Bridgeport Conference Center Bridgeport, West Virginia October 26-28, 2011 Debbie Hall SREB/ HSTW/MMGW/TCTW School Impr

1. Technical Writing in West Virginia Bridgeport Conference Center Bridgeport, West Virginia October 26-28, 2011 Debbie HallSREB/HSTW/MMGW/TCTW School Improvement Specialist

2. debbie.hall@sreb.org Debbie Hall

5. Essential Questions • What is literacy? What is technical literacy? • What does industry say about technical writing? • How does technical writing compare to other writing genres? • How does the writing process affect technical writing? • How does technical writing relate to West Virginia Writes?

6. What is literacy? • Literacy encompassesreading, writing, listening, speaking and observing—the tools of language. • Learning is language based, and all teachers have a responsibility to help students learn. • Students need literacy-rich experiences across the curriculum that enhance their learning and thinking. Creating Literacy-Rich Schools for Adolescents, Ivey & Fisher Reading Writing Speaking Listening Observing

7. Technical Literacy is being able to • Read, analyze, interpret, communicate, and use writing in a CT field, • Use mathematics to solve problems in the field, • Apply the processes and skills of science, including methods of inquiry, logic, and accuracy, and a knowledge of models, systems, and patterns of change, and • Understand and apply the content and use the terms, concepts, and procedures of the field to find solutions to problems and to perform necessary tasks. Rhodes, 2003

8. How important is reading? Reading is the single most important social factor in American today. • The more you read, the more you know. • The more you know, the smarter you grow. • The smarter you are, the longer you stay in school. • The longer you stay in school, the more diplomas you earn and the longer you are employed—thus the more money you earn in a lifetime. • The more diplomas you earn, the higher your children’s grades will be in school. • The more diplomas you earn, the longer you live.

9. The opposite is also true. • The less you read, the less you know. • The less you know, the sooner you drop out of school. • The sooner you drop out, the sooner and longer you are poor. • The sooner you drop out, the greater your chances of going to jail.

10. Low Reading Scores = Jail? “Based on this year’s fourth-grade reading scores, California is already planning the number of new prison cells it will need In the next century.” Paul Schwartz, a Coalition principal in residence at the U. S. Department of Education

11. What do the experts say? American fifteen-year-olds rank fourteenth among developed nations in reading, lagging behind such countries as Poland, Estonia, and Iceland. Alliance for Excellent Education, Policy Brief, April 2011.

12. Reading Comprehension Pop Quiz There I was, on a hard aid lead, and the RURP crack disappeared. I saw a micro- seam, but even a Birdbeak was too large. What did I use? I put in a BURP, which is a RURP cut down with a hacksaw to make a mini-Birdbeak.

13. There I was, on a hard aid lead, and the RURP crack disappeared. I saw a micro-seam, but even a Birdbeak was too large. What did I use? I put in a BURP, which is a RURP cut down with a hacksaw to make a mini-Birdbeak. Where was the writer? What disappeared? What did he see? What was too large? What is a BURP? Reading Comprehension Pop Quiz

14. It is possible to make a perfect score on a quiz and score a perfect zero in comprehension.Debbie Hall

15. What does industry say? Being able to read complex text independently, fluently and proficiently is essential for high achievement in college and in the workplace and important in numerous life tasks. Alliance for Excellent Education, Policy Brief, April 2011. Comprehension of reading material and the ability to use that material to create new thoughts and ideas is the major key to a person’s success in the global job market. Procedural Literacy: Building Blocks of Comprehension. Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School, 2007

16. HSTWAssessment 2010

17. HSTWAssessment 2010

18. Occupational Reading Data Weekly PercentagesMikulecky, National Adult Literacy Survey (2001)

19. Dr. Grover (Russ) Whitehurst Assistant Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education(2002-2008). “Even in trades that have traditionally been manual trades or trades that are craft trades, the requirements of literacy, both numeric literacy and reading literacy, have increased to a level where the inability to perform or the ability to perform depends on literacy levels that weren’t previously required and places new demands on our education system.”

20. Dr. Grover (Russ) Whitehurst Assistant Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education(2002-2008). “I had a conversation with an individual within the last year who runs a business, a large chain of garages, and who now, in recruiting mechanics, checks their reading scores and their math scores before employing an entry level mechanic.”

