Monday, June 30, 2008
Temporarily signing off
I have a paper due--and I can't believe I'm using that as an excuse! Early next week, I'll write one long wrap-up post on the last week of the CTWP. See you soon!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Coaching (Day 13 & 14)
Hi, Mapuana! I can indeed read your comments now--thanks for all the great ideas! And let me assure you that the Open Institute in July will be a lot like what we are doing in the Summer Institute--we can't do everything, obviously, but you will definitely get a good taste of NWP. And that reminds me, I still need to send around that e-mail to all our July participants. I'll do that this evening.
Today I had my coaching time for my demo (which will be on Tuesday). Mostly it involved listening to my ideas, making suggestions and answering questions.
Today's demo was fascinating. Not only was the presenter from another country (and showed the educational system comparisons), but she is also in special ed. To begin the demo, she handed each of us a post-it note with a typical special ed label on it and a few brief descriptions of what that label meant. We then role-played. She is a brave, brave woman to ask a group of teachers to role-play students to that extreme. But it was fascinating to think about how our particular disability or condition would affect our learning and how a teacher might have to work with us in a different way. My label, btw, was emotional/behavioral disorder. I was anti-social and couldn't control my anger, tending to act aggressively toward others. Interestingly enough, I was seated next to an ADHD student who had poor impulse control. We quickly figured out we were a volatile situation waiting to happen (and acted accordingly, of course). In any case, it was eye-opening, to the extreme. I am continually in awe of teachers who work with these special students.
Tomorrow, pot luck and guest author. It's David Rice, author of Crazy Loco. I saw him at the conference here in September, and he was a lot of fun.
Today I had my coaching time for my demo (which will be on Tuesday). Mostly it involved listening to my ideas, making suggestions and answering questions.
Today's demo was fascinating. Not only was the presenter from another country (and showed the educational system comparisons), but she is also in special ed. To begin the demo, she handed each of us a post-it note with a typical special ed label on it and a few brief descriptions of what that label meant. We then role-played. She is a brave, brave woman to ask a group of teachers to role-play students to that extreme. But it was fascinating to think about how our particular disability or condition would affect our learning and how a teacher might have to work with us in a different way. My label, btw, was emotional/behavioral disorder. I was anti-social and couldn't control my anger, tending to act aggressively toward others. Interestingly enough, I was seated next to an ADHD student who had poor impulse control. We quickly figured out we were a volatile situation waiting to happen (and acted accordingly, of course). In any case, it was eye-opening, to the extreme. I am continually in awe of teachers who work with these special students.
Tomorrow, pot luck and guest author. It's David Rice, author of Crazy Loco. I saw him at the conference here in September, and he was a lot of fun.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Assessment (Day 12)
Interesting discussion today on assessment. We read a couple of articles, including the first chapter of Rethinking Rubrics. I admit mixed feelings about rubrics--I share the author's general philosophy about grades, about authentic assessment, about anti-standardization, etc. But when I get to the end of the day and face a stack of 50 essays--well, I love me a rubric. I suppose it's like any educational concept--can be used for good or evil. Discussion will continue tomorrow, with Lori and Jan Schaeffer (our Open Institute leader) leading a discussion on A2I--the assessment to instruction research project of the CTWP.
My haiku log was well received. Fabulous demo today, a great exercise in observation and writing from different points of view. It involved writing about a picture, but ended up forcing the writers to focus in on small, seemingly insignificant details. It's amazing what kind of stories came out of that one little teeny-tiny detail.
My haiku log was well received. Fabulous demo today, a great exercise in observation and writing from different points of view. It involved writing about a picture, but ended up forcing the writers to focus in on small, seemingly insignificant details. It's amazing what kind of stories came out of that one little teeny-tiny detail.
Monday, June 23, 2008
My log day (Day 11)
Today was my turn to keep a log. Others have done newsletters, video, digital storytelling. I chose haiku. The demo today was about technology, so I thought it would be fun to combine the ancient & the modern. I won't share all my little haikus, but I'll include a few.
Journals
Shirley’s reading for the morning journal writing included the memorable line, “you can’t order a poem like you order a taco.”
Fast food poetry
I’ll have a sonnet to go
Yes, I would like fries.
Book talk & discussion
The book talk today was on The Best For Our Children: Critical Perspectives on Literacy for Latino Students edited by Maria de la Luz Reyes & John J. Halcon. There was much discussion on the chapter called “Parent Narratives: The Cultural Bridge between Latino Parents & Their Children,” which redefines the notion of “parental involvement” through a culturally specific lens. Lori recommended two books:
More to put on the CBWP library list!
Sacred Writing Time
We had a full hour of very quiet writing time, which was given the above label. I wondered if this might be in response to some of the silliness of last week, a way to help us refocus on the writing.
