Closing the writing gap

The methodical use of Model Maps can help less able students write nearer the level of their more able peers. That helps shift D grades to C at GCSE as well as level 4 to level 5 at key stage 2 SATs. How do we know this? Because we recently conducted an experiment set up to prove this very point.

While leading our LearnWise course to students, I was simultaneously training up some Advanced Skill Teachers to lead the course themselves.  I profited from their presence to set up this experiment. At this stage, the students had learned how to map.
Firstly, the ASTs divided the students into four ability groups, from most to least able. Each group was given the instructions about their writing task. But the support they were about to receive was proportional to their ability.

The most able received no additional support. The next able group had a verbal description by the teacher (one of the ASTs) as well as a discussion where students shared ideas. Nothing was recorded.
The less able group had all of the above plus visual recording of what was said. It was initially captured onto a flipchart and then, through discussion, organized hierarchically into a Model Map displayed on the board. Both flipchart and map were removed for the next stage.
The least able group had the same support as the above group. But their visual records were not removed (the flipchart and the map).
Secondly, the all the students now engaged in creating a Model Map as their preparation for writing.
The most able group had no support other than their own ideas. Because of their ability, their maps were hierarchically categorized maps.

The next able group had the memory of their discussion to support the construction of their map. With this additional support, they too managed to create hierarchically organized maps of equal standard to the premier group.

The less able group set to work on their maps with the support of the memory of the discussion and of the map created on the board. This proved sufficient support to enable them to join their peers in producing a hierarchically structured map.

The least able group worked on their map supported by both the memory of the discussion but also with the still visible map on the board. The students didn’t simply copy it down but, rather, interpreted it and created their own version. Amazingly, their maps were equally well organized in a hierarchical fashion.

Lastly, all students sat down to their extended writing task with their Model Maps as writing plans. The gap in writing standards between the most and least able had closed considerably.

With the very strong focus on structure, students were able to move beyond the almost passive filling in of templates writing frames.

What conclusions can we draw from this? Many.

• Model Maps serve as very powerful Visual Instruction Plans (VIPs)
• VIPs, being a top–ranking  evidence–based strategy, should be used by all teachers methodically and pervasively
• Teacher behaviour does have an immediate and powerful impact on student learning
• Visual displays of organized thinking opens the door to high performance learning for all students.

To download a copy of the Closing the writing gap poster click here.



The Language of Categories and Thinking

This week’s edition of the New Scientist has an interesting article on how we talk to ourselves (Your Inner Voice).

Several pieces of research point out just how crucial the language of categories is to our thinking. While labeling individual items is a factor in the development of our intelligence, that of categories is stronger still.

Infants, for example, are more effective at grouping objects if they already have the names for the categories. It’s as if having the category names greatly aids the thinking involved in sorting the actual objects. And in another study, youngsters were better at spatial reasoning if armed with prepositions.

Equally, adults who have lost their language skills through having a stroke are no longer as able to categorise objects.

Furthermore, memory is also affected by the acquisition of category words as memory itself is, by nature, categorical. We tend not to remember specific details.

So what does this mean for schools? For a start review the foolish devaluing of categorizing as mere information processing: a so–called lower order thinking skill. And realise that it’s a life–long task to master the skill.

After all, just because a toddler is able to sort toy animals from toy vehicles doesn’t mean they no longer need to be explicitly taught to categorise.

And what better way to learn to categorise with increasingly complex subject matter than with model maps? The visual and spatial structures are perfect for discussion and deep reasoning.

What is a concept map?

Concept maps are often confused with mind maps. In fact, they pre–date mind maps by nearly a decade, having been invented in the States by professor Joseph Novak in the 1960s. But don’t let that date put you off. They’re not a vague, hippy, new age ‘brain–tool’. Just the opposite. They’re a rigorous and demanding representation of knowledge. And don’t let that term put you off either.

In concept maps elements of a topic are broken down and connected to show their relationships. That’s achieved by forming, in effect, simple sentences between the elements. Take the concept map below on thinking. The term ‘thinking’ is one of that concept map’s elements. It directly relates to three other elements. An arrow connects each element. Significantly, each arrow has a word on it that represents the nature of those connections. In the case of the element ‘questions’ it’s the verb phrase ‘is shaped by’. Because of this verb link, a sentence with a simple ‘subject–verb–object’ structure emerges that explains the relationship: ‘thinking is shaped by questions’. 

These simple sentences form the basic building block of a concept map. Their use is unique among graphic organisers. While all graphic organisers combine graphics with words, concept maps do it to an advanced degree. The benefit is that conceptual understanding is helped for those who need a diagram nearer usual sentences.

The easiest way to create a concept map is with sticky notes. Get your students to write keywords of all the elements related to a topic. It’s a bit of a brainstorm and so might need editing down. Once a final list is arrived at, the sticky notes are arranged as pairs. This will involve much moving around of notes with accompanying discussion. And very probably will be the most significant aspect in terms of learning activity.

The pairs of notes are then arranged in a top down conceptual hierarchy. Again learning conversations will happen. This is intensified as verbs are chosen to link the notes and define their conceptual relationships. When completed, the concept map can be recorded with pencil or computer using software such as Thinking With Pictures from Logotron

Download an A4 high res pdf of this graphic