Standing out from the best: The case of two demonstrably effective teachers of writing

Abstract

Case studies are described identifying characteristics of demonstrably successful teachers of writing. Two exemplary teachers were selected from six effective teachers in three schools on the basis of past high rates of progress among students they taught. The schools had high levels of achievement in writing in a geographical area of New Zealand which traditionally underperfonns in literacy. These two teachers had rated more highly on key practices, which are aligned with high student achievement, that were common to the six effective teachers: for example, an explicit learning focus, visible and relevant learning scaffolds and resources in the classroom environment. Reanalysis of data suggested the practice of these two teachers had hallmarks of "adaptive expertise", which has been defined as learner-, knowledge-, assessment-, and community-centred. It is argued that these hallmarks may be associated particularly with highly successful teaching and learning of writing.