Liz began by asking us to freewrite on the word “intention” for a couple of minutes, then nearly everyone “popcorned” their response. Liz discussed the mind/body/soul connection involved in writing, and asked us to close our eyes and think about what we have been writing and want to be writing. We then paired up to share our completions for two statements, using a maximum of three sentences: 1) I am writing . . . ; and 2) It’s about . . ..
She shared the story of stealing (oh my!) a clever do not disturb sign from a
Fuggedaboutit
Do not disturb my writing
Lest my words be lost.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
A Quick (ha ha) note about Friday (Day 10)
No time to say much about Friday, except that we had a visit from a Aly Tadros, a singer/songwriter, who talked about songwriting and a bit about the music business. She played a few songs, including one that might be featured on "Grey's Anatomy" next season.
She was fabulous, and is going to be in Corpus in August. Check out her website (includes a few downloadable tracks): www.alytadros.com
Oh, and by the way, she is only 21 years old and self-taught on the guitar.
She was fabulous, and is going to be in Corpus in August. Check out her website (includes a few downloadable tracks): www.alytadros.com
Oh, and by the way, she is only 21 years old and self-taught on the guitar.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
A Good Tired (Day 8 and 9)
Wow, I hit a wall yesterday. I was so tired and once the SI was over for the day, I took a break from writing and reading about writing. Of course, I recovered from word overdose by more words--went to Half-Price books and got a mystery to read.
I feel much better today and managed to complete my memoir assignment during writing time, despite the best efforts of my tablemates to distract me (this effort involved pet websites and brownies--they know me way too well already! :). It was like the intensity of the room all of sudden turned into a little bit of punch-drunkenness. Everyone was cheerful, involved, and interested, but maybe a little silly and then a bit anxious to leave in the afternoon. I wonder if this is common--that about the halfway point in the institute, there needs to be some kind of mini-break. (I might ask Liz about this tomorrow.) Perhaps we should have had the breathing woman this week. I could go for another session of linguini. Tomorrow is Friday, and we have the potluck (salad theme) another author visit--this time a songwriter. Should be fun!
In the last two days, we have had writing time, response groups, and demos--all the usual. I continue to surprise myself with how much relatively decent writing I am capable of doing in such a short time. Granted, I have much less distraction here than I would back at TAMU-CC, but even a half-hour spurt of concentrated writing has yielded a surprising amount. (Boice was right!) Confidence in my ability to write, and to write fairly well has skyrocketed. Even if I got nothing else out of the SI, that would make it all worthwhile. I am almost willing to call myself a writer (almost) as well as a writing teacher. So even though I was tired, and needed a little break, it was a good tired--born of hard, meaningful work rather than frustration.
Of course, this also means I have no excuse now not to get an article or two out pretty soon.
Yesterday, we also finished the very interesting conversation on writing in the digital age, and I am left with much food for thought about the need for technology-rich educational environments and what the responsibilities of writing teachers are for teaching that technology.
The demos the last two days have been great, both involving collaborative writing activities. I continue to be impressed by the activities presented and how many of them are applicable across grade levels.
Jan is going to bring in a couple of TCs to do sample demos in our Open Institute (all part of the package!) I'm also very excited, because we worked out a plan to bring my summer English 3360 class in on Wednesday of that week to participate for an hour or so in the Institute. I cannot wait for them to meet that roomful of awesome teachers!
I feel much better today and managed to complete my memoir assignment during writing time, despite the best efforts of my tablemates to distract me (this effort involved pet websites and brownies--they know me way too well already! :). It was like the intensity of the room all of sudden turned into a little bit of punch-drunkenness. Everyone was cheerful, involved, and interested, but maybe a little silly and then a bit anxious to leave in the afternoon. I wonder if this is common--that about the halfway point in the institute, there needs to be some kind of mini-break. (I might ask Liz about this tomorrow.) Perhaps we should have had the breathing woman this week. I could go for another session of linguini. Tomorrow is Friday, and we have the potluck (salad theme) another author visit--this time a songwriter. Should be fun!
In the last two days, we have had writing time, response groups, and demos--all the usual. I continue to surprise myself with how much relatively decent writing I am capable of doing in such a short time. Granted, I have much less distraction here than I would back at TAMU-CC, but even a half-hour spurt of concentrated writing has yielded a surprising amount. (Boice was right!) Confidence in my ability to write, and to write fairly well has skyrocketed. Even if I got nothing else out of the SI, that would make it all worthwhile. I am almost willing to call myself a writer (almost) as well as a writing teacher. So even though I was tired, and needed a little break, it was a good tired--born of hard, meaningful work rather than frustration.
Of course, this also means I have no excuse now not to get an article or two out pretty soon.
Yesterday, we also finished the very interesting conversation on writing in the digital age, and I am left with much food for thought about the need for technology-rich educational environments and what the responsibilities of writing teachers are for teaching that technology.
The demos the last two days have been great, both involving collaborative writing activities. I continue to be impressed by the activities presented and how many of them are applicable across grade levels.
