2. I’ve been a college
professor, a
trainer, and a
consultant.
I’ve helped many
cadets, officers,
instructors, and
administrators
solve problems
with report
writing.
3. I’m the author of
11 books, including
Criminal Justice
Report Writing.
4. In this video I’m going to
offer you some tips for
improving students’
writing skills…quickly.
5. I’m going to begin with a story about an
ornithologist – a scientist who studies birds.
6. One day the ornithologist was visiting a friend
in New York City.
7. While they were walking, the ornithologist
suddenly stopped. He heard the song of a rare
bird!
8. His friend laughed.
“This is one of the
noisiest streets in the
city! You couldn’t
possibly have heard a
bird.”
11. We hear and see
what we’ve been
trained to look for.
More precisely, we
hear and see what
our brains have
been trained to look
for.
Image courtesy of aboutmodafinil.com
12. You probably know
some people who say
they aren’t good at
math.
But if you spend time
with them, you’ll
notice they never
make a mistake when
they’re handling
money.
17. Teachers are full of knowledge. They tell
students what they know.
Students don’t have
knowledge. They sit
quietly and try to
absorb what the
teacher is saying.
27. What many people don’t realize is that neurons
can change. This picture represents ordinary
neurons…
28. …and this picture shows the result of learning:
neurons pair up and connect to one another.
29. Here’s an important principle to think about:
The person who’s
doing the talking (or
the reading, or the
writing) is the person
who’s doing the
learning.
30. Lesson plans for writing police reports should
include a variety of active learning
experiences that involve
reading…
38. Now let’s look at writing. Do police reports
require advanced writing skills?
Usually not.
Most sentences are
simple and
straightforward: “I
questioned Johnson.”
“Carter picked up a
kitchen knife.”
39. So why do some
students make
writing mistakes?
40. Reason #1: Students tend to write the way
they talk.
Students aren’t alone
in this! Many people
don’t worry about
English usage in
casual conversations.
“ain’t”
“have went”
“don’t got none”
“I seen it”
“done did”
43. Reason #4: Students don’t trust themselves.
If you ask a class to
double-check an
assignment, some
students might not
even try to make
corrections.
44. Reason #5: Students have never been asked to
fix their own mistakes before.
They’re used to
having a teacher do
all the corrections
for them.
45. It’s important to put the class on notice: The
days of sitting back while teachers do the
work are over!
46. You don’t have to be negative about it.
Remind students often that their hard
work is building brainpower.
47. But how do you make students accountable
for their writing? Here are some tips.
48. 1. Focus on specifics, not generalities.
If you tell students to
fix their writing
mistakes, they may
feel helpless.
49. But you can give them a checklist of
manageable writing skills and hold them to it:
Use capital letters correctly
Start every sentence with a
person, place, or thing
End every sentence with a
period
Make careful word choices
Write neatly
Double-check your facts
Use a dictionary or
spellchecker
50. 2. Hold group members accountable. If you
find obvious mistakes in an assignment, resist
the temptation to fix them yourself.
Hand the assignment
back to the group for
corrections.
51. 3. If you’re tempted to backslide into doing
students’ work for them, think about this: You
already have a professional brain.
Your students are
trying to get where
you are. Letting
them off the hook
isn’t helping anyone.
Image courtesy of aboutmodafinil.com
52. Of course you can share what you know and offer
help when needed.
The key is to know
when it’s time to step
in.
53. Here’s a useful guideline:
Ask whether what you’re
doing is empowering the
student you’re helping.
54. Here’s another guideline: Ask who’s working
harder to find the answer or solve the
problem.
You and the student
should be putting in
equal effort.
55. Another good idea is to have the student hold
the pen or pencil while you’re helping.
Remember: The
person who’s doing
the writing (or the
talking, or the
reading) is the person
who’s doing the
learning.
56. Most important, ask whose brain is getting
stronger: Yours or the student’s?
57. Nothing is more satisfying to a teacher than
to see a student confidently handling a
challenge.
My wish is for you to
have many of those
moments in your
classroom…