Enhancing students' persuasive writing through professional learning and action research

This chapter reflects upon a professional learning literacy project undertaken with a mixed group of Australian primary and secondary teachers in the State of Tasmania. The funding for the project was provided by the government education authority as a pilot scheme of university and school partnership. The project involved diagnosis of literacy assessment data of 9-13 year old students in a small semi-rural high school and its two feeder primary schools. This analysis resulted in a negotiated focus upon persuasive writing skills and the planning of interventions to support students‘ work in this area. A distinctive feature of the project was the use of students‘ work as a platform for piloting a range of approaches to secure improvement in students‘ persuasive writing skills. This chapter delineates key elements of the professional learning provided and outlines an action research process which involved examination, discussion, critique, and renewal of teachers‘ pedagogies in helping students to develop and structure their writing. The latter part of the chapter reflects upon the nature of professional learning partnerships, the role of different stakeholders - including university faculties of education - and how best to build teacher ownership of literacy school improvement strategies.