Dakota Writing Project