Jan is going to bring in a couple of TCs to do sample demos in our Open Institute (all part of the package!) I'm also very excited, because we worked out a plan to bring my summer English 3360 class in on Wednesday of that week to participate for an hour or so in the Institute. I cannot wait for them to meet that roomful of awesome teachers!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Lucy Calkin's Former Student Visits (Day 7)
Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was a visit from Katherine Bomer. I didn't realize that she was one of Lucy Calkins' students and worked with her on what she affectionately referred to as The Box, the extensive unit plans Calkins published through Heinemann. Even if I knew nothing about her pedagogy or her history of writing a famous burnout-because-of-NCLB-and-testing essay, I would be a fan. She listened to our stories, responded to questions thoughtfully, acknowledged concerns, and celebrated everyone in that room as dedicated and caring professionals. She had a lot to say about The Box and how districts and/or individual teachers should & should not use it. We should put her two books on the list for our CBWP library (if they are not already there), and maybe see about bringing her to Corpus at some point.
I also met with Jan about our Open Institute--it's going to be good, y'all. I'll put more about that in an e-mail. I will also put together an official distribution list for the July participants and ask for a reply as an RSVP.
Today was my day for a booktalk. I had chosen Breakthroughs: Classroom Discoveries about Teaching Writing, ed. by Amy Bauman & Art Peterson and published by the National Writing Project. It's a collection of essays that were originally published in The Quarterly, which was NWP's journal, now online as The Voice. Lots and lots of strategies for writing at all levels and subjects (begins with an essay on science writing, for instance).
And finally, we did a jigsaw puzzle discussion on a few articles we read on writing in the digital age. I use this technique quite a bit in classes, although I didn't know it had an official name. Each group takes one of the essays and becomes an expert on it. Then we shuffle the groups, so that each new group has one person from each of the old groups--one expert on each article, who then teaches it to the rest. I called it "divide and conquer," but I like jigsaw puzzle better--a much more peaceable metaphor--it's all about putting things together.
I also met with Jan about our Open Institute--it's going to be good, y'all. I'll put more about that in an e-mail. I will also put together an official distribution list for the July participants and ask for a reply as an RSVP.
Today was my day for a booktalk. I had chosen Breakthroughs: Classroom Discoveries about Teaching Writing, ed. by Amy Bauman & Art Peterson and published by the National Writing Project. It's a collection of essays that were originally published in The Quarterly, which was NWP's journal, now online as The Voice. Lots and lots of strategies for writing at all levels and subjects (begins with an essay on science writing, for instance).
And finally, we did a jigsaw puzzle discussion on a few articles we read on writing in the digital age. I use this technique quite a bit in classes, although I didn't know it had an official name. Each group takes one of the essays and becomes an expert on it. Then we shuffle the groups, so that each new group has one person from each of the old groups--one expert on each article, who then teaches it to the rest. I called it "divide and conquer," but I like jigsaw puzzle better--a much more peaceable metaphor--it's all about putting things together.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday (and a little bit of Friday) (Day 5 & 6)
Friday
Although I didn't post officially on Friday, I just wanted to share a little bit about the guest author. Friday afternoons at CTWP consist of a pot-luck lunch and a guest author. We have guest authors other days sometimes too (Katherine Bomer is coming tomorrow), but Friday afternoon is always reserved for it. Lauren Robins, author of The Palette of Breath, taught us how to breathe. Okay, technically, we already know how to breathe, or we would be dead. But she used breathing techniques and some movement theory to teach us relaxation. Many of the teachers thought it would be great to do this with their kids before the TAKS test or any other high-stakes situation. It really was calming, but without loss of energy. And I'm sure seeing a room full of teachers dancing around doing the linguine was an interesting sight. To my chagrin, there are indeed pictures.
We should be thinking about some authors we might want to bring in. Here, they tap in to local talent. Obviously, Robb Jackson would be number 1 on our list. Liz invited me this afternoon to sit in on a meeting with the CTWP leadership team--the Round Rock team reported having a grantwriter do a mini-workshop on Friday and that one of their site participants wrote a grant over the weekend as a result. Chuck, could we maybe twist your arm to do something like that?
The meeting's agenda essentially went down a list of all the programs CTWP is running or getting ready for. It's probably premature, given that we need to run a successful SI before we can do any of it, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to brainstorm some possibilities about what kind of programs we can offer in the area. In addition to the SI at San Marcos and the one at Round Rock, they have our Open Institute, two other open institutes on digital storytelling, one on bookmaking, young author's camps, various technology initiatives . . . I know I'm missing a few here. So what does the Coastal Bend need out of its writing project? Let's do some big dreaming!
