Supporting boys’ literacy in boarding

Acohort of passionate, female English Teachers at Kinross Wolaroi School has developed a groundbreaking literacy program targeting Year 7 and 8 boy boarders.

The program, titled the ‘Word Workshop’, was the brainchild of Serena Lewis in 2019. She was the driving force behind developing literacy skills in the School as Head of Teaching and Learning then and continues to be as Head of English now.

The need for the program had been highlighted three years earlier by a piece of eye-opening research completed by Senior School English Teacher and Year 12 Coordinator, Claudia McCalman, as part of her master’s degree. Mrs McCalman discovered that Year 7 boy boarders from rural and remote areas not only arrived at the School substantially disadvantaged in literacy compared to the male day students but also underperformed on average at the School. This finding was confirmed by the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).

So, with the help of Senior School Literacy Integrator and English Teacher Alice Bowman, Mrs Lewis set about formulating a proposal for a new program to support boys’ literacy in boarding at KWS.

The program began early in 2021 and runs on Monday and Wednesday evenings, during the students’ evening prep or homework time. Miss Bowman and Senior School English Teacher Amy Proudford-Nalder run the workshops with small groups of Year 7 and 8 students.

“Working with up to 12 boys in each group, we run targeted sessions that aim to enhance the boys’ skills in reading and writing,” said Miss Bowman. “The courses are centred around different novels based on the boys’ interests and reading proficiencies. The ultimate goal is to help them discover (or re-discover) a love of reading.

“The structure of each evening session is usually quite similar. For the first half of the 45-minute session, we read a chapter of the set novel; the teacher will model reading aloud before the boys take turns to read to the group.

The advantages of improved literacy among our students cannot be underestimated and are essential in preparing them to thrive in life beyond KWS.”

Alice Bowman, Senior School Literacy Integrator and English Teacher

“Before the program, many of the boys reported finding individual reading arduous or boring. Since sharing it around and going on an imaginative journey together, the feeling among the boys is that reading can actually be fun!”

During the second half of the Word Workshop, the boys take part in a writing activity linked to the novel they just read.

This format is based on best-practice teaching and learning that indicates that for writing instruction to be effective, it must be relevant and grounded in context,” Miss Bowman said.

Mrs Lewis has been responsible for ensuring the program is measurable, so the School can track the boys’ progress year to year.

She was the one who saw the opportunity to align Mrs McCalman’s research with two of the Best Practice Learning Strategic Intents identified in KWS’ 2018-2023 Strategic Plan: ‘raising whole-school standards of literacy’ and ‘cultivating a culture of academic challenge and high expectations - informed by meaningful tracking and mapping of student performance.’

“The assessment of reading and writing is complex because of the incredibly multifaceted nature of each skill. This means that students often have both strengths and areas for development in different aspects of their reading and writing,” explained Mrs Lewis. “The danger is that when we look at the skill holistically and focus on those areas for development, students can sometimes fail to appreciate the subtle, but all-important, progress made in distinct aspects of the skills.

“To this end, we have divided reading into five areas of focus and writing into eight. This means that we can celebrate the progress made in any area, even if overall there are still areas for development.”

So far, 58 per cent of the Year 7 boy boarders have demonstrated a measurable improvement in writing and 63 per cent have demonstrated a very significant improvement. In reading, 53 per cent of the Year 7 boy boarders demonstrated a measurable improvement and 80 per cent demonstrated a very significant improvement.

The Year 8 boy boarders have also shown growth, with 65 per cent demonstrating a measurable improvement and 50 per cent demonstrating significant growth in writing. In reading, 43 per cent demonstrated measurable growth and 80 per cent demonstrated very significant growth.

“I have loved how we are having fun with reading books and at the same time learning a lot. The workshops have really helped with my literacy skills and now I am enjoying reading a lot more,” said Year 7 boarder, Sid Thompson, from Coolah. “The workshops have helped me greatly with my creative writing skills. I used to not know the first thing about writing but now I’m better at it. The thing I enjoy most about them is the class discussions,” said Year 8 boarder, Ollie Krause, from Cowra.

Improving literacy skills and NAPLAN results are important, but the female cohort also hopes to help the boys foster a love of reading and fuel curiosity and imagination.

“We aim to equip them with the skills to become more independent learners and instil confidence in the students that they can transfer to their academic subjects and their lives in general,” said Miss Bowman.

“Reading a variety of different texts allows students to broaden their minds, develop empathy and build a more comprehensive sense of themselves, others and the world.

“As Barack Obama said in 2005: ‘Literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy we’re living in today.’ The advantages of improved literacy among our students cannot be underestimated and are essential in preparing them to thrive in life beyond KWS.”

The Word Workshop program is currently being tested as a pilot. If successful, girl boarders and older boy boarders will also be invited to take part •