Finding what works in the classroom is paramount.  For over two decades, Australian policy makers and educators have been seeking ways to shift school performance.  The pain is especially felt in key areas: schools who have been unable to lift above like schools or state averages, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, boys’ performance, and that of indigenous Australians.

Explicit teaching has emerged as a key response to turn this situation around.  According to AERO: “Learning new information happens most effectively and efficiently when teaching is clear, systematic, and does not leave students to construct or discover knowledge and skills without guidance.”

NSW Department of Education has echoed this strongly: “Explicit teaching practices involve teachers clearly showing students what to do and how to do it, rather than having students discover that information themselves.  Students who experience explicit teaching practices make greater learning gains than students who do not experience these practices.”

But can this happen for writing?  And more importantly, how?  For in this context, the capability of the classroom teacher cannot be ignored.

Explicit teaching demands that teachers, first, know what to do and how to do it.  And in writing, we have a well-published gap in NSW.  In one study, almost half the teachers in NSW responded that they were poorly trained to teach writing, something also reported internationally (Kiuhara et al., 2009).  And in a survey of 4,000 NSW primary and high school teachers, two-thirds said they were not prepared at all (or only minimally prepared) to teach grammar, spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, sentence structure, or give students feedback on writing improvement (Wyatt-Smith & Jackson, 2016).

However, a new study of NSW schools sheds light on a possible way forward.

NSW schools use explicit writing instruction to close the gap

A group of 18 Sydney schools have tackled low achievement in writing using the explicit writing instruction programme: Writer’s Toolbox.  The schools were a mix of state and private, city, suburban, and regional.  Of the schools, 27% were state; the balance were independent.  In the space of two years, these schools achieved a complete turnaround in results.

“In just six months, we saw such success with the students and their growth and engagement in the Writer’s Toolbox programme.”

Writer’s Toolbox is a whole-school writing programme based on 25 years of research and classroom practice.  Developed by former university professor Dr Ian Hunter, the programme is anchored in 19th Century composition theory, discovery learning, social learning theory, and advances in neuroscience.  Teachers are taught the rules of composition in practical workshops, and the implementation of the programme is supported by an online writing tool using Educational AI that teaches students how to write.  The entire system is predicated on writing as a set of discrete, measurable, teachable skills.

What the schools did:

1. There was a whole-school approach to writing instruction and a whole-school language.
2. Teachers were taught how to teach and model writing effectively.
3. Writing skills and knowledge were embedded through the Writer’s Toolbox online programme.  Deeper composition skills required to lift writing outcomes were taught, not just grammar skills and surface language features.
4. Writing skills and knowledge were monitored, tracked, and assessed.
5. Online writing tool supported differentiated learning.
6. Methodology of delivery included implementing and interweaving into normal day-to-day delivery of curriculum.

The results speak for themselves

In 2021, all 18 schools in the study were below the NSW NAPLAN writing state average (with the exception of Year 3).  By 2023, every year level in every school was above the state writing average, and two year levels (3 and 9) had exceeded the national writing average.

At a deeper level, this transformation also showed itself in like students.  For example, students in Year 7 (2021) in this study were below the state average.  However, a mere two years later and those same students (now Year 9) had lifted their NAPLAN writing average above the state average.  In raw scores, the increase was just as dramatic.  Between 2022 and 2023, at Year 7, the NSW average increase in NAPLAN writing was four points.  However, in this study group, seven schools performed between double and 19 times the state average increase in raw score.

Sydney’s Waverley College was one of those in the study. Says Deputy Principal of Students Gabrielle Smith: "In just six months, we saw such success with the students and their growth and engagement in the Writer’s Toolbox programme.”  Director of Junior Curriculum Charlotte Stevens echoes these comments and the explicit nature of the Toolbox system: “In the junior school, Writer’s Toolbox supports the development of writing, sentence structure, grammar, and improves the quality of writing.  In our senior school, they are using Writer’s Toolbox across subjects, even business studies and science.  The students are developing the skills they need to achieve highly in their HSC.”

Could it work more widely?

The success being enjoyed by schools in NSW is part of a wider trend.  Globally, over 600 schools are now using the explicit skill-based Writer’s Toolbox system.  Teachers are reporting higher quality student work—effect scores twice national average—increased student confidence, higher levels of school performance, and reduced marking time.