One Best Thing: Quality Writing through Quality Talk

One Best Thing is a range of free CPD resources created by Apple Distinguished Educators.

I would like to draw attention to the One Best Thing created by Paul Hutton, an ADE who has supported the school I work in to become an Apple Distinguished School.

Paul's book outlines the benefits of talk to enhance writing outcomes and extols the virtues of using technology to develop the children's engagement.

Top Three Outcomes from One Best Thing: Quality Writing through Quality Talk

• The use of both technology can a have a huge impact the children's engagement but at no point must the role of the teacher be diminished; “The role of the teacher is paramount in finding out what pupils can already do, challenging pupils to push themselves and encouraging the habit of using more ambitious grammatical techniques and language structures"

• Writing skills such as redrafting and re-editing are much more confidently used by including technology;  “Pupils will record, review, reject, re-record, review, reject, until they have a final recording that satisfies them. I am not so sure they would be so keen...if ​
the outcome of the activity were dependent on a final paper draft.”

• Digital technologies must work in partnership with the traditional methods, we must give children the power of choice; “Pupils do not perceive technology as something “special”; to them it is synonymous with pencils and paper and is just as valid a creation tool. ”

Paul's work has a great impact on the children in the case study so if you would like to know more about Paul's book you can find it here. 

All the links to the digital and non digital resources are included on the final pages.