Monday
This week's discussion theme is "Writing in a Digital Age." We have a few articles to read for tomorrow, and the Tech Liaisons will be leading us in a discussion about them. Today we tried to deal with logistics--to get us all on the official blog and wiki. It did not go well. Frankly, we needed a technical writer to set things out step-by-step. Too many things going on at once I think. The ideas are all really good (posting the daily log as a blog, for instance), but this group needed more systematic instruction in how to do it using the particular tools. It will get straightened out tomorrow, I presume. In any case, we all got the reading assignments and a little lesson in technical difficulties.
We also got visitor's day invitations to hand out. Y'all want to come up to San Marcos for a day? I'll post the invitation. The last day of the SI is Visitor's Day, when family, friends, administrators, and other teachers (and maybe potential recruits) visit the SI and see a mini-institute. Great recruiting tool, and a great way to show off/promote the project to various dignitaries. I wonder if we shouldn't have some kind of a session in the July Institute where the dean and others who are going to give us money could come see what we are doing? Or maybe that's too much for one week.
Tomorrow the first official writing assignment is due. We can hand in any of the three. Mine will be the "write in a genre outside your comfort zone" assignment. I wrote poetry, which as I said in a post below, is the Pluto of my comfort zone--so far out it isn't even a planet anymore. Here's the evidence that the NWP is for real: I haven't written a poem in nearly 30 years. But last week--I wrote 8. I don't know if they are good or not. I read a couple to my response group, and they were very positive. I really don't have a frame of reference to judge my own poetry. But it doesn't matter anyway--it felt good to write them.
Not ready to post them publicly, but if you ask nicely and promise not to laugh (unless it was supposed to be funny), I'll e-mail you one.
Although I didn't post officially on Friday, I just wanted to share a little bit about the guest author. Friday afternoons at CTWP consist of a pot-luck lunch and a guest author. We have guest authors other days sometimes too (Katherine Bomer is coming tomorrow), but Friday afternoon is always reserved for it. Lauren Robins, author of The Palette of Breath, taught us how to breathe. Okay, technically, we already know how to breathe, or we would be dead. But she used breathing techniques and some movement theory to teach us relaxation. Many of the teachers thought it would be great to do this with their kids before the TAKS test or any other high-stakes situation. It really was calming, but without loss of energy. And I'm sure seeing a room full of teachers dancing around doing the linguine was an interesting sight. To my chagrin, there are indeed pictures.
We should be thinking about some authors we might want to bring in. Here, they tap in to local talent. Obviously, Robb Jackson would be number 1 on our list. Liz invited me this afternoon to sit in on a meeting with the CTWP leadership team--the Round Rock team reported having a grantwriter do a mini-workshop on Friday and that one of their site participants wrote a grant over the weekend as a result. Chuck, could we maybe twist your arm to do something like that?
The meeting's agenda essentially went down a list of all the programs CTWP is running or getting ready for. It's probably premature, given that we need to run a successful SI before we can do any of it, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to brainstorm some possibilities about what kind of programs we can offer in the area. In addition to the SI at San Marcos and the one at Round Rock, they have our Open Institute, two other open institutes on digital storytelling, one on bookmaking, young author's camps, various technology initiatives . . . I know I'm missing a few here. So what does the Coastal Bend need out of its writing project? Let's do some big dreaming!
Monday
This week's discussion theme is "Writing in a Digital Age." We have a few articles to read for tomorrow, and the Tech Liaisons will be leading us in a discussion about them. Today we tried to deal with logistics--to get us all on the official blog and wiki. It did not go well. Frankly, we needed a technical writer to set things out step-by-step. Too many things going on at once I think. The ideas are all really good (posting the daily log as a blog, for instance), but this group needed more systematic instruction in how to do it using the particular tools. It will get straightened out tomorrow, I presume. In any case, we all got the reading assignments and a little lesson in technical difficulties.
We also got visitor's day invitations to hand out. Y'all want to come up to San Marcos for a day? I'll post the invitation. The last day of the SI is Visitor's Day, when family, friends, administrators, and other teachers (and maybe potential recruits) visit the SI and see a mini-institute. Great recruiting tool, and a great way to show off/promote the project to various dignitaries. I wonder if we shouldn't have some kind of a session in the July Institute where the dean and others who are going to give us money could come see what we are doing? Or maybe that's too much for one week.
Tomorrow the first official writing assignment is due. We can hand in any of the three. Mine will be the "write in a genre outside your comfort zone" assignment. I wrote poetry, which as I said in a post below, is the Pluto of my comfort zone--so far out it isn't even a planet anymore. Here's the evidence that the NWP is for real: I haven't written a poem in nearly 30 years. But last week--I wrote 8. I don't know if they are good or not. I read a couple to my response group, and they were very positive. I really don't have a frame of reference to judge my own poetry. But it doesn't matter anyway--it felt good to write them.
