Passion for a subject can appear in students at any time. Whether it's science, math, or history, students can fall in love with the class they choose. However, writing may lose its luster early on among students as it is usually associated with intense work. This loss of interest in writing is what Mystery Writing attempts to solve.
Here we talk to Ryan Brusco, senior director of strategy at Discovery Education, about why writing is so important and how a system like Mystery Writing can help students find greater satisfaction in their writing.
Why are writing programs necessary?
From writing your name to completing your first book report, putting pen to paper has been a vital way to develop ideas, create stories, and communicate universally. But why would writing become such an important focus in a specialized curriculum?
“Most of the people on our team are former educators,” Brusco says. “We want to make sure that everything we create is made by teachers and for teachers. When we think about what educational technology should be, we want to make sure it saves teachers time and engages students with amazing content. “Those are the two pillars we focus on when developing a Mystery product.”
But what is the main problem that students face when it comes to writing?
“Trust,” says Brusco. “We want our students to be confident writers. We want to help them overcome the fear of the blank page. We've been talking to teachers for the last four years. The teachers mentioned the fact that they will be given a writing assignment, the students will sit down to write, the teachers will circulate around the room, and 30 minutes later they will find a student who has not written anything. Our goal is to help students develop confidence in their writing.”
How Mystery Writing Builds Confidence in Students and Efficiency in Teachers
It's true that filling out a blank page can be a daunting task, especially for a student. The pressure to write the right thing can be overwhelming, and this is doubly so when a grade is on the line. So how can a curriculum empower students to overcome the fear that comes with writing and become their best selves?
“We started by creating 45-minute sentence-level lessons that students can do in a short period of time,” Brusco says. “Then we have gender units that are separate from the 45-minute essential skills lessons.”
When teachers were asked what they would like to have in a writing curriculum, the sentiment revolved around how writing was taught. Most teachers told Brusco that they taught writing gradually, focusing on a particular genre and ending in an overall final project.
To assist teachers and at the same time help students better understand their writing process, practice lessons were also created parallel to the main lesson. This allows students to continually work on their writing skills without having to review the same lessons they have already completed. The great thing about this method is that the lessons are designed to be familiar while also offering different topics to keep the writing interesting.
Similar lessons also help teachers who want to keep their curriculum consistent. Simply being able to log into the Mystery Writing service and start a lesson in minutes allows teachers to use their time more efficiently for other tasks. Many teachers look for ways to help save time during the school day due to the large number of tasks they must complete. Because this service was created using input from teachers who tested it, it was designed with giving back to teachers for their time.
Mystery Writing was created to help teachers gain a stronger understanding of their writing process by demystifying the blank page, as Brusco calls it. With this, we create a future of confident communicators willing to make their voices heard, even through writing.
