2010 Spring Meeting Roundtables

Friday, March 26
Round A: 10:45 a.m.–noon
Round B: 12:15 p.m.–1:30 p.m.

All sessions are available each round, unless otherwise noted. All roundtable discussions will take place at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

Early History Project

The NWP is conducting a study of the first 20 years of the writing project. What was going on in the teaching of writing in your classroom and in classrooms of your colleagues in those years? This session invites teachers who became involved with NWP in the years spanning 1974 through 1991 to share their defining moments. The session also models a thinking and writing process—centered on defining moments—that is useful beyond the study itself, particularly in classrooms or in professional development workshops. The session will be audiotaped for the NWP Early History Study.

Presenters: Linda Friedrich, Sarah Hall, Paul LeMahieu, Mary Ann Smith, Sherry Swain, NWP

Listening to the Silences in Our Classroom

Join our keynote speaker, Kathy Schultz, for a facilitated discussion building from and extending the keynote talk. (Round A only)

Presenter: Kathy Schultz, Philadelphia Writing Project, PA

Reading and Responding to the Stanford Report on Professional Learning in the Learning Profession

This session will offer participants an opportunity to engage with the February 2009 Stanford Report Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad, which examines what research has revealed about professional learning that improves teachers' practice and student learning. Together we'll consider the findings of the report and its implications for the work of NWP sites.

Presenters: Rick VanDeWeghe, Denver Writing Project, CO; Adela Arriaga, Bay Area Writing Project, CA

Gaining Recognition, Acquiring Resources, and Advocating for Your Writing Project Site

Maintaining a strong presence in the university is critical to the stability of a writing project site. NWP director of external relations and development Gary Cordova will share strategies for developing your site's presence by gaining recognition, acquiring resources, and advocating within the university community. Participants should bring ideas and strategies to share.

Presenter: Gary Cordova, NWP

Beginning English Learners Can Write

Is writing only for those who have mastered Standard English? Often, students who are newly acquiring the English language are excused from writing because some believe that English learners can focus only on listening and speaking skills. The participants of this roundtable will look at writing samples from students enrolled in an ELL academy for newcomers (students living less than 12 months in the United States) to consider 1) what writing looks like for beginning English learners, 2) the importance of writing for beginning English learners, and 3) what teachers of all grade levels might consider when developing and implementing this kind of writing instruction.

Presenter: Mary Arias, South Coast Writing Project, CA

Perspectives on the Common Core Standards: An Exploration

Have you been hearing about the "Common Core" standards project of the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers? In this roundtable we will provide basic information about the project as well as drafts of the most recent standards documents. We also invite teacher-consultants and directors who have interacted with the Common Core standards in their states to share their stories. (Round A only)

Presenters: Elyse Eidman-Aadahl and Mary Ann Smith, NWP

The EdSteps Project: A New Way into Talking About Quality in Writing

EdSteps, a new project being led by the Council of Chief State School Officers and involving members of NWP and NCTE, is seeking to develop a new "crowd-sourced" way of looking at what makes writing effective. In this session, we will look at the design and premise of EdSteps and consider how the EdSteps process can involve NWP teacher-consultants and students. (Round B only)

Presenter: Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, NWP

Yesterday, Today, and Beyond: Connecting to the Intellectual Foundation of Our Work

What research about writing were you excited about, intrigued by, or perhaps challenged by during or after your summer institute? How can learning from and reading about our history inform site work and classroom practice? Join us for a discussion of ideas and questions about reading at writing project sites: What is relevant reading? How do we balance seminal work with new scholarship? How are readings selected? We will talk about ways to invite similar discussions at your writing project site and we'll share resources to support the discussion.

Presenters: Jayne Marlink, California Writing Project; Denise Patmon, Boston Writing Project, MA

Inquiry Work with Out-of-School Practitioners

In partnership with the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) at Wellesley College and with support from the Robert Bowne Foundation, the NWP is now in its second year of the National Afterschool Matters Initiative Practitioner Fellowship. The Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP), along with the Philadelphia and Minnesota Writing Projects, has been leading this new foray into the world of youth and afterschool programs by supporting participants in conducting inquiries much like those of a teacher research group. How is this work similar to and different from working with classroom teachers? What are its special challenges? How might a program for afterschool professionals help sites extend their work and support local goals? We'll address these questions and more as we examine working documents such as program calendars, agendas, readings, protocols, and writing activities. Working with afterschool program leaders is a new area for many of us, and we hope to expand our thinking about the how, what, and why of doing so. Come to explore these ideas and to share your own experiences in this field, too.

Presenter: Carol Tateishi, Bay Area Writing Project, CA

School/Site Partnerships: Collaborative Planning and Lessons Learned

Join us at this roundtable discussion session in exploring multiyear school partnerships: What are the strategies and protocols for developing a comprehensive plan for a partnership endeavor? How and when do we adjust that plan as the partnership evolves? Session participants will receive planning materials that Prairie Lands Writing Project is using as part of an ongoing middle school partnership as we discuss lessons learned about collaborative planning.

Presenter: Heidi Mick, Prairie Lands Writing Project, MO

Graphic Language in High School Texts: Implications for Teaching and Learning in High-Stakes Classrooms

How does "raw" or graphic language that is profane or potentially offensive work in the classroom? How do we choose which voices to exclude? What do those choices reveal about our beliefs and practices? What are the implications for teaching and learning in today's high-stakes educational contexts? As a precursor to the 2010 Urban Sites Network Conference, "Writing Across the Margins: Illuminating Urban Voices," members of the USN Leadership Team will engage participants in a facilitated roundtable discussion of excerpts from keynote speaker Patricia Smith's books Blood Dazzler and Close to Death.

Presenters: Ben Bates, Oklahoma State University Writing Project; Astra Cherry, Gateway Writing Project, MO. Both are co-chairs of the USN Leadership Team.

Emerging Issues in Education: What's on the Horizon for a Reauthorization of ESEA

This session will highlight the emerging education issues that the Secretary of Education, Congress, and education advocates are discussing in the current conversation around the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA). We will also look at the ways in which Recovery Act programs and spending impact this conversation. (Round A only)

Presenter: Ellin Nolan, Washington Partners, LLC

Reflections on NWP Partnerships with Community Colleges: Preliminary Lessons Learned from a Landscape Study

Inverness Research is conducting a study to help inform NWP connections to community colleges in the support of writing instruction and professional community. In this session, Inverness Research will share results and seek feedback and additional perspectives. Data to be explored include features of the national community college landscape (characteristics of colleges, faculty, students) as well as lessons learned about effective NWP-CC partnerships.

Presenter: Laura Stokes, Inverness Research