Not ready to post them publicly, but if you ask nicely and promise not to laugh (unless it was supposed to be funny), I'll e-mail you one.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Demo Beach Party (Day 4)
Today was the first official demo--those from last two days had been models, given by those in the institute last summer. I can see how the models really helped presenters to understand what to do. Problem for us--we don't have anybody from last summer's institute. We don't have a last summer's institute. I would have a demo, of course, but I don't think the model demo should be a college one.
So I thought maybe we could build some "guest lecture" money into the grant budget and bring in a couple of people from this summer's CTWP. I don't think we'd have any trouble getting them to visit--the beach is a definite draw. I'll pay close attention the demos, and see which ones I like the best as a model.
Had a good time with author's chair this morning after journal writing. No tears--just fun. Shirley read a passage (I can't remember who by) that praised writing about the mundane, about everyday objects. So that was our task. While one could certainly be serious about it, something about that task invites silliness and play.
Other than the first demo, the main event was beginning the research project, based on a "burning question." (I like this term--I'm going to use it in 3360.) The afternoon was spent in the library, researching. I brought a project with me, for which I had completed most of the research already, so I worked on writing it.
One problem with the 2009 SI we'll have to deal with is making sure all participants, even if they aren't taking it for credit, can have full library access. I have my TexShare card, but can access the databases only at the public terminals in the library. Of course, I can simply log on to TAMU-CC remotely, but not everyone would have that option. They will need a campus computer log-in as well. We need to start a logistics list--what are the "bureaucracy" type things we will need to do to pull off our SI? And what kind of time frame are we working with here, given that we won't have official word on the grant until November? (Like getting new course numbers, etc.)
Tomorrow: pot luck lunch and visiting author. I doubt I will post tomorrow, since I will be on the highway, headed home for the weekend, as soon as we dismiss.
So I thought maybe we could build some "guest lecture" money into the grant budget and bring in a couple of people from this summer's CTWP. I don't think we'd have any trouble getting them to visit--the beach is a definite draw. I'll pay close attention the demos, and see which ones I like the best as a model.
Had a good time with author's chair this morning after journal writing. No tears--just fun. Shirley read a passage (I can't remember who by) that praised writing about the mundane, about everyday objects. So that was our task. While one could certainly be serious about it, something about that task invites silliness and play.
Other than the first demo, the main event was beginning the research project, based on a "burning question." (I like this term--I'm going to use it in 3360.) The afternoon was spent in the library, researching. I brought a project with me, for which I had completed most of the research already, so I worked on writing it.
One problem with the 2009 SI we'll have to deal with is making sure all participants, even if they aren't taking it for credit, can have full library access. I have my TexShare card, but can access the databases only at the public terminals in the library. Of course, I can simply log on to TAMU-CC remotely, but not everyone would have that option. They will need a campus computer log-in as well. We need to start a logistics list--what are the "bureaucracy" type things we will need to do to pull off our SI? And what kind of time frame are we working with here, given that we won't have official word on the grant until November? (Like getting new course numbers, etc.)
Tomorrow: pot luck lunch and visiting author. I doubt I will post tomorrow, since I will be on the highway, headed home for the weekend, as soon as we dismiss.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Getting mad (Day 3)
Not at NWP. At TEKS realignment. Each afternoon, time is devoted to discussing a writing-related issue. Today, we viewed an editorial, written by the State Board of Education representative for the San Marcos area. Evidently, he hates teachers. Our own CC rep is one of the good guys, at least on the realignment issue. Much impassioned discussion ensued.
Here's the editorial:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/stories/MYSA.053108.OPED_1B_CommentMercer0531.25b615e.html
A couple of responses:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/letters/stories/MYSA.060908.OPED.onlineletters.72ccb1b.html
Here's a brief history:
https://tctela.org/TEKS_Realignment.php
Anyway, this is an issue that's probably going to continue to come up in school districts, writing projects, and English 3360 for awhile, since we are most likely stuck with the new TEKS for the next 10 years.
Much writing, much sharing & responding. We had another model demo, this one on writing and ESL in the middle school. The tech liaison for CTWP (we are going to need one of these--anybody know a good techie teacher?) showed us some technology applications, including our "log blog" (a place to post our daily logs) and NWPi (more on that later).
I'm very, very tired tonight. But it's a good tired. I have written more in three days than in the last three months.
Here's the editorial:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/stories/MYSA.053108.OPED_1B_CommentMercer0531.25b615e.html
A couple of responses:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/letters/stories/MYSA.060908.OPED.onlineletters.72ccb1b.html
Here's a brief history:
https://tctela.org/TEKS_Realignment.php
Anyway, this is an issue that's probably going to continue to come up in school districts, writing projects, and English 3360 for awhile, since we are most likely stuck with the new TEKS for the next 10 years.
Much writing, much sharing & responding. We had another model demo, this one on writing and ESL in the middle school. The tech liaison for CTWP (we are going to need one of these--anybody know a good techie teacher?) showed us some technology applications, including our "log blog" (a place to post our daily logs) and NWPi (more on that later).
