Teacher Survey on Writing Instruction

• Appendix A: Classroom Observation Protocol

• Appendix B: Teacher Interview Protocol – Twenty Questions about Writing Instruction

• Appendix C: Teacher Survey on Writing Instruction

NOTE FOR REVIEWERS:

This survey is designed to measure the degree to which teachers implement the approach to writing instruction that is the focus of the study. Each item is included intentionally to measure an aspect of one of the ten instructional practices that are key elements in the 6+1 Trait Writing intervention.

The survey modules as presented here are organized and labeled (according to the ten instructional strategies) for ease of review. When the survey is administered to teachers, the module headings will be removed, the item order scrambled, and the rating scale will appear at the top of each page.

Grade:	Time (Start/End):
Teacher:	Observer:

Subject Area:

Purpose of Lesson:

The following section provides space for recording additional observations of influences on teaching and learning.

Contextual Background and Activities:

Briefly describe the classroom setting, environment, and resources that supported writing. What in the room facilitated students’ writing activities?

Describe the goals, content or skills taught that were related to writing. If possible during the observation, look at assignments, project directions, or assessments in which students are involved during your observation.

What classroom management or discipline issues influenced student writing during the observation? How was a safe environment for writing established or maintained?

In this classroom, what evidence did you see related to recognition of student accomplishments in writing or positive support of teamwork in learning writing?

In the following space record any actions, activities or other influences on learning writing in the classroom during the observation session. Include the actions of both the teacher and students.

Time	Activities

The next sections contain items to be rated. Complete all ratings and notes before observing the next classroom!

We don’t expect that all of the activities below will occur during any particular class session, or than any of them will necessarily occur often or strongly on any one day. Some items may not seem relevant to the specific activities or content that is observed on a particular day. Nevertheless, please code all items as to whether they were observed or not observed.

If you observe strong, clear evidence that particular items had definitely occurred recently in the classroom, do code them positively. For example, if you clearly observe that students had scored each others’ papers last week, and are now revising their papers based on the feedback they received last week from peers, code both activities as having occurred (scoring peer papers and revising work based on feedback).

0	1	2	3	4	5	6
Did not occur at all during this observation		Occurred somewhat		Occurred often often or strongly		Occurred very often and strongly – very descriptive of this class session

	Teach language of rubrics	Rating
A1	Students talked about the traits of writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A2	Students used “trait vocabulary” appropriately across the curriculum.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A3	Students talked about their own writing or that of others using trait concepts and language.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A4	The teacher used trait language in lessons.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A5	The teacher used trait language in giving students feedback about their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A6	Trait definitions and age-appropriate rubrics were readily available and/or posted in the classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A7	The teacher communicated the trait model of writing to parents and community members.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Read, Score & Justify Scores on Papers	Rating
B1	Students were actively involved in self assessment, scoring their own papers to understand their own strengths and weaknesses as writers.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B2	The teacher demonstrated scoring with students, using example papers to highlight and explain the scoring criteria.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B3	Examples of student writing were displayed around the classroom and used as part of classroom instruction.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B4	Students in the classroom scored the papers of fellow students as part of learning how to think about and discuss writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B5	Students spent time discussing and justifying the scores given to particular writing passages.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B6	Students evaluated writing passages from literature as part of learning how to think about and discuss writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B7	Students evaluate a variety of writing forms (e.g., posters, leaflets, letters, essays).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

0	1	2	3	4	5	6
Did not occur at all during this observation		Occurred somewhat		Occurred often often or strongly		Occurred very often and strongly – very descriptive of this class session

	Teach focused Revision strategies	Rating
C1	Students spent time revising their writing, as a separate, conscious step in the writing process after reflecting on their initial draft writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C2	Students used the concepts and language of the traits of writing while revising their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C3	Students talked about their strategies for revising their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C4	The teacher taught specific strategies for how to revise initial drafts into more polished final versions.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C5	Revision strategies for writing were posted in the classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C6	Printed materials that show how to revise writing were readily available in the classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Participate personally in writing process & ask for feedback	Rating
D1	The teacher talked with students about his or her own writing experiences, using trait concepts and language.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D2	The teacher used examples of his or her own writing when teaching students about writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D3	The teacher asked students to give feedback on the teacher’s own writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D4	The teacher reflect aloud on strengths and weaknesses of his or her own writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D5	The teacher discussed the thinking that went into his or her writing choices about specific ideas and words.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D6	The teacher talked with students about the importance of receiving and considering feedback on one’s own writing.
D7	The teacher modeled for students how to receive and reflect on feedback about his or her own writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Read a lot of materials to demonstrate writing quality	Rating
E1	The teacher read to students examples of effective writing within various subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E2	Students actively engaged in critiquing materials they read in class.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E3	The teacher took time with the class to discuss and analyze the quality of writing they encountered in reading assignments for various subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E4	The class read and discussed the quality of different kinds of printed materials (e.g., posters, leaflets, letters, articles, essays, books)	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E5	The class read and discussed the quality of different kinds of writing (e.g., explanation, persuasion, storytelling)	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E6	The teacher gave students reading assignments that varied in quality, so they could more clearly identify how effective writing differs from ineffective writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

