2. ELT. General Supervision
State of Kuwait
Ministry of Education
ELT. General Supervision
Using STAD Technique
to improve
the writing skill
for students
Day 5

3. By the end of today’s session , we should be able to :
Define the writing skill.
Pinpoint the difficulties facing students while writing.
How Student Team Achievement Divisions (STAD) can be applied to improve the students’ writing skill.
STAD

4. Activity 1
In groups , define the writing skill and the skills needed to produce good writing.
STAD

5. Writing is “a complex skill that engages the writer in physical as well as mental effort” (Constantine, 2007, p. 7).
It is seen as the most difficult skill to be learned among the four skills in English.
It is a form of communication that allows students to put their feelings and ideas on paper, to organize their knowledge and beliefs into convincing arguments, and to convey meaning through well-constructed text.
It refers to an activity to produce and express ideas, thoughts, and feelings in a written form
Brown(2011, 343) describes writing as a process of putting ideas down on paper to transform thoughts into words, to sharpen main ideas, and to give them structure and coherent organization.
It involves the encoding of a message that needs to be transferred into written language.
In producing a coherent discourse, writers need to exploit what they already know about the subject at hand and integrate it with the information from other sources. The knowledge of grammar and discourse function must be drawn together.

6. The skills needed for good writing
Correct layout
Linking
Correct register
Planning
Accurate spelling
Drafting
Correct grammar
Imagination
Range of vocabulary
Proof reading
Communication
Accurate punctuation
Good range of sentence structures
STAD

7. Writing is
a process
Thinking
Rethinking
Organizing

8. constructive feedback
According to Hyland (2002:105) there are many advantages of teaching
writing such as:
Learning to write
constructive feedback
Learner control
Motivated involvement
Rhetorical consciousness raising
Cooperative engagement
STAD

9. Activity 2 In groups , state the criteria that writing should fulfill.
STAD

10. It must be communicative.
It must use marks that relate conventionally to articulate speech.
Writing systems are both functional, providing a visual way to represent language, and also symbolic, in that they represent cultures and peoples.
STAD

11. Activity 3
In groups , state why you think writing is a difficult task.
STAD

12. Writing Problems Linguistic Cognitive Psychological
STAD

13. The linguistic problem refers to the context of writing itself in which a writer needs to express his/her ideas carefully or explicitly through sentence structures that have been linked together and sequenced.
The psychological problem (writing is a solitary activity in which we have to write our own product without the possibility of interaction).
The cognitive problem due to the need to master the writing skills of the language.
The need to learn certain structures which are less used in speech in order to make the communication more effective.
The need to learn how to organize his/her ideas in such a way that can be understood by readers who are not present.
People are often known to spend less time to write than to listen, to speak and even to read.
STAD

14. Writing as many people believe is the most complex one compared to the three other skills
It involves some other language components (content, organization, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics).
As many highly articulate, learners express themselves very inadequately in writing their native language and it impacts their second/foreign language
Only a minority of the speakers of any language acquire the skill of writing accurately.
When students of English as a foreign language write something, they have a big question in mind whether what they write is correct or incorrect.
STAD

15. Problems we expect to face when teaching writing:
Writing is a complex process and can lead to the learners' frustration.
Students may react negatively to rewriting the same material during a
process writing session.
concerns about grammar & vocabulary can often get in the way of the
natural flow of students' writing .
Students cannot express themselves clearly and correctly.
Helena Butterfield IRS 2007

16. 1- Lexical and semantic errors:
Students make different types of errors:
1- Lexical and semantic errors:
The misuse of words & word collocation.
2- Discourse errors:
Lack of unity.
Coherence & cohesive devices.
Grammatical errors.
Spelling & Punctuation mistakes.
STAD

17. Activity 4
What do you think the traits of good writing are?
STAD

18. The 6+1 Trait Writing Model
Ideas
Organization
Voice
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Conventions
Presentation

19. Trait 1: Ideas
Simply stated, ideas make up the content of the writing piece.
Strong ideas = Clear overall message/content
Students struggle with ideas because writing is complex, they think faster than they can write, and they often don’t write for themselves.

20. Trait 1: Ideas As teachers, we must help our students…
Select an idea (the topic)
Narrow the idea (focus)
Elaborate on the idea (development)
Discover the best information to convey the main idea (details)

21. Trait 2: Organization
Organization is the internal structure of the piece, the thread of central meaning, the pattern of logic.
Students struggle with organization because rigid organization is often overvalued, organization is a difficult thing to achieve, and there is no single program to solve all of our organizational woes.

22. Trait 2: Organization As teachers, we must help our students with…
Writing an introduction—a lead that hooks the reader.
Developing the middle of the paper—a core that is logically organized and contains clearly linked details.
Writing the conclusion—an ending that leaves the reader satisfied.

23. Trait 3: Voice
Voice is the writer’s music coming out through words, the sense that a real person is speaking to you and cares about the message.
Students struggle with voice because it’s not as concrete as other traits, because there is a perception that “boring” is good, because it’s a bit too personal, and because many teachers still say that some forms of writing don’t require voice.

24. Trait 3: Voice As teachers, we must remember that voice emerges when the writer…
Speaks directly to the reader on an emotional level.
Experiments with style to match the purpose and audience.
Takes risks by revealing the person behind the words.