I'm very, very tired tonight. But it's a good tired. I have written more in three days than in the last three months.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Fishbowls and playdoh (Day 2)
Day Two begins with a brief reading from Sandra Cisneros' Woman Hollering Creek, called "Eleven." The piece uses a school incident on the narrator's birthday to muse about how when one turns a certain age, one is still all the other ages. So our journal writings today tapped into memories. I ended up writing some weird riff on Alanis Morissette's "So Unsexy," which had sprung to mind as the passage was read ("how these little abandonments sting so easily/I'm 13 again, am I 13 for good?"). It didn't work so well, and I didn't share. But I really do like that song.
But several did share, including one very moving tribute to a mother who died of cancer. The kleenex came out early today.
We learned more about the demos, with modelling from a 2007 SI participant. It was second grade and involved play-doh (I have the recipe now). After a book about relatives coming to visit, we wrote on such visits--it's harder than you think to write like a second grader. Later in the day, we watched a "fishbowl" session in which Lori & Shirley (our fearless leaders) showed how they coach for demos a couple of days before the presentation. It was a good way for the observers to understand the concerns and expectations behind demos.
I continue to be impressed with the demo assignment. It not only involves demonstrating a teaching strategy, but placing that strategy in a clear theoretical framework. One of its aims is clearly to professionalize teaching--we need to be able to explain why we do what we do with confidence. I'm thinking this assignment might be adaptable to English 3360 in some way. The coaching mostly consists of the leaders asking guiding questions and helping the presenter make connections to theory. The individual who was coached today had an excellent idea to work with (I'm looking forward to her demo on Thursday), but I later asked Shirley if they've ever had to coach someone who had a really bad idea--what did they do? She said they try to be supportive, but also honest, and help direct the presenter to other ideas. There is no sink or swim here; it's about helping teachers toward success and to gain confidence in their expertise as a teacher.
We also met with our response groups to share some writing and determine expectations for these groups. The others in the group had such strong pieces--I was amazed at how they got such significance out of small things--a swing, an antique table, a well--and these were mostly first drafts, journal entries. One (to my untrained ear) seemed almost immediately publishable--began with a marked tone of regret, but somehow ended up at happiness. I didn't have anything new I wanted to share, so I read my piece about anxiety again, thinking writing about anxiety might be a good subject for poetry for me (one of our major assignments is to write in a genre out of our comfort zone--poetry is the Pluto of my comfort zone). My group had some marvelous suggestions, and this afternoon I followed it (with a bit of adaptation) and actually ended up with something that marginally resembles a poem on anxiety.
Am I going to post it?
No.
But several did share, including one very moving tribute to a mother who died of cancer. The kleenex came out early today.
We learned more about the demos, with modelling from a 2007 SI participant. It was second grade and involved play-doh (I have the recipe now). After a book about relatives coming to visit, we wrote on such visits--it's harder than you think to write like a second grader. Later in the day, we watched a "fishbowl" session in which Lori & Shirley (our fearless leaders) showed how they coach for demos a couple of days before the presentation. It was a good way for the observers to understand the concerns and expectations behind demos.
I continue to be impressed with the demo assignment. It not only involves demonstrating a teaching strategy, but placing that strategy in a clear theoretical framework. One of its aims is clearly to professionalize teaching--we need to be able to explain why we do what we do with confidence. I'm thinking this assignment might be adaptable to English 3360 in some way. The coaching mostly consists of the leaders asking guiding questions and helping the presenter make connections to theory. The individual who was coached today had an excellent idea to work with (I'm looking forward to her demo on Thursday), but I later asked Shirley if they've ever had to coach someone who had a really bad idea--what did they do? She said they try to be supportive, but also honest, and help direct the presenter to other ideas. There is no sink or swim here; it's about helping teachers toward success and to gain confidence in their expertise as a teacher.
We also met with our response groups to share some writing and determine expectations for these groups. The others in the group had such strong pieces--I was amazed at how they got such significance out of small things--a swing, an antique table, a well--and these were mostly first drafts, journal entries. One (to my untrained ear) seemed almost immediately publishable--began with a marked tone of regret, but somehow ended up at happiness. I didn't have anything new I wanted to share, so I read my piece about anxiety again, thinking writing about anxiety might be a good subject for poetry for me (one of our major assignments is to write in a genre out of our comfort zone--poetry is the Pluto of my comfort zone). My group had some marvelous suggestions, and this afternoon I followed it (with a bit of adaptation) and actually ended up with something that marginally resembles a poem on anxiety.
Am I going to post it?
No.
Monday, June 9, 2008
A Plain White Index Card (Day 1)
Woo-hoo! I have an audience! Hi, Kim & Susan, and thanks for your comments.
Students often think that the first day of a college class is supposed to be nothing more than handing out the syllabus, discussing assignments, pointing out policies--then you go early. You don't actually START the class.
The CTWP Summer Institute disagrees.