0	1	2	3	4	5	6
Did not occur at all during this observation		Occurred somewhat		Occurred often often or strongly		Occurred very often and strongly – very descriptive of this class session

	Create effective writing prompts	Rating
F1	The teacher created and provided writing prompts that included identification of audience and purpose.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F2	Students were asked to write for a wide variety of different audiences (e.g., other students, newspaper readers, people from other cultures).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F3	The teacher gave students opportunities to select what forms of writing they wished to work on (e.g. essays, posters, presentations, brochures).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F4	The teacher asked students for feedback and ideas about the writing assignments they used.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F5	Students helped design their writing assignments.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F6	Students were asked to write for a variety of purposes (e.g. explanation, persuasion, storytelling).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F7	Students practiced writing in different forms (e.g. essays, posters, presentations, brochures).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Weave writing lessons into other subjects	Rating
G1	The teacher integrated writing tasks with student assignments in other subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
G2	In content areas (e.g., science, math, social studies) students were given detailed feedback and scores on their writing, not just on their content knowledge in the other subjects.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
G3	For particular subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies) the teacher explained to students the specific writing criteria that are important for that subject area.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
G4	Students practiced writing as part of their work in other subject areas.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

0	1	2	3	4	5	6
Did not occur at all during this observation		Occurred somewhat		Occurred often often or strongly		Occurred very often and strongly – very descriptive of this class session

	Students set goals and monitor progress	Rating
H1	As part of class planning and instruction, the teacher has explicit goals and learning outcomes for student writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H2	Students participated in real publishing opportunities (e.g., writing competitions, commercial publications, school-wide newsletters).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H3	Students used scores on their writing to identify their own strengths, weaknesses, and needs for further practice and learning.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H4	The teacher provides a systematic way for students to store and organize their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H5	The teacher makes sure students save samples of their writing and keep track of how their individual writing skills develop over time.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H6	Students set goals for improving specific writing skills, and targeted their efforts on strengthening the weaker aspects of their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H7	The teacher planned the class so that students had time and support for the writing process.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Map writing into curriculum	Rating
I1	The teacher communicated explicit goals for writing in specific areas of the curriculum.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
I2	The teacher targeted specific learning outcomes for writing in specific areas of the curriculum.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
I3	When addressing various subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies) the teacher included goals for writing skills that are relevant to each of those areas.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
I4	The teacher included writing activities in curriculum units and lesson plans across subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Teach how to construct effective paragraphs & essays	Rating
J1	Students actively employed a writing process to develop their essays or other writing projects.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J2	Students practiced writing paragraphs and essays for a variety of purposes.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J3	The teacher demonstrated for students how to revise non-fiction paragraphs and essays.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J4	The teacher provided students with examples of effective non-fiction paragraphs and essays.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J5	Students were required to learn and use terms related to the writing process.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Appendix B

Teacher Interview Protocol – Twenty Questions about Writing Instruction

School:	Date:
Teacher:	Interviewer:

This interview is part of a research project conducted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, with assistance from the Anchorage School District. The purpose is to better understand how teachers think about teaching writing, and what classroom activities teachers typically use to help students learn to write. Your individual answers won’t be shared with anyone at your school or in the district in any kind of identifiable way. NWREL will identify patterns in the answers from many teachers across many schools, and will combine those with other information to get a better picture of writing instruction across the entire district.

1. First, please describe your overall approach to writing instruction. What is your main method of teaching writing?

2. In an average week, how many hours would you estimate that your students spend

in class, across all subject areas, on practicing and improving their writing skills? _________

Comments if any:

3. In an average week, how many hours do your students spend doing homework that

includes practicing and improving their writing skills (across all subject areas)? _________

Comments if any:

We’d like to know how much you focus on writing in your activities with students. For the next few questions, let’s use a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “not a focus at all” and 10 being “the most important focus.”

