Summary: This report on the 2004-2006 results of Local Sites Research Initiative studies demonstrates the positive impact of NWP professional development on student learning. Conducted at a variety of sites around the nation, these studies consistently showed greater improvement in writing on every measured attribute among students taught by NWP-trained...
Summary: This resource from the College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) features one-minute videos that define mini-units and explain the value of using nonfiction sources/texts. There are links to related pages on the C3WP website that focus on creating text sets and on developing and sequencing mini-units. These resources...
Summary: Providing inspiration and guidance, this collection features six case studies of sites reimagining their core leadership programs to reach teachers not served by their regular summer institute. Both the finished products and the detailed explanations of the design processes of these six examples can be instructive for any team...
Author: Grace Hall McEntee Summary: In this chapter from At the Heart of Teaching: A Guide to Reflective Practice, Grace Hall McEntee explores every aspect of her work at a series of writing retreats hosted by the Boston Writing Project. She describes the selection of candidates; codirecting, with Joe Check, the...
Author: Tanya Baker and Becky Carroll Summary: This resource describes the NWP’s multi-faceted work (with collaborating organizations) on the Intersections Project, which supported local partnerships to design programming and innovative projects to connect science and literacy learning. The authors present two cases and their benefits to participants: one focuses on...
Summary: Looking to increase your site’s visibility and raise new funding? This resource from the Western Massachusetts Writing Project, developed as part of a comprehensive plan to increase visibility and raise new funding by educating others about its work, demonstrates how effectively key site information can be compiled into a...
Summary: This 2007 report by the Carnegie Foundation and the Center for Applied Linguistics identifies challenges faced by adolescent ELs in meeting grade-level academic expectations. It also provides recommendations for teacher education, educational research, school administrators and policy makers, along with instructional approaches likely to increase student achievement. The downloadable...
Summary: Teacher leaders designing professional development programs will find this nine step coaching protocol useful. The resource outlines a cycle for working with teachers and describes how to coach participants through the stages of brainstorming, developing, presenting, reflecting on and revising a presentation/demonstration lesson/inquiry workshop. In addition, it offers “how-to”...
Author: Eric Hasty and Bob Fecho Summary: Two summer institute facilitators reflect on their transition, over a number of years, to a paperless institute. They describe how the site embraced digital technologies as they followed the inquiry, “What if?” One central understanding that evolved was “… technology allows us to...
Author: Sheridan Blau Summary: It is highly likely that you are here exploring this site and its resources because you, like tens of thousands of other teachers, found your experience with your local National Writing Project site to be transformative, and you want to bring similar experiences to other educators....