The Education Division will be funding the Malta Writing Project to the tune of Lm50,000 over the next three years to ensure the expansion and follow-up of the activities held up to now.

This will bring the total funding for writing training to Lm80,000 over a five-year period: the Education Division has already invested Lm30,000 to train over 100 teachers in writing process methodology since June 2001.

This month, 46 teachers from state and non-state primary, secondary and post-secondary sectors celebrated the successful conclusion of the third writing workshop and the advanced writing workshop.

The workshops were organised in collaboration with the Department of Primary Studies in the Faculty of Education and the Foundation for Educational Services.

The 36 participants of the writing workshop learnt new writing strategies, based on writing process methodology, and developed lesson plans to be used in their classrooms. As the name implies, writing process methodology focuses on the process of writing rather than exclusively on the final product. The teacher becomes a co-writer with the students, who take charge of their writing and learn how to improve their writing skills using specific strategies.

The 10 participants of the advanced workshop were trained in developing and leading writing workshops themselves.

At present the Malta Writing Project is developing a website to provide a wide range of services and resources to teachers. It is also conducting an action research project on the implementation of writing process methodology by the participants of the first two workshops.