4. In general, in your weekly activities with students, how much do you focus on having your students work toward specific skills in writing?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not a focus at all The most important focus

Comments if any:

5. In your classroom activities in math, how much do you focus on having your students work toward specific skills in writing?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not a focus at all The most important focus

Comments if any:

6. In your classroom activities in science, how much do you focus on having your students work toward specific skills in writing?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not a focus at all The most important focus

Comments if any:

7. In your classroom activities in geography, social studies, or history, how much do you focus on having your students work toward specific skills in writing?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not a focus at all The most important focus

Comments if any:

8. Any comments on the last few questions?

The next set of questions asks how often you do particular kinds of activities with students. Let’s use the following rating scale for these questions:

Never

1-3 times each semester

1-3 times a month

1-3 times a week

Almost every day

Let me know if you have specific comments about each item as we go along.

9. How often do your students spend time working on writing using a process approach, using a series of conscious steps such as planning, writing a first draft, getting feedback and reflecting, and then revising their work?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

10. How often do you have students focus on specific strategies or methods for revising their writing?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

11. How often do your students read a book or other published material and then discuss or analyze how well it was written, and in what ways it could be better written?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

12. How often do you give your students assignments to write material for a specific audience and purpose?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

13. How often do your students help choose or design the kinds of writing assignments they do?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

14. How often do your students use a structured format to score or assess their own writing?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

15. How often do your students use a structured format to score or assess someone else’s writing?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

16. How often do you use your own writing or writing process to model for students how to go about learning to write?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

17. How often do you explicitly use a trait-based system (such as one of the “6 Trait” models) as the basis for teaching students about writing?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

18. How often do your students actively use a trait-based system (such as one of the “6 Trait” models) for planning their writing, assessing their own or others’ writing, or revising their writing?

Never	1-3 times each semester	1-3 times a month	1-3 times a week	Almost every day
0	1	2	3	4

Comments if any:

19. What are your views on the value or usefulness of the trait-based approaches to teaching writing?

20. Any other comments about the topics we’ve covered?

Thank you for the interview!

Appendix C

Teacher Survey on Writing Instruction

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) and the Anchorage School District are collaborating on a study of classroom writing strategies in the district. The goal of this survey is to better understand how teachers currently teach writing and what classroom activities students engage in that pertain to writing. There are no right answers – except honest and accurate ones! Regardless of your teaching style or your attitude toward different approaches to writing, we want to know about what you really do in the classroom.

Confidentiality: This survey is conducted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). The purpose is NOT to evaluate you as a teacher, but to better understand what teachers really do in their classrooms. Please answer all items completely and honestly. Your answers will be tabulated by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, and summarized across all staff members. Identifiable individual data will not be reported. Your individual answers will be handled by NWREL only and WILL NOT be provided to your school or district. Reports will include only the overall, average responses of teachers across the district.

The next sections ask you to rate the level of emphasis on a large number of potential instructional strategies. Please circle one number for each question, using the rating scale below:

0	1	2	3	4	5	6
Not emphasized at all		Emphasized somewhat		Emphasized often or strongly		Emphasized very often and strongly – very descriptive of my daily classroom

