I follow several teachers’ blogs to get a sense of what’s going on in education around the globe. One such teacher recently dove into the latest shiny object in education, Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). Here’s an overview:
WAC programs will take up a lot of class time, which is already scarce. Teachers won't actually be able to implement writing assignments in just "a few minutes" per week.
Many teachers are not trained in teaching writing and will struggle to implement WAC effectively. Reducing writing instruction to something "quick and simple" does a disservice to students. (This is especially true of students who are Gestalt Language Processors.)
Some teachers may just pass the responsibilities back to English teachers rather than actually integrating writing into their subjects.
Consultants hired to quickly implement WAC often provide overly simplistic, flawed advice. Good WAC takes time to develop properly (which takes money).
Writing instruction and assessment is complex. Simply assigning writing without proper support set students up to fail (especially students with IEPs).
There are no shortcuts to implementing writing across the curriculum well. It requires investing in teacher training, developing a program specific to the school, and supporting teachers across subjects in integrating writing meaningfully.
Overall, the article argues that whilst WAC has value, it is often poorly implemented in ways that burden teachers and fails to actually improve student writing skills. The author advocates for taking a more thoughtful, collaborative approach to implementing WAC, if a school goes down that road.
Writing Across The Curriculum (Yikes)
Writing Across The Curriculum (Yikes)
Writing Across The Curriculum (Yikes)
I follow several teachers’ blogs to get a sense of what’s going on in education around the globe. One such teacher recently dove into the latest shiny object in education, Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC). Here’s an overview:
WAC programs will take up a lot of class time, which is already scarce. Teachers won't actually be able to implement writing assignments in just "a few minutes" per week.
Many teachers are not trained in teaching writing and will struggle to implement WAC effectively. Reducing writing instruction to something "quick and simple" does a disservice to students. (This is especially true of students who are Gestalt Language Processors.)
Some teachers may just pass the responsibilities back to English teachers rather than actually integrating writing into their subjects.
Consultants hired to quickly implement WAC often provide overly simplistic, flawed advice. Good WAC takes time to develop properly (which takes money).
Writing instruction and assessment is complex. Simply assigning writing without proper support set students up to fail (especially students with IEPs).
There are no shortcuts to implementing writing across the curriculum well. It requires investing in teacher training, developing a program specific to the school, and supporting teachers across subjects in integrating writing meaningfully.
Overall, the article argues that whilst WAC has value, it is often poorly implemented in ways that burden teachers and fails to actually improve student writing skills. The author advocates for taking a more thoughtful, collaborative approach to implementing WAC, if a school goes down that road.