Keynote: Is Writing Just Too Difficult? Speaker: Dr Tim Mills скачать в хорошем качестве

Keynote: Is Writing Just Too Difficult? Speaker: Dr Tim Mills

Writing is one of the most cognitively demanding skills—and for struggling learners, it can feel impossible. Dr Tim Mills, chair of the Department for Education’s Writing Framework, will unpack why writing is so challenging and share strategies to make teaching this essential skill more effective. According to psychologist Ronald Kellogg, writing is one of the most cognitively demanding activities humans undertake; the mental equivalent of ‘digging ditches’, he suggested. The writer is always close to cognitive overload and as a result, learning how to write is one of the most challenging undertakings for young children. Writing, however, is highly susceptible to teaching, and not being taught well puts children at a huge disadvantage; a disadvantage that grows exponentially as they proceed through school. And if writing is demanding for even the most confident child, how difficult is it for struggling children or those with a diagnosed condition that inhibits learning this complex skill? We would do well to note Julie Dockrell and Barbara Arfé’s advice to address the difficulty and not the diagnosed label. To address these difficulties, educators need to arm themselves with as much knowledge as possible of the process of developing this crucial skill. This presentation seeks to put some sharp arrows in your quiver.