reservoir of experiences which inhibits creativity and imagination that are required in writing. Hence, children will not be able to transfer knowledge to their writing. Teacher on the other hand, will now have to provide the experiences through the use of technological or field trips since the learner will need to produce an array of texts. Limited prior knowledge or background information makes teaching writing difficult for the teacher and boring for students.
Parental involvement in the teaching of writing is important. Some people may say that it is not a parent's job to teach his or her child how to write. Others may even argue that there are parents who do not have the educational background to assist their children with writing at home. Parental involvement goes beyond having the requisite education to assist children at home. As stated earlier, it is crucial that parents provide their children with the necessary experiences to write about. Also, there are materials and resources that parents should provide their child with to assist with their learning. When children are provided books to read, this affords them the opportunity to travel and explore the world and acquire experiences. If parents were to purchase or provide their sons or daughters with the appropriate multiple texts to read, students would have an abundance of interesting information to write about.
Furthermore, If teachers were to overcome those three barriers highlighted above, then there would be a significant improvement in the teaching of writing. Teachers would glide through their lessons effortlessly accomplishing the goal of producing competent writers.
The link below has been attached to read more on why teachers struggle to teach writing in the elementary and primary grades.
https://www.writingcity.com/the-top-3-reasons-why-teachers-struggle-with-teaching-writing.html
Well articulated my fellow colleague! I believe the onus lies on us teachers to expose our students to multiple writing techniques so that they will not feel overwhelmed with the complexities in writing. Also, we must seek to provide our students with unique and memorable learning experiences through interactions with a multiplicity of texts to help expand their knowledge and vocabulary repertoire. Moreover, as teachers, continuous professional development is essential for not only our personal growth and upliftment, but also for the betterment of the many pupils that are entrusted in our care.
ReplyDeletecomment by: Ylet Jn.Baptiste
More often than not, our students fail at writing not because of their inability to learn how to write, but our inability as teachers to teach students how to write. I do believe that you have captured some key obstacles that teachers of writing face on the job. As a result of the knowledge of such obstacles, it is imperative that teachers respond proactively to curb certain challenges. This can be done by setting up a class library; taking students out on field trips; and integrating writing across the curriculum so that students can be engaged in writing for extended periods, in a range of areas.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post. Very imformative. Keep up the good work!
Written by: Shaquille Aldonza
Very informative post! It was my pleasure to read your post because you got my attention in the first sentence. I find that it is very impactful because although we are furnished in a technological era with gadgets and tools including the internet , students are still unable to form complete sentence and so they struggle with writing. In some cases the can write sentences but lack the ability to express their thoughts.Very ironic yet it is the reality. Many facts contribute to this predicament and it is an ongoing process of changing it. This challenge is not limited to the teacher and students however, Parents, Principals and Government Officials are also involved in mitigating this issue of writing.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
Written by: Ryan Bicar.
I like how you captured the key elements contributing to the challenges in the teaching of writing. This is a commendable piece and one that teachers should use not to make excuses but to push themselves further into helping students overcome these challenges and become good writers.
ReplyDeleteStudents are very observant in the classroom. Their teachers are their first role models. If we don't bring passion into our teaching of writing, then the students will know and they will have the same attitude towards writing as well. I do believe that this is one of the main reasons why students do not like writing A lecturer once said, 'Fake it, till you make it,' referring to the passion that we show when teaching the various subjects. Whilst it may be a hard task for some, it is something that we can try in our lessons - to be excited (even if we have to fake) whilst teaching writing.
Leah
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative piece of writing which denotes good writing skills . Pertinent barriers were mentioned and how it affects the teaching of writing. Teachers need to be aware of those barriers that inhibits students writing skills. As teachers we need to find other methods of helping students become proficient writers; whether it be by providing examples which forms a discussion , model the process of writing , encourage students to read at home , provide ongoing feedback and creating fun contests .
