Evidence-Based Writing Instruction

Course description

Professional development hours: 45

Are you looking for ways to make writing instruction more explicit, systematic, and engaging? Oftentimes, our curriculum materials include writing tasks and prompts, but don’t include how we should teach students the skills necessary to produce proficient writing. This course provides a comprehensive foundation in writing instruction grounded in the Science of Reading, the Science of Learning, and evidence-based practices. Through interactive learning and practical application, you will deepen your understanding of how to integrate evidence-based writing into your existing curriculum materials and content areas. We’ll learn how reading and writing are reciprocal processes, and how to use writing as a vehicle for enhancing student learning. Emphasis will be placed on explicit instruction, gradual release of responsibility, and targeted scaffolding to meet diverse learner needs.

Key topics include:

• The importance of oral language in writing development
• The role of executive function in planning, organization, and revision
• Sentence-level instruction: comprehension, structure, and expansion
• Using decodable, grade-level, and content-area texts for sentence-level comprehension
• Ensuring horizontal and vertical alignment
  Teaching paragraph development, transitions, and cohesion
• Using Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD)
• Writing as a tool for learning and comprehension
• Providing effective feedback and assessing writing

Participants will apply course concepts by analyzing student writing, designing scaffolded lessons, and bringing texts from their own classrooms to develop sentence- and paragraph-level writing activities. By the end of the course, teachers will be equipped with a robust toolkit for teaching writing explicitly and systematically across grade levels and content areas.

This course is designed for educators across grades K–12, specifically classroom teachers, special educators, reading specialists, literacy coaches, private tutors, and interventionists seeking to strengthen their writing instruction through evidence-based, developmentally informed approaches.

Assignments, resources, and readings will be differentiated to meet the needs of participants at any grade level. Throughout the course, we will explore basic and advanced writing and compositional strategies, giving teachers practical tools to support writing development.

This is a virtual, hybrid course that blends asynchronous learning modules with synchronous virtual classes. There will be a mix of recorded webinars, interactive practice, and curated resources made available. No additional texts or books will need to be purchased.

This course bridges research and classroom practice, equipping you with the knowledge and strategies to elevate literacy instruction and better support your students’ writing development. You’ll also have opportunities for personalized feedback to support implementation and deepen instructional impact.

This training aligns with Standards 4E and 4F of the Knowledge and Practice Standards (KPS) from the International Dyslexia Association and may count toward continuing education requirements for educators certified through the Center for Effective Reading Instruction.