	Teach language of rubrics	Rating
A1	In my classroom, students talk about the traits of writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A2	In my classroom, students use “trait vocabulary” appropriately across the curriculum.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A3	In my classroom, students talk about their own writing or that of others using trait concepts and language.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A4	I use trait language in lessons.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A5	I use trait language in giving students feedback about their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A6	Trait definitions and age-appropriate rubrics are readily available and/or posted in my classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A7	I communicate the trait model of writing to parents and community members.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Read, score & justify scores on papers	Rating
B1	Students in my classroom get actively involved in self assessment, scoring their own papers to understand their own strengths and weaknesses as writers.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B2	I demonstrate scoring with students, using example papers to highlight and explain the scoring criteria.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B3	Examples of student writing are displayed around my classroom and used as part of classroom instruction.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B4	Students in my classroom score the papers of fellow students as part of learning how to think about and discuss writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B5	In my classroom, students spend time discussing and justifying the scores given to particular writing passages.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B6	Students in my classroom evaluate writing passages from literature as part of learning how to think about and discuss writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B7	Students in my classroom evaluate a variety of writing forms (e.g., posters, leaflets, letters, essays).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Teach focused revision strategies	Rating
C1	In my classroom, students spend time revising their writing, as a separate, conscious step in the writing process after reflecting on their initial draft writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C2	In my classroom, students use the concepts and language of the traits of writing while revising their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C3	In my classroom, students talk about their strategies for revising their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C4	As part of my writing instruction, I teach specific strategies for how to revise initial drafts into more polished final versions.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C5	Revision strategies for writing are posted in my classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
C6	Printed materials that show how to revise writing are readily available in my classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Participate personally in writing process & ask for feedback	Rating
D1	I talk with students about my own writing experiences, using trait concepts and language.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D2	In my classroom, I use examples of my own writing when teaching students about writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D3	As part of helping students learn about writing, I ask them to give me feedback on my own writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D4	To demonstrate how to think about writing, I reflect aloud on strengths and weaknesses of my own writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D5	To demonstrate how to think about writing, I reflect aloud on the thinking that went into my own writing choices about specific ideas and words.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D6	I talk with students about the importance of receiving and considering feedback on our writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
D7	I model for students how to receive and reflect on feedback about my own writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Read a lot of materials to demonstrate writing quality	Rating
E1	I make a point of reading to students examples of effective writing within various subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E2	Students in my class actively engage in critiquing the materials we read in class.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E3	I take time with my class to discuss and analyze the quality of writing they encounter in their reading assignments for various subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E4	In my classroom, we read and discuss the quality of many kinds of printed materials (e.g., posters, leaflets, letters, articles, essays, books)	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E5	In my classroom, we read and discuss the quality of many kinds of writing (e.g., explanation, persuasion, storytelling)	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
E6	I give my students reading assignments that vary in quality, so that we can more clearly identify how effective writing differs from ineffective writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Create effective writing prompts	Rating
F1	When I give writing assignments to students, I create and provide specific prompts for them to write toward, including identification of the audience and purpose for the writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F2	In my classroom, students are asked to write for a wide variety of different audiences (e.g., other students, newspaper readers, people from other cultures).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F3	I give my students opportunities to select what forms of writing they wish to work on (e.g. essays, posters, presentations, brochures).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F4	I ask my students for feedback and ideas about the writing assignments we use in my classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F5	My students help design the writing assignments we use in my classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F6	I give students writing assignments that require them to write for a variety of purposes (e.g., explanation, persuasion, storytelling).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F7	Students in my classroom must practice writing in many different forms (e.g. essays, posters, presentations, brochures).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Weave writing lessons into other subjects	Rating
G1	I make a point of integrating writing tasks with student assignments in other subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
G2	In content areas (e.g., science, math, social studies) my students receive detailed feedback and scores on their writing, not just on their content knowledge in the other subjects.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
G3	For each subject area (e.g., science, math, social studies) I explain to my students the specific writing criteria that are important for that subject area.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
G4	Students in my classroom practice writing as part of their work in other subject areas.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Students set goals and monitor progress	Rating
H1	As part of my class planning and instruction, I have explicit goals and learning outcomes for student writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H2	Students in my classroom participate in real publishing opportunities (e.g., writing competitions, commercial publications, school-wide newsletters).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H3	Students use scores on their writing to identify their own strengths, weaknesses, and needs for further practice and learning.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H4	In my classroom I have a systematic way for students to store and organize their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H5	I make sure my students save samples of their writing and keep track of how their individual writing skills develop over time.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H6	Students in my classroom set goals for improving specific writing skills, and target their efforts on strengthening the weaker aspects of their writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
H7	I plan my class so that students have time and support for the writing process.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Map writing into curriculum	Rating
I1	As part of my class planning and instruction, I use explicit curriculum goals for writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
I2	As part of my class planning and instruction, I target specific learning outcomes for writing.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
I3	When planning how I will cover various subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies) I include goals for writing skills that are relevant to each of those areas.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
I4	I included writing activities in curriculum units and lesson plans across subject areas (e.g., science, math, social studies).	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

	Teach how to construct effective paragraphs & essays	Rating
J1	Students in my classroom actively employ a writing process to develop their essays or other writing projects.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J2	Students practice writing paragraphs and essays for a variety of purposes in my classroom.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J3	I demonstrate for my students how to revise non-fiction paragraphs and essays.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J4	I provide my students examples of effective non-fiction paragraphs and essays.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6
J5	As part of classroom writing activities, I require my students to learn and use terms related to the writing process.	0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Counting this year, how many years have you been teaching? _________ (PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY!)

Counting this year, how many years have you been teaching writing? __________

What writing program do you use in your teaching? _________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________

Please list any training you have received related to teaching writing in the last two years:

_____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________

How many hours per week on average do your students spend in class practicing their writing? ________

How many hours per week do your students spend doing homework that includes significant writing? ________

We must ask for your name and contact information below so we can link your answers on this survey to your answers on a later survey, and to other data from your school. Please do provide this information, and print legibly, otherwise we will not be able to use your survey answers. See the reminder below about how your identity and individual answers will be protected throughout the study.

Your Name: ____________________________________________ (PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY!)

Your School: _______________________________________________________________

Your gender: __ Male

__ Female

Reminder on Confidentiality: Your answers will be tabulated by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, and summarized across all staff members. Your individual answers will be handled by NWREL only and will not be provided to your school or district. Reports produced by NWREL will include only the overall, average responses of large groups of teachers across the district.

Thank you for completing the survey. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. Michael Coe of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, at 800.547-6339.

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