ReplyDeleteIn addition, as teachers we should have the adequate skills when teaching writing. Teachers can attend workshops , do more research , watch educational online videos, get ideas and suggestions from other teachers as this will better equip us with the skills needed to teach writing .
Nasha John
Reading this informative piece of text captured and had me thinking what can I do as a facilitator to minimize this problem in the classroom and to help students become effective writers. As educator we need to know our students and cater for their diverse needs. We need to find appropriate strategies and activities to assist students who are struggling with writing , also teachers must have a positive attitude when teaching writing because the negative energy is conveyed to the students.
ReplyDeleteThis post is very edifying. Writing has been a challenge for years now. It is very true that teachers of writing do not have the necessary skills, training and professional development to adequately teach the students. Some students are a complete replica of their teacher but the question is, "Do they know better?" because to them "Miss" is always right. We only see that "Miss" is wrong usually when the exam results come out. Also, some parents are afraid to teach their children writing because they lack the knowledge of how to write. But, inspite of all these challenges the government of the country need to put professional development writing sessions in place to assist the teachers as they are the ones grooming the generation of today.
ReplyDeleteWritten by: Michaela Canchion
It is surely a struggle in St. Lucia as i have gone to correct MST in the past and the level of writing exerted by these students are below level. The teachers need to arm themselves and go through professional development in this regard to be able to instruct the students to get them to master the skill of writing. At DTEEA, our lecturer tries to get us to the level were we will be able to bring about a change in the level of writing to our students when we get back to the classroom. I must say the classes are very informative and i hope that we will be able to make that change with all the strategies that we are learning. But, we will not be able to do it on our own, other teachers should get on the train and build on their writing skill in order to transfer that knowledge to the students.
ReplyDeleteVery informative piece of text. I believe that all parties involved in the life of a student should play a pivotal role in helping students reach their maximum potential in writing. In most cases, one can note that the teacher's attitude towards writing determines student's attitude towards writing. Therefore, one can see that the teacher needs the adequate skills in writing, to portray a positive and confident attitude when engaging students in writing. I also agree that besides a parent not having a good educational background, there are still other aspects that they can contribute towards. a parent who wants to ensure that his or her child succeed, will go at length to gain assistance for that child. The same attitude should be exhibited for writing. All the factors highlighted, I must say stemmed from truth.
ReplyDeleteWritten by: Abigail Bascombe
The challenges faced in the teaching of writing cannot be fabricated and are truly experienced by many teachers daily. While there are many stakeholders who contribute to and are responsible for students acquiring the requisite skills that will help develop them as proficient writers, like a boomerang, it all comes back to the teacher. I do believe that perhaps, if we shift the focus from ourselves and onto the students then the task will seem more achievable.
ReplyDeleteAs teachers we are charged with the heavy burden to overcome all those challenges you have mentioned in a bid to help our students grow as writers. This responsibility goes beyond facilitating students' learning to write and takes into account direct instruction, like a sage on a stage, modelling for students how to use recommended strategies to write to learn. Truly, a student's proficiency in writing is on greatest display during national exams when all is at stake; and while it is beautiful to see students demonstrating an ability to write, what is more beautiful is actually seeing students demonstrating the ability to write. Reading a student's work and seeing that in spite of all the challenges that you faced, you were able to impact their lives positively is a reward of pushing through the challenges faced.
In my opinion time, lack of resources and lack of knowledge cam become a challenge when teaching writing. It is the teacher's responsibility to plan properly and manage his/her time well enough and to find innovative or cheaper ways to obtain the materials or resources needed. It is also the teacher's responsibility to update his/herself with the latest information needed to teach writing.
ReplyDeleteBrittney Duplessis
Teachers and students face challenging when it comes to writing, teachers may be demotivated to teach writng due to thier incompetency in the area. They may not be confident or excllent writers. The students on the other hand may be struggling with grammar, vocabulary and punctuation or even spelling. therefore, they may become frustrated and demotivated to write.
ReplyDelete