21. It encourages negative attitudes about reading. Proficient readers read ahead. Poor readers are forced to advertise their deficiencies. Fisher, Lapp & Flood called it “educational malpractice.” (2005) It’s boring for all. Children pay attention only to the passage they have to read aloud. It does not build fluency or accuracy. Children need to read entire passages instead of pieces. It does not require engagement with the text. Bye, Bye BirdieReasons to Avoid Round Robin Reading

22. How important is writing? “About one student in five produces completely unsatisfactory prose, about 50 percent meet ‘basic’ requirements, and only one in five can be called ‘proficient’.” National Commission on Writing (NCW), 2009

23. The nation’s private companies now spend an estimated $3.1 billion per year—and state governments spend an additional $200 million--teaching their employees to write. National Commission on Writing (2004, 2005) National Governors Association

24. What do the experts say? The idea is not that content area teachers should become reading and writing teachers, but rather that they should emphasize the reading and writing practices that are specific to their subjects, so students are encouraged to read and write like historians, scientists, mathematicians, and other subject area experts. Gina Biancarosa, Carnegie Foundation

25. Workplace Reading and Writing “…college-ready skills emphasize reading multiple and complex tests and writing that calls on students to present and defend arguments.” Phillips, Vicki and Carina Wong. “Tying Together the Common Core of Standards, Instruction, and Assessments,”Kappan, February 2010.

26. Priorities Have Shifted “The pedagogy of the old vocational education was based on the assumption that “how to do” was the content of courses. . . .The new direction calls for a new form of Career and Technical Education that . . .also prepares students for a constant process of skill development to maintain and extend marketable skills, so that students are able to advance in their chosen careers and adapt to rapidly changing economic conditions.” Doug Rhodes, 2003

27. The old way of doing business Teacher delivers information→Students absorb it The new pedagogy Procedure→Engagement→Comprehension

28. Framework for Instruction Prepare the reader beforehand Guide the reader through the learning Provide after-reading opportunities such as comprehension checks Judy Richardson and Ray Morgan. Reading to Learn in the Content Areas. 2008.

29. Direct & Explicit Comprehension Strategy Instruction Select carefully the text used to teach a strategy. Show students how to use the strategy with different texts. Make sure text is the appropriate reading level for students. Provide appropriate guided practice. Talk about comprehension strategies while teaching them. Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices, U.S. Department of Education, 2004

30. Write weekly in all classes Three Kinds of Writing Writing Writing Authentic to learn to demonstrate writing learning

31. Writing to learn • Journals • Learning Logs • Exit/Admit Slips • Inquiry Logs • Mathematics Logs • Note taking

32. Writing to Demonstrate Learning • Paragraphs • Summaries • Open-response Questions • Brief Constructed Response • Extended Constructed Response • Lab Reports • Essays • Research Assignments

33. Authentic/Technical Writing • Memos • Reports • Letters • Proposals • Forms • Requests • Speeches • PowerPoints • emails • Process Papers • Directions

34. Occupational Writing Data Weekly PercentagesMikulecky, National Adult Literacy Survey (2001)

35. Examples of Technical Writing: • Action Plans • Advertisement • Agenda • Audit Report • Book Review • Brochure • Budget • Business Letter • Business Plan • Catalog • Contract • Critique • Data Book or Display • Description • Diagram, Chart, or Graph • Editorial • Email • Feasibility Report • Field Test Report • Incident Report • Informational Form • Informational Poster • Informative Summary • Instructions • Interview Questions • Itinerary

36. Examples of Technical Writing: • Job Application • Job Description • Lesson Plan • Letter of Inquiry • Letter of Recommendation • Magazine/Newspaper Article • Marketing Plan • Memo • Meeting Minutes • Newsletter • Observation Report • Performance Evaluations • Persuasive Proposal • Position Paper • Product Comparison • Proposal • Questionnaire • Research Report • Résumé/Portfolio • Scientific Paper/Report • Survey • Test • Transcription • Training Manual • Travel Guide • Web Page • Work Order

37. Common Core Curriculum Common Core Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects K-12 Common Core Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K-12

38. Common Core Curriculum • Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. • Write informative/explanatory texts including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. • Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

39. Common Core Curriculum • Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. • Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing. . . • Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts. . . paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms. • Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects . . .

40. How does the writing process affect technical writing? • Prewriting • Drafting • Revising and Editing • Publishing and Presenting

41. How does technical writing relate to West Virginia Writes? • Professional development in the areas of process writing, writing assessment, content-area writing, on-demand writing, and technology writing in the 21st century • Passages and prompts for narrative, descriptive, informative, and persuasive writing • Formative writing assessment West Virginia Department of Education