25. Trait 4: Word Choice
Word choice isn’t just about the use—or misuse—of words. It is about the use of rich, colorful, precise language that both communicates and inspires the reader.
Students struggle with word choice because too often vocabulary is taught in isolation, and students tend to get “word drunk.”

26. Trait 4: Word Choice As teachers, we must teach our students how to use…
Striking language: Sharpen students descriptive powers
Exact language: Using lively verbs, precise nouns, and accurate modifiers
Natural language: Making it sound authentic
Beautiful language: Choosing colorful words and phrases

27. Trait 5: Sentence Fluency
Strong sentence fluency is marked by logic, creative phrasing, parallel construction, alliteration, and word order that makes reading feel natural.
Students struggle with sentence fluency because of the overemphasis on correctness, because writing classrooms are too quiet, and because writing good sentences is harder than it looks.

28. Trait 5: Sentence Fluency As teachers, we must help our students with…
Establishing flow, rhythm, and cadence.
Varying sentence length and structure.
Constructing sentences that enhance meaning.

29. Trait 6: Conventions
Conventions guide the reader through the text, making ideas readable and understandable.
Conventions = spelling, punctuation, grammar, capitalization, paragraphing, etc.
Students struggle with conventions because they don’t see the power of good writing mechanics, and because they aren’t encouraged to take enough risks with their writing.

30. Trait 6: Conventions As teachers we should…
Be sure students understand that editing and revising are different.
Expect correctness, but only according to appropriate developmental level and age.
Value experimentation right along with correctness. It’s a balancing act.
Be patient. Learning to use conventions well takes time.

31. Presentation (+1) How the writing looks to the reader.
Writing should have a finished look that shows care.

32. Presentation (+1) As teachers, we need to encourage the following in our students’ writing:
Uniform spacing
Legible handwriting; appropriate use of fonts and sizes
Appealing use of white space

33. Theory of STAD
Writing is “not only how people produce some words” (Alwasilah, cited in Alwasilah, 2007, p. 42), but it also requires a long and complex process.
This statement is also supported by Myles (2002, p. 1) who states “…writing in a second language is a complex process involving the ability to construct a text in order to express one’s ideas effectively in writing.”
Byrne (1993, p. 4) says, usually, writers face “psychological problems, linguistic problems and cognitive problems” in writing which is why writing is a difficult task.
The formulation of research problem is: How can the implementation of STAD improve the students’ writing skill? How can teachers improve thestudents’ activeness in the process of teaching-learning of writing and students’ writing product in components (content,organization and language use).

34. The researchers would like to use Student Teams-Achievement Division(STAD)as an alternative solution.
In the teaching and learning of writing, the effective method seems to be the one that can give a significant contribution to solve the teaching and learning problems and toward the improvement of the students’ writing proficiency.
The method is expected to reduce the students’ mistakes in using language skills and components through practicing and exercising.
STAD refers to a variety of cooperative learning methods in which students work in small groups to help one another learn academic content (Slavin, 1998:3).
STAD

35. Micro skills that learners need to acquire in writing:
Brown (2001:343)states the micro skills that learners need to acquire they are:
(1) Produce graphemes and orthographic patterns of English;
(2) Produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose;
(3) Produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns;
(4) Use acceptable grammatical system.
(5) Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms;
(6) Use cohesive devices in written discourse;
(7) Use the usual forms and conventions of writing;
(8) Convey links and connections between events and communicate such relations
as main idea, new information, given information, generalization, and
exemplification;
(9) Distinguish between literal and implied meaning;
(10) Develop and use a battery of writing strategies, such as accurately assessing the audience’s interpretation.

36. Activity 5
What are the different roles that teachers may play while teaching writing in the STAD technique?
STAD

37. The teacher assumes the role of facilitator
The teacher analyzes students’ learning problems and tries to solve them.
The teacher constantly observes that the five basic elements of the cooperative approach such as, positive reliance on each other, individual responsibility, group effort in writing, editing the essay and the use of social skills are adhered to
A presentation of the group’s essay is done through continuous evaluation by the teacher and other groups.
The last step is a spontaneous quiz (Questions based on the task and language proficiency). The group’s score is added to the score of the essay then the teacher will comment on the best group’s work followed by recognition and reward. Then the best essay will be published on the notice board.

38. Activity 6 What are the traits of good writing in the STAD technique?

39. Most of the traits in the “6+1 trait model” if not all may represent good traits for writing in the STAD technique.
STAD Technique enables the students to reflect on their strengths, progress, and weaknesses when producing their writing so that the students can monitor their learning progress.
Besides that, the students are active learners in the learning process, rather than recipients of information since they are engaged in learning by doing.
Those conditions will provide student-centered learning and meaningful learning experiences.

40. STAD technique is effective in teaching the writing skill
Conclusion
STAD technique is effective in teaching the writing skill
The technique is found to be potential to improve better writing skills
One of the main concepts of STAD is teamwork. Here, the students share their knowledge and also give some feedback about the members’ writing.
STAD Technique motivates the students to improve their writing skill. This can be seen through the students’ responses.
The team also motivates the students to do their best because each member’s score participates in the recognition team stage
STAD technique helps improve students’ social life. Students feel they become closer to their classmates, especially their team members. In addition, they also learn to appreciate or respect other people’s opinions through this technique.

41. STAD