Running an effective school writing program

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A writing expert and scholar explains why it’s time to return to historically proven, tried and tested methods for teaching writing in schools

IF ANYONE knows about writing, it’s Dr Ian Hunter, founder and architect of the Writer’s Toolbox program. The author of 21 books, Hunter was a university academic for 20 years. Yet there is something unconventional about this former scholar. With an intense practical focus, the award-winning historian has a patent in AI, and his organisation – Writer’s Toolbox – is gaining traction, reversing declining writing results in schools across Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The Educator caught up with him to find out more about the unique aspects of this program, and how it lifts student writing performance.

Writer’s Toolbox, founded by Dr Ian Hunter, is an educational platform developed from his 25-year research on writing instruction. It blends historical writing methodologies with modern technology to create an AI-driven tool that teaches writing skills. Initially a project to aid university students, it now serves schools globally, providing personalised writing guidance. Its efficacy is supported by studies showing significant improvements in student writing. Based in Australia and New Zealand, Writer’s Toolbox collaborates with educators to transform writing education worldwide.

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“It’s too shallow to think that students are not reading enough, or don’t know sufficient English grammar, or are a text-happy generation and unable to perform longform writing”

Dr Ian Hunter, Writer’s Toolbox

“Like anything, you need to understand the nature of the problem before you launch into solution mode,” Hunter says. “Otherwise you risk addressing symptoms or, worse still, exacerbating a problem. The first thing to grasp is that the writing challenge we presently face is a multilayered problem.” “It’s not just our students who struggle to write,” he explains. “It’s true, our students are finding writing difficult. But it’s too shallow to think that students are not reading enough, or don’t know sufficient English grammar, or are a text-happy generation and unable to perform longform writing. For on the other side of the equation, in large-scale research studies our teachers are telling us they are ill-equipped to teach writing – and the teachers are correct. The sad truth is that teachers haven’t been taught how to teach writing – the craft of composition – for three generations.”

Then, Hunter explains, there is the social and emotional layer. Students are emotionally switched off writing and lack confidence and resilience – a problem that can be difficult to address. Finally, there is the broader, systemic nature of the writing problem. Any writing solution needs to target lifelong learning, be future-focused and take a whole-school approach. It needs to be systematic and practical, and to fit seamlessly into the rhythm and flow of school life. The challenges are far from new, and there are a number of writing programs available across the world. With this in mind, Hunter notes that creating something truly distinctive was a key focus for Writer’s Toolbox. As a result, the

program goes back to age-old, tried and tested writing techniques and breathes new life into them in the classroom. “I wanted to offer something that was historically proven. Not just some latest fad but a program anchored in what we absolutely know works, based on time-proven methods,” Hunter explains. “Consequently, the foundation of Writer’s Toolbox is rooted in the 19th-century rules of composition. It comes from an age in history when we taught the explicit principles of writing – tried and tested; when teachers taught a range of paragraph structures, explicitly allowing the writer to make structural choices based on the purpose of their writing. Skills like expansion, and development, and focus, and style, and unity were commonplace. We’ve brought these back and made them applicable, relevant and digestible for the modern teacher and student.”

When teaching teachers, Hunter is adamant that professional development must be engaging and interactive – not death by PowerPoint. Writer’s Toolbox has used the best of discovery learning and the Socratic method to build exciting workshops where teachers learn to be better writers. That way, they can go back to the classroom tomorrow and immediately model better writing for their students. “Practical action is the litmus test of any learning,” Hunter says. “You also have to take the long view. We live in a knowledge economy. Over one billion workers today are in jobs where they ‘think’ for a living. In these knowledge-driven

“Globally, with more students today than ever moving into post-school education, writing is a fundamental driver of their success and capabilities. Yet the disappointing thing is many education systems stop teaching writing after primary school. However, research by leading US educator Steve Graham is clear: if we don’t teach increasingly sophisticated writing skills as we demand deeper cognitions from our high school students, a hole emerges.” To plug this hole, Hunter and the Toolbox team have developed a complete writing scope and sequence – from Prep to Year 12 – backed by 10 years of intensive research into the world’s biggest curriculum systems. “Writing must be planned, explicit and iterative if we are to do the right thing by our young people,” says Hunter.

Finally, the program utilises clever integration of technology. The flagship resource is Writer’s Toolbox online. To date, it’s involved a $15 million investment using a team of designers, content writers, programmers, educators and linguistic experts to create a unique writing environment for schools and education. A world in which students (and teachers) not only learn the writing skills they need to master each year but can also write across all their subjects and receive immediate feedback – right in their teachable moments. Hunter’s team call it Educational AI. However, they are quick to distinguish Educational AI from AI engines like ChatGPT or Gemini, both programmed to give highly detailed answers. Writer’s Toolbox AI is fundamentally different. Built for education, it doesn’t give answers; it teaches you.

Students in classroom interacting with teacher

The root of the problem

Published 02 Sep 2024

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Dr Ian Hunter, Writer’s Toolbox

Toolbox AI has been specifically engineered to teach students of any age or writing ability how to write better. It allows complete differentiation across a class of students, providing each student with personalised feedback and encouragement that is matched to their unique learning needs.

Dr Hunter’s five practical tips for running an effective school writing program:

Set a baseline and understand your school’s unique writing challenges. Writer’s Toolbox has one of the most comprehensive writing tests and detailed school reports available. Users have access to in-depth writing insights by metric and year level, as well as a complete student breakdown and key intervention suggestions to run in your school. Assemble a leadership team to run the initiative and set clear, measurable goals. To see it through, you need to know exactly where you are headed and ensure that your senior team are focused. You will see tangible lifts within 12 months. Build teacher capability. Writing is not just the domain of the English department – it is every teacher’s responsibility. We must equip our teachers to teach writing effectively so they can explain writing to students across the curriculum and model writing confidently in their classrooms. Bring the joy back into writing. Toolbox users have seen lifts in student self-efficacy, self-belief and confidence. But most importantly, joy has returned to the act of writing. Students are excited about what they are crafting, and they have a greater sense of accomplishment because they are doing it themselves. Celebrate that success. Let technology be the silent teacher. The AI in Toolbox has been crafted to teach the student at their level of competency. When the teacher is busy and the student wants assistance, effective, well-thought-out technology can lend a helping hand in the classroom.

To find out more about Writer’s Toolbox and the writing transformation taking place in schools nationally and internationally, click here or request a school demo.

A composition-skills approach from 19th and 20th century scholarship Technology based on a 25-year action research project in schools and classrooms Proven writing improvement rates of 2–10 times the NAPLAN results for the state of Queensland

Writer’s Toolbox: Keys to success

20 years in academia 20+ books published 100+ publications

Dr Ian Hunter

Career snapshot

occupations, you need to be able to think clearly and communicate strongly. In the very act of writing, ideas are formulated and possibilities wrestled with.