Teaching Writing Reading Learning Leader. Examine and apply theories and best practices to improve the teaching of writing to students of all grade levels and disciplines, in and out of a formal school environment.

4.3

stars

15 ratings

Mark Farrington

Offered By

Teaching Writing SpecializationJohns Hopkins University

What you will learn

Theories and practical methods to teach writing to students of all grade levels in all disciplines and situations.
What the writing process is and how it can help improve student writing.
How writing as discovery, low-stakes writing and reflection can help students grow more comfortable and confident as writers.
Reasons why students might be reluctant writers, and tools and techniques to help them become more comfortable and confident as writers.

Skills you will gain

reflection
Writing
Curriculum Design
Teaching
Critical Thinking
mentor texts
conferencing
scaffolding lessons
teaching reluctant writers
Teaching Creative Writing
Teaching Reading and Writing
Teaching Personal Writing

About this Specialization

This specialization will provide learners with proven methods to improve the writing of students of all ages, in all situations, including K through University classrooms as well as homeschooling, tutoring, in business and the private sector. In four courses and a final project, you’ll learn effective theories and practices to teach writing that you can adapt to your own teaching situation and needs. You’ll learn how to teach writing as process, how to reach even the most reluctant writers, how to help students construct specific texts and make the reading/writing connection, and how to respond to and assess student writing in ways that are meaningful to both teacher and student. If you use writing in your teaching, or want to, this specialization will provide you with tools and practices you can use with your students right away.

Applied Learning Project

Learners will examine and adapt best practices in the teaching of writing to meet their own students’ needs and situations, regardless of grade level, discipline or skill level. They will create activities and lesson plans designed to help their students improve their writing skills, and will reflect on the theories and values that guide their teaching.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Teaching experience, or a desire to become a teacher in the future, and to use writing in some capacity with your students, whether within or outside a formal school environment, and regardless of grade level or discipline.

Approximately 5 months to complete

Suggested pace of 5 hours/week

English

Subtitles: English

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 5 months to complete

Suggested pace of 5 hours/week

English

Subtitles: English

How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 5 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

Teaching Writing Process

4.6

stars

12 ratings

•

5 reviews

Half a century ago, a revolution took place in the teaching of writing. Educators asked, “What if we were to study how professional writers wrote, as a way to learn how we might teach writing more effectively?” The result was the writing process movement, with its emphasis on not just writing as product but as process. Good writing doesn’t magically appear, nor does it spring from the brain fully formed and perfect the first time. Instead, all writers engage in a process, and while that process can vary writer to writer, some stages do seem to apply, in some way, to almost every writing situation. This course demonstrates how teaching writing as process can lead to a significant increase in students’ comfort level and confidence as writers. Learners will examine methods for teaching writing as discovery, and for using low-stakes writing and reflection in their classes. They’ll fill their toolbox with practical strategies and techniques for teaching writing to students of any age, in any situation.

Course2

Course 2

Teaching Reluctant Writers

All educators will encounter students who struggle with writing. This course first focuses on the reasons student writers may be reluctant and then provides learners with a variety of strategies and practices to help reluctant writers develop a greater comfort and confidence with writing. Learners will examine classroom relationships, mentoring, scaffolding, conferencing, low-risk writing and mini-lessons, all tools and techniques that can be brought right into the classroom to help struggling writers increase student participation and success in writing. They'll conduct their own study of one reluctant writer and use their learning to help create a plan for teaching reluctant writers in their current and future classrooms.

Course3

Course 3

Teaching Texts and Forms

The first job of any writer is to get words down on paper, and teaching writing as process helps students gain the fluency, comfort and confidence they need to succeed at any writing task. But complex, comprehensive writing tasks often bring with them specific expectations and conventions the writer must address to be successful. This course will examine some of those more comprehensive writing tasks: personal essays; argument, analysis and other forms of transactional writing; and creative writing. Learners will also identify strategies for supporting the reading/writing connection and practical assignments for engaging students in writing around texts.

