Leading Professional Learning

Lee Anne Bell Counters the “Stock Stories” of Race and Racism

Author: Art Peterson Summary: This article by Art Peterson describes how Lee Anne Bell, author of Storytelling for Social Justice, explores the tension between stock stories and counter or concealed stories in order to develop an anti-racist pedagogy. As Peterson notes, “Bell’s purpose is not only to expose the myths...

Developing Communities of Practice In Schools

Author: Milbrey McLaughlin, Joan E. Talbert Summary: This book chapter investigates what it takes to make teacher learning communities within schools successful, identifying strong design, skilled facilitation, broadly shared teacher leadership, and school culture as significant factors.

Changing Times: Adapting the Invitational Summer Institute to an Online Environment

Author: Ken Martin Summary: Ken Martin, director of the Maine WP, shares lessons learned as the site transitioned from a traditional face-to-face summer Invitational Institute to a year round, online institute. This thoughtful and comprehensive study reviews the rationale for moving to an online institute documenting the successes, struggles, and...

Building the Capacity of Writing Project Site Leadership

Author: Karen Smith, Lucy Ware, Lynn Jacobs, Paul Epstein Summary: These stories of teacher leadership from the National Writing Project’s Vignette Study provide examples of structures and processes that sites can examine as they seek to expand leadership and create their own opportunities for teachers to lead. As Lucy Ware...

The Birth and Death of Portfolio Assessment

Author: Pauline Sahakian Summary: Although this short article is ostensibly about portfolio assessment, the author warns that promising teaching practices will only endure in a school or professional community if mentors facilitate ongoing conversations about the hows, whens, and whys of practice. In other words, regular practices cannot be taken...

Elbow Room: Tweaking Response in the Secondary Classroom

Author: Anne Marie Liebel Summary: Using Peter Elbow’s theory of peer response as described in Writing Without Teachers, Ann Marie Liebel began implementing response groups, providing space for her student writers to lead the way in revision. Central here are the ways she reflected as a teacher/facilitator and the ways...

“Out of Our Experience: Useful Theory,” Excerpt from Teacher Research for Better Schools

Author: Sheila Clawson, Marion S. MacLean, Marian M. Mohr, Mary Ann Nocerino, Courtney Rogers, and Betsy Sanford Summary: Teacher researchers detail their inquiry journeys highlighting theories that influenced or explained their thinking about practice, about teacher and student learning, and about school change. Useful in teacher inquiry to demonstrate connections...

A Weekend of Writing Isn’t a Weekend of Work

Author: Cheryl North-Coleman Summary: This article describes ideas for recruiting for professional writing retreats, shaping the retreat events, and providing necessary equipment and materials. Most of all, it reminds retreat planners and facilitators of the importance and centrality of time to write.

The Writing Assessment Badge Series: Guidance Criteria

Summary: The National Writing Project awards badges to educators who have taken part in NWP scoring events. The badges recognize educators’ invaluable contributions as Scorers, Table Leaders, or Room Leaders. The guidance criteria for earning each badge are detailed on this page.

Changing Teaching from Within: Teachers as Leaders

Author: Ann Lieberman & Linda Friedrich Summary: For sites and individuals interested in exploring why teachers become leaders in their schools and communities and how they move into positions of leadership, this paper and accompanying slides provide a rich and in-depth look at stories from a research study of NWP...