Teaching teachers about revision
At our last session at N we discussed revision, one of the more problematic stages of the writing process for primary school pupils and their teachers. Research says that most pupils at this age don’t do global revision, struggling writers do even less. The main questions were:
- Why is revision so important?
- What teaching methods are most effective?
- How can we convince students to adopt revision strategies taught?
In order to emphasize the importance of peer revision practices, I decided to model what the teachers can do in class. I handed each teacher her teaching narrative which she posted on the electronic discussion board a few weeks ago, together with all the comments she had received from me or from other participants. I asked her to read her story to a partner and together to go through the whole process we had discussed earlier. One teacher functioned as the writer, the other as the editor and then they changed roles. The notes the writer took during the discussion will help her to edit her narrative, the next task for the course portfolio. I will also ask for reflective comments about the peer revision process.
The participants reacted well to the lecture and the activity despite the fact that they are all exhausted by the time they get to the teachers’ centre. Now I have to see how it will work tomorrow in K. The group is much bigger there and it will be harder to manage.
