Questions2009 Spring Meeting Roundtable Program
NWP at Work: Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century
Friday, April 3, 2009
Round A: 10:45 – 11:45 a.m.
Round B: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
All sessions (except those led by Jacqueline Jones Royster and Sharon J. Washington) are available in each round. All roundtable discussions will take place at the Washington Court Hotel.
Advocating for Your Site
This roundtable will offer insight into the ways that writing project sites can increase their presence and influence on the vast and changing educational landscape. We will discuss the latest educational decisions and policies, and will then address two questions: How do writing project sites find their niche in the maze of reforms? How do sites describe their work and its results in a way that highlights their significant contributions?
Presenter: Ellen Fern, Washington Partners LLC
An Outside+Inside Reflection on the Special Nature of NWP Teacher Leadership
What makes teacher leadership in the NWP so powerful, so long-lasting, and so self-generative? Researchers at Inverness Research have been studying facets of NWP work for over 15 years, and have long been interested in this question. Join us for a discussion grounded in a reflective essay written by Barbara Heenan about NWP teacher leadership (excerpt provided). Participants will explore the resonance between their inside perspective and the researcher’s outside perspective, and will have an opportunity to inquire into the special character of the NWP model and the leadership that develops within it.
Presenters: Barbara Heenan and Laura Stokes, Inverness Research Inc.
Conversation with Jacqueline Jones Royster (Round A only)
Join our keynote speaker for an informal question-answer session. Jacqueline Jones Royster’s scholarly work has focused on feminism, literacy, rhetoric, women of African American descent, the democratizing effects of global technology in literacy education, the connection between literacy and advancement in the world, and the achievement of the underrepresented.
Presenter: Jacqueline Jones Royster, The Ohio State University
Creating a Climate for Equity (Round B only)
This roundtable will focus on how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are shaping the lives of young people in the U.S. and the ways these issues are evident in schools. We will explore how teachers can create a classroom climate to explore these pressures and provide support for greater equity.
Presenter: Sharon J. Washington, National Writing Project
Culturally Responsive Literacy Practice: The Space Between State Standards and Social Justice
As our student population grows more diverse, maintaining a safe learning space requires thoughtful planning for conversations about cultural and linguistic issues. Join us for a discussion about an immigration unit that was developed for Mexican American fourth-graders and is adaptable to other grade levels. In what ways does this unit—and units like this one—address both curriculum standards and the socially charged topics that affect the daily lives of our diverse students, particularly those who are immigrants?
Presenter: Katie McKay, Heart of Texas Writing Project
Developing and Expanding Family Literacy Programs
How can sites develop and extend family literacy events into year-round programs, and who will lead them? Explore ways to work with families, develop teacher leadership in the summer institute, and prepare TCs to facilitate and sustain family writing programs. We will discuss how family literacy programs increase community visibility and introduce colleagues to the culture of the writing project.
Presenters: Carol Minner and Tom O’Hara, Great Valley Writing Project
Ethical Issues in Teacher Inquiry
As teachers, we all face those unexpected moments when the question, “What is the right thing to do?” becomes complicated. For teacher-researchers, the complications multiply as the line between being a good teacher and being a good researcher sometimes blurs. This session, led by members of the Teacher Inquiry Communities Network leadership team, will explore the ethics of teacher research through group discussion of situations and events. We hope to generate questions a teacher-researcher could use in considering how to maintain ethical integrity.
Presenters: Pam Brown, Oklahoma State University Writing Project, and Cindy O'Donnell-Allen, Colorado State University Writing Project
History in the Making: Early Participants in NWP Invited to Share Their Stories
This is a data-gathering session for the NWP Legacy 4: Early History Project. It is also a special invitation to teachers and directors involved in NWP during the 1974–1991 time period to participate in this project. The session will focus on reading, writing, and teacher demonstrations in the early summer institutes. We are also interested in classroom practices and influences on those practices, in professional literature that was influential during that period, in approaches to professional growth and development, and in teachers’ professional roles and lives. The session will be recorded.
Presenters: Linda Friedrich, Sarah Hall, Paul LeMahieu, Sherry Swain, National Writing Project, and Deborah Brandt, University of Wisconsin-Madison
How Does an Online Collaborative Space Contribute to Student Writing and Learning?
In this roundtable session, participants will explore the use of collaborative writing experiences in the classroom. What do students learn from working in an online collaborative space? What benefits can this technology offer to us as writing teachers? What issues emerge when students work together in this way in and out of class? Session participants will examine student work, including samples from Sarah's seventh-grade classroom, and discuss how online tools might support writing.
Presenters: Sarah Hunt-Barron and Rebecca Kaminski, Upstate Writing Project
Letters to the Next President: Persuasive Writing for the Web
Writing a persuasive text is difficult enough, but writing one for a global audience can be an intimidating assignment for students. How does a teacher shape the writing process for such a situation? Join us for a discussion in which we examine the inquiry stance used to help students enrich their thinking skills while keeping in mind the authentic purpose for writing. Session participants will consider student work samples and discuss specific challenges in preparing students for publication on the Internet.
Presenter: Ellen Shelton, University of Mississippi Writing Project
Planning for NWP’s Future: Strategic Moves in Challenging Times
NWP is engaged in a process of planning for the future. Looking ahead, how can NWP optimize its unique contribution to the educational landscape? Are there particular people who should know about the NWP? What new possibilities exist for NWP, even amidst the challenges of the times? Come offer your insights on these and other questions in NWP’s planning process. Participants will be briefed on progress made to date, consider emerging directions, and give input into a dynamic process that will result in a five-year plan completed by the end of 2009.
Presenters: Judy Buchanan, National Writing Project, and Elizabeth Seja Min, Seja Min and Associates
Resiliency: What We Are Learning from Our Students
Resiliency theories have been debated for over a decade. Members of the Urban Sites Network have been reading Bonnie Benard's Resiliency: What We have Learned. The books endnotes state, "Resiliency most often prevails—even in extreme situations, such as those caused by poverty, troubled families, or violent neighborhoods." We will take a close look at some of the research Benard has unpacked and what teachers see and do in classrooms when stakes are high, supports are low, odds are tough, and kids rise above it all. We'll write into these topics using a process called Take a Line for a Walk.
Presenters: Vanessa Brown, National Writing Project and Philadelphia Writing Project, and Irina McGrath, Louisville Writing Project
"The Writing Project Changed My Life": Understanding and Nurturing Teacher Transformation
We have all heard (and maybe even told) stories of transformation in the writing project. But what do we mean when we say "NWP changed my life?" How is this kind of transformation different from “regular old” professional development? And what is it about NWP work that holds such transformative potential? Participants will learn about the results of a study of teacher transformation in the summer institute, consider the features of these transformations, and discuss how sites can support and nurture transforming teachers.
Presenter: Anne Whitney, South Coast Writing Project and Penn State University
