Director of Innovation Robert Taylor is driving a shift in mindset within the students of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH), and he’s using Writer’s Toolbox to make it happen.  

The message to students is that it’s not about having the right answer; it’s okay to make mistakes. 

Often, when a student submits their work, the first question the student asks is whether they got it right.  Taylor’s mission is to get the student to question if they’ve expressed their knowledge well; have they shown critical thinking?  

And that’s where Writer’s Toolbox has been invaluable for teachers of all subjects at OLSH.  “Writer’s Toolbox has been integral to getting our students to express their thinking,” says Taylor.  “Students can go from an English class to a history class to a science class and know how to articulate their point."  

Using the features within Writer’s Toolbox, students are explicitly shown which sentence and paragraph styles best develop an argument.  Instead of regurgitating facts, it gives them the tools to delve deeper; exploring concepts and surfacing their thinking critical analysis.  

Watch the video to hear Taylor discuss the importance of Writer’s Toolbox in putting Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s writing pedagogy into practice.