Project Coordinator: Sylvia Rodger (HT)
This special school for children with moderate and severe learning difficulties is initially seeking to develop within-class peer tutored Paired Writing
Main initial target 2 Year 4 classes; a subgroup of 2-3 pairs from each class to participate (max. total n=12). 1 class Moderate Learning Difficulty, 1 class Severe Learning Difficulty. Participants to be more able pupils in each class. Classrooms physically close. This target group to be closely evaluated. Aim to explore possibilities across other classes.
Following the in-service day, all classes showed interest in developing some within-class tutoring. Matching could be same-ability reciprocal role or cross-ability fixed-role or a mixture within each class according to the needs of pairs. Training for tutors was to be done by class teachers in each class. Support to enable adult facilitation of pairs would be needed, especially during the early training and consolidation periods, to ensure non-participant members of the class were not disadvantaged.
Unforced collaboration between pupils was to be encouraged in on a pilot basis during the Spring Term, to explore entry skills, potential and relationships. Then a more formally organised project with 2-3 pairs per class for 6 weeks would be developed within the summer term, involving three sessions of Paired Writing per week. The pairs were to be facilitated by one adult.
Preparatory whole-class work on the Vocabulary of Questioning (within the Literacy Hour) was to be coupled with whole-class work on Creative Thinking. This would then lead to more developed capability in the Ideas Generation Step of Paired Writing.
Before Paired Writing, stimulus would be provided through:
Topics for Writing would be agreed by pupil choice from within a restricted list of options specified (and prepared) by the teacher.
The construction of Writing at the Drafting Step was to be supported by the use of cards/tiles, each showing one picture or symbol (or both picture and symbol). These were to be sequenced or otherwise arranged on the Wordwalls available in all classrooms. This process could also be supported in an ICT environment via the Clicker software (networked in the school).
The intention would be to engage target pupils in the whole range of Paired Writing Steps and experiences within a highly supported context, with a view to their having more intensive and less supported engagement with the process as they moved up through the school.
The summer term project would be carefully evaluated by teaching staff, both formatively and summatively.
Additionally to the above, stimulus for writing was to stem from a writing "ideas collecting box", to be maintained by each class. Pupils were to be observed at play to identify their interests as indicated by spontaneous behavioural engagement with activities; and these were to be considered for potential writing topics.
Two pairs per class were expected to participate, facilitated by one adult. Puppets were to be used by adults to model questioning (and possibly to be used by tutors themselves when questioning).
Pupil matching was to be in relation to criteria of similar or complementary cognitive and/or language ability, fine visual-motor coordination for writing, spelling ability, and insight into the correctness or otherwise of their own efforts.
The construction of Writing at the Drafting Step was to be supported by the use of cards/tiles, each showing one picture or symbol or word (or some combination of picture, symbol, word). These were to be arranged on the Wordwalls available in all classrooms. The concepts could also be communicated and/or reinforced through Makaton and SSE. Additionally, word/picture/symbol combinations could be created on LanguageMaster cards, enabling multi-sensory pupil checking and recapitulation at the word level.
Blocks of Paired Writing with very small targets for each session were anticipated - perhaps no more than one sentence of output per session. The degree of challenge and fatigue needed to be carefully managed.
Topic-related symbol banks were to be developed and made available between classes as a shared resource, also to enable cross-curricular application of the Paired Writing method.
Paired Writing activities were to be given a high-status, "special" and privileged aura. It was thought best to give the process another (more seductive) name - the pupils themselves were to be asked/consulted regarding renaming.
Additionally to the above, writing topics were to revolve around a "Party" theme. A 4-week exploratory pilot period would lead to a more formally organised 6-week project. Evaluation pre-test immediately after Spring half-term, post-test after Summer half-term.
It was expected that 2 pairs would participate initially, with adult facilitation. Small sessional goals for written output would be set.
Stimulation for writing would involve the use of still photographs and video, supplemented with group discussion and possibly drawings or paintings made by pupils.
Writing was to be further scaffolded using writing frames for backward chaining of writing sentences. Idea Mapping could be modelled, and Idea Mapping Frames developed.
During the Drafting and Reading Steps, audio recordings of pupil readings (and possibly adult readings) were to be made, to act as recapitulation at the start of the next writing session.
In Year 5-6, Literacy Sets operated. The two more able sets were to participate.
Additionally to the above, the 6-Step Paired Writing model was to be reintroduced to pupils over 3 class sessions. The Paired Writing processes were to be modelled for all pupils in a set, but initially only 2 pairs per set were likely to actively participate.
Stimulation would stem from activities, although topics would be initially be teacher specified, developing to more independent pupil choice of topics later.
Three sessions of Paired Writing each week were anticipated: the first dealing with Questioning, the second Drafting, and the third Editing.
Visual prompts for the Paired Writing process would include adapted aspects of the PW flowchart, for example a "Question Snake" (rather than a boring list), and a Story Wheel to help outline the components of story grammar.
Peer assessment of written products (PW Step 6) was to be inbuilt, developing into distributed peer assessment through email. This could then be extended to other classes. Peer assessment via video conferencing could also be considered.
Peer tutoring could be cascaded as tutees developing proficiency became deployable as tutors, within their own year group or perhaps with younger year groups.
For main target Year 4 classes, P-scales B? NC/QCA targets in both writing and Personal and Social skills to be used by teachers on pre-post test basis. With this population, completely independent writing activity tended to be minimal, so assessment of writing products over time would need to indicate what degree of adult facilitation and/or peer interaction was associated with each product. Assessing any enhancement in independence of writing would be highly desirable. Additionally, some pre- and post-test video recording could be carried out with the least able (orally and in writing) children.
Current status: Project implementation has been somewhat delayed owing to teacher absence. However, video recently taken in Dame Ellen Pinsent to show as part of training days for the Fox Hollies/Queensbridge project showed very high concentration on task (for 40 minutes) and quite sophisticated tutoring behaviour in one pair. More data awaited.