Today, we see that the programs of pedagogical universities need to include subjects that would provide knowledge to future teachers about how to teach students to write essays. They should support practical skills that come in handy when writing works for ZNO/NMT and studying humanitarian subjects or even natural sciences. It is about specific methods and tools for writing different types of essays.
Therefore, in 2021, the ‘Smart Osvita’ NGO launched the ‘National Project: Writing an Essay’.
About the project. We selected 24 participants, including Methodist teachers, teachers of pedagogical universities, and teachers of IPPO, who first underwent training with Ukrainian trainers and then continued with American trainers. As a result, everyone will offer teaching methods for different types of essays for teachers of other disciplines, topics for writing such essays, and essay evaluation criteria. The ambassadors of our project (representatives of NGOs, ex-ministers of education and science) will support the project in the public sphere: they will promote further changes at the level of standards and curricula.
In 2024, we developed a Methodological Guide for teachers containing a theoretical block and 9 training modules. We also worked with contemporary children’s writers; we have literary texts and a separate tool for working with them.
Currently, the project page contains materials for 2 modules, and new ones will be released every week. The first and second modules will familiarize you with instructions for using writing techniques for students of different age groups. These materials are intended for Ukrainian language and literature lessons but can be integrated into any subject discipline as they develop critical and creative thinking. The methodological developments are easy to incorporate into different topics and flexible for use at any lesson stage.
All methodological materials are available for free download on the project website.
The goal of the ‘National Project: Writing an Essay’ is to develop training programs for the development of writing skills and, in particular, essays for pedagogical universities participating in the project, training programs for improving the qualifications of practicing teachers based on IPPO (for IPPO project participants); develop modifications to the existing lessons of the Ukrainian language and literature and start implementing them in the school (for teachers participating in the project); prepare educational materials for teachers on how to teach writing different types of essays at school (and make them publicly available on the NUS website); at the next stage of the project, already trained national trainers will share their experience with colleagues and teach teachers to write and teach it to students.
Ukrainian coaches:
- Olha Briukhovetska.
- Mariia Tytarenko.
- Ihor Khvorostianyi.
- Tanya Stus.
American coaches:
- Tom Fox;
- Joseph Harris;
- Casey Olsen;
- Beth Rimer.
Partners:
Term: from 2021.
Media about the project
2024 рік
- Osvitoria: Writing essays: a new initiative for students and teachers
- Stozhary – website of the Ukrainian diaspora: Teacher Hanna Ostapenko about the experience of participating in the ‘National Project: Writting an Essay’ from the NGO ‘Smart Osvita’.
- Chytomo: ‘Writting an essay’: a website with materials for the development of writing was created for schoolchildren
2021
- Detector Media: ‘National Project: Writing an Essay’ of the ‘Smart Osvita’ public organization was launched
- New Ukrainian School: NGO ‘Smart Osvita’ launched a project to improve the teaching of writing in schools
- Prykarpatskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni Vasylia Stefanyka: signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the ‘National Project: Writing an Essay’ with the NGO ‘Smart Osvita’
- Ukrinform: ‘National Project: Writing an Essay’ project was launched in Ukraine
- 24 osvita: In Ukraine ‘National Project: Writing an Essay’ project was launched to change approaches to teaching writing at school
