Midlothian Building Bridges case study
PDF file: Midlothian Building Bridges case studyNewbattle High School and Mayfield, Stobhill and Gorebridge Primary Schools
A curriculum audit established that the project would be concerned with P7/S1 pupils currently failing to progress beyond Level C in writing. The project would seek to develop understanding of the writing process and to apply formative assessment techniques to the functional writing process. The improvement of reading, listening and talking skills would also be areas of emphasis.
The teaching programme placed emphasis on report writing and persuasive writing. From the outset, the David Wray EXIT model was adopted, offering a staged approach to functional writing and the deconstruction and construction of text. The deconstruction phase permitted the use of the same texts with guided analysis in all schools. This approach brought success. The construction phase began with teacher modelling of a report and moved on to collaborative writing, where a positive classroom atmosphere and comments in Writers’ Logs testified to the value of this approach. The final phase was independent writing. The introduction of formative assessment techniques at various stages proved highly productive.
Positive evaluations have indicated attitudinal change, increased confidence and ample evidence of children supporting each other as writers.
Staff were excited by the impact on their pupils. They found the project to be an effective vehicle for promoting professional development. The next steps are to extend the model to other areas of writing and to disseminate findings within the cluster and throughout the authority.