The WRITE Principles for Developing a Research-to-Practice Cycle Professional Development

Writing can be challenging to implement in upper elementary classrooms because teachers report needing additional support and students may struggle to meet the academic and developmental demands of emerging adolescence. This was true of one diverse, high-need, under-resourced school that had ambitious writing instruction goals. To meet these goals, the school and I partnered to develop and implement the WRITE principles, a model of professional development based on a research-to-practice cycle. The specific procedures for ongoing professional development, principles that guided and informed decision-making within the model, and experiences of the learning leader and teachers are detailed so that others can apply similar processes that meet their school-wide needs. The WRITE principles focus on (W) writing instruction, strategies, standards, and assessment; (R) resources; (I) identity; (T) trust; and (E) efficacy and were applied within a multi-year research-to-practice partnership cycle.