Day one, minute one: writing.
Our task was to first write about ourselves, describing physical attributes, cultural heritage, and national identity. Then write about a partner, using the same categories. After sharing writings with the partner, we then discussed discomfort level, what we left out, observational writing, etc. It is surpisingly difficult to look at someone that closely and directly while they are looking back at you! The activity ended, as almost every writing activity will, with some large-group sharing--the author's chair.
Taking Care of Business
Of course, a first day does have to deal with logistics. We signed up for books talks (a 3-5 minute presentation on the professional book we read for the Institute), log keeping (each person will keep the day's minutes and create some kind of document--creativity welcomed--to hand out the next day--I will definitely save these), and breakfast (in pairs, twice during the SI). Later in the day we formed response groups, a complicated process involving index cards of various colors representing the grade levels. I, the lone college representative, got a plain old white one. Elementary teachers got purple.
We discussed demos--this is one of the key assignments for NWP SIs, and the "teachers teaching teachers" model. Essentially, the demonstration is a presentation of some approach, strategy, or method for teaching writing. The Institute leaders coach each presenter a couple of days before their turn. It's an extensive presentation (about 2 hours each) in which the teacher describes the strategy, connects it to theory, and walks the group through the strategy. The group role plays the age of the targeted students during this part of the demo, and we go in order of grade level. So on Thursday, I get to be a kindergartner. Maybe I can have a purple card then. :)
The First Tears
Liz told us at the Pre-Institute meeting in May that the SI sometimes ends up as a therapy session. We may need to write Kleenex into the grant.
One of the participants read a passage from Georgia Heard's Writing Toward Home, called "Querencia," which described the importance of a place to write, a place that creates a sense of safety and well-being. Of course we wrote in response, describing our place, then some shared their writings. Several were moved to tears as they described places and their associated memories, both good and bad. I didn't exactly cry when I read mine, but could have--I wrote about lack of such a place, because I'm not sure I actually feel safe when writing. Writing=anxiety.
Discussion: The Neglected "R"
SI is not just therapy, it also involves getting down and dirty with writing pedagogy issues. We read the Executive Summary of the Writing Commission's report, "The Neglected 'R'" and discussed it following a protocol called "Save the Last Word" which involves choosing and reading short passages out loud to the group, then discussing them in turn, with the chooser getting the last word. The common theme in my group was that writing is too often seen by students (and other teachers, frankly) as a separate subject, rather than as a foundational literacy skill. For some reason, no one seems to have a problem seeing reading in this light, but there is some sort of block when it comes to writing. We also shared strategies on the issue of parental involvement, especially in Title I school districts. And then, of course, wrote (5-minute reflection).
Some Observations
Textbooks for summer institute: CTWP doesn't have one, using individual books and materials distributed in class as a basis for discussion. Other writing projects do have textbooks, or some combination of textbooks & individual readings. A big decision we will have to make, since what will choose to do will influence other choices about how we run the institute.
Room: CTWP has a room that is essentially dedicated to the Summer Institute. It is good-sized room, nicely arranged with tables & chairs (all moveable & configurable), small refrigerator, microwave, tables along one wall for food (always available), computer/projector set up, a COW (laptop cart), and a rolling bookshelf for the resource library. They also have a nifty water cooler that dispenses both hot and cold water (can we write one of these into our grant?). Marsha had mentioned the possibility of us getting one of the FRC rooms. I wonder if we could get a room for the SI, and use it during the semesters for English 3360? Whatever we end up with, we need to think about how to make it fully conducive to writing and discussion. It needs to be a model writing classroom, as close to that "safe place for writing" as we can get.
Library: we have Mapuana's list--I'd like to formalize this a little bit and use it as a basis to create our own library. CTWP also has copies of relevant journals available in the room, plus some more popular-0riented writing mags, such as Writer's Digest.
Final Thought
You can probably tell by the length here that I'm psyched. The group of teachers at the CTWP SI are terrific--I've learned so much from them, even on the first day. And I even managed to work up the nerve to read out loud a fairly personal writing. So far, it is as advertised-- a supportive atmosphere that honors teachers both as professional educators and as writers.
Not that I really had doubts before, but there is no question that we need to bring NWP to Corpus. It's as obvious as big purple letters on a plain white index card.
Students often think that the first day of a college class is supposed to be nothing more than handing out the syllabus, discussing assignments, pointing out policies--then you go early. You don't actually START the class.
The CTWP Summer Institute disagrees.
Day one, minute one: writing.
Our task was to first write about ourselves, describing physical attributes, cultural heritage, and national identity. Then write about a partner, using the same categories. After sharing writings with the partner, we then discussed discomfort level, what we left out, observational writing, etc. It is surpisingly difficult to look at someone that closely and directly while they are looking back at you! The activity ended, as almost every writing activity will, with some large-group sharing--the author's chair.