Course4

Course 4

Responding, Revising and Assessing Student Writings

When writers write, readers respond. Responding to student writing gives teachers one of the most meaningful avenues to help students learn and grow. In this module, learners will identify best practices in effectively responding to student writing. You will also define revision, identify how revision differs from editing, and examine strategies for teaching students how to engage in effective revision. Finally, because writing can also be used for testing, and because all students learn in increments over time, learners will identify a number of strategies for evaluating and assessing student writing, both for individual writings and a student writer’s progress over a period of time. Learners will also consider ways to involve students in both the responding and assessment processes. At the conclusion of this course, learners will have a toolbox full of strategies and practices for these three significant components of any writing class: responding to, revising and assessing student writing.

Instructor

Mark Farrington

Assistant Director

MA in Teaching Writing Program

1,671 Learners

5 Courses

Offered by

Johns Hopkins University

The mission of The Johns Hopkins University is to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for life-long learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
Each course contains three or four modules, and each module should take one week to complete. The specialization has sixteen modules total, so learners should plan on 16 to 18 weeks total time.
What background knowledge is necessary?
Teaching experience is helpful but not necessary. An interest in teaching, plus a desire to use writing in some capacity in your teaching, will allow you to earn the greatest benefits.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
It's best if you take the first course, "Teaching Writing as Process," first, since they provides a framework for the other courses. After completing the first course, you may take the other courses in any order you wish, with the Final Project being taken last.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
Completing the Specialization does not include university credit.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
If you teach now, you'll be able to incorporate new strategies and practices to help improve your students' writing. You may be able to use the Specialization courses for professional development credit at your school. You may also become a teacher leader who can share what you have learned about teaching writing with your colleagues. If you're hoping to teach in the future, you will bring an impressive understanding of the theories and practices behind teaching writing to any job interview, along with the confidence that comes with entering your classroom with a full toolbox of ways to teach writing.
I have no teaching experience. Will I be able to do everything asked in the courses?

Absolutely. You don’t need teaching experience to do everything asked, and to benefit from these courses. We’ll provide options such as “what do you do (in a particular situation), or what would you do once you begin teaching?” Even if you’re not a teacher yet, we ask you only to begin to think like a teacher. If you have some idea of what grade level or subject you’d like to teach in the future, so much the better, but even that isn’t necessary.
I teach privately but not in an academic setting. Can I benefit from this specialization?

Yes. Everything in these courses is geared toward providing the flexibility for you to adapt the learning to your own personal situation. For example, we might talk about the value of and best practices for using a mentor text with your students. The core principles taught will be the same for everyone, but clearly, the mentor text a fourth-grade teacher chooses will be different from one a twelfth-grade teacher chooses, and different as well from what someone teaching in a private setting might select.
I’m not an English teacher. I teach Science, but I’d like my students to write more. Will this specialization help me?

Definitely. All you need is the desire to use writing in your classes, regardless of the discipline you teach. It’s especially exciting – and rewarding for their students – when non-English or Language Arts teachers bring writing into their content areas. In these courses, you’ll learn techniques and practices to add to your already existing toolbox, and you might discover some new ideas as well. The key is in staying on the lookout for ways to adapt what you’re learning to your own specific discipline and situation.
I teach writing, but I don’t enjoy doing it myself. Will I have to do much writing in these courses?

There will be a fair amount of writing in each of these courses, via Discussion prompts and Peer Review assignments. However, you’ll be given clear instructions for all the writing you’re asked to do, and we’ll start small, with non-stressful, low-risk writings to help you grow more comfortable with writing. You might even find some of the techniques covered in the Specialization’s second course, “Teaching Reluctant Writers,” will work for you as well. Even if a particular writing seems to ask you to step outside your comfort zone, use it as a learning experience, a way to put yourself in your students’ shoes when they are given a writing assignment that challenges them as well. You can learn a lot about teaching writing from exploring your own writing. You don’t have to want to be a professional writer; you just have to be willing to give everything a try.
I’ve been teaching writing for twenty years. How can this specialization help me?

I believe it will. While you may be familiar with many of the concepts taught in these courses, you’ll likely add new tools to your toolbox and perhaps gain a new perspective on some of those familiar practices. Each course contains additional readings for those who want to go a bit beyond the required course material, and the flexibility we emphasize in our courses should allow you to focus on those theories and practices that will be most valuable for you. There’s no doubt you’ll have a lot to offer your fellow learners, and you might feel a renewed energy from being among an enthusiastic learning community.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.