Taking Care of Business
Of course, a first day does have to deal with logistics. We signed up for books talks (a 3-5 minute presentation on the professional book we read for the Institute), log keeping (each person will keep the day's minutes and create some kind of document--creativity welcomed--to hand out the next day--I will definitely save these), and breakfast (in pairs, twice during the SI). Later in the day we formed response groups, a complicated process involving index cards of various colors representing the grade levels. I, the lone college representative, got a plain old white one. Elementary teachers got purple.
We discussed demos--this is one of the key assignments for NWP SIs, and the "teachers teaching teachers" model. Essentially, the demonstration is a presentation of some approach, strategy, or method for teaching writing. The Institute leaders coach each presenter a couple of days before their turn. It's an extensive presentation (about 2 hours each) in which the teacher describes the strategy, connects it to theory, and walks the group through the strategy. The group role plays the age of the targeted students during this part of the demo, and we go in order of grade level. So on Thursday, I get to be a kindergartner. Maybe I can have a purple card then. :)
The First Tears
Liz told us at the Pre-Institute meeting in May that the SI sometimes ends up as a therapy session. We may need to write Kleenex into the grant.
One of the participants read a passage from Georgia Heard's Writing Toward Home, called "Querencia," which described the importance of a place to write, a place that creates a sense of safety and well-being. Of course we wrote in response, describing our place, then some shared their writings. Several were moved to tears as they described places and their associated memories, both good and bad. I didn't exactly cry when I read mine, but could have--I wrote about lack of such a place, because I'm not sure I actually feel safe when writing. Writing=anxiety.
Discussion: The Neglected "R"
SI is not just therapy, it also involves getting down and dirty with writing pedagogy issues. We read the Executive Summary of the Writing Commission's report, "The Neglected 'R'" and discussed it following a protocol called "Save the Last Word" which involves choosing and reading short passages out loud to the group, then discussing them in turn, with the chooser getting the last word. The common theme in my group was that writing is too often seen by students (and other teachers, frankly) as a separate subject, rather than as a foundational literacy skill. For some reason, no one seems to have a problem seeing reading in this light, but there is some sort of block when it comes to writing. We also shared strategies on the issue of parental involvement, especially in Title I school districts. And then, of course, wrote (5-minute reflection).
Some Observations
Textbooks for summer institute: CTWP doesn't have one, using individual books and materials distributed in class as a basis for discussion. Other writing projects do have textbooks, or some combination of textbooks & individual readings. A big decision we will have to make, since what will choose to do will influence other choices about how we run the institute.
Room: CTWP has a room that is essentially dedicated to the Summer Institute. It is good-sized room, nicely arranged with tables & chairs (all moveable & configurable), small refrigerator, microwave, tables along one wall for food (always available), computer/projector set up, a COW (laptop cart), and a rolling bookshelf for the resource library. They also have a nifty water cooler that dispenses both hot and cold water (can we write one of these into our grant?). Marsha had mentioned the possibility of us getting one of the FRC rooms. I wonder if we could get a room for the SI, and use it during the semesters for English 3360? Whatever we end up with, we need to think about how to make it fully conducive to writing and discussion. It needs to be a model writing classroom, as close to that "safe place for writing" as we can get.
Library: we have Mapuana's list--I'd like to formalize this a little bit and use it as a basis to create our own library. CTWP also has copies of relevant journals available in the room, plus some more popular-0riented writing mags, such as Writer's Digest.
Final Thought
You can probably tell by the length here that I'm psyched. The group of teachers at the CTWP SI are terrific--I've learned so much from them, even on the first day. And I even managed to work up the nerve to read out loud a fairly personal writing. So far, it is as advertised-- a supportive atmosphere that honors teachers both as professional educators and as writers.
Not that I really had doubts before, but there is no question that we need to bring NWP to Corpus. It's as obvious as big purple letters on a plain white index card.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Beginnings
This blog is mostly for the (soon-to-be, we hope!) Coastal Bend Writing Project leadership team in Corpus Christi, TX. But anyone is welcome to read it. I promise not to post anything private or proprietary.
So that the whole team can get a bit of the NWP summer institute (SI) experience, I thought I'd try my hand at blogging. Each day or two, I'll post a bit about what went on at the SI and some of my impressions. I'll also share any ideas for our own site that come to mind. And maybe, just maybe, I'll even share some of my own writing that comes out of the experience. (This may not be pretty.)
Please share your own insights, comments, questions--I'd love to hear from you all while I'm away from home!
So that the whole team can get a bit of the NWP summer institute (SI) experience, I thought I'd try my hand at blogging. Each day or two, I'll post a bit about what went on at the SI and some of my impressions. I'll also share any ideas for our own site that come to mind. And maybe, just maybe, I'll even share some of my own writing that comes out of the experience. (This may not be pretty.)
Please share your own insights, comments, questions--I'd love to hear from you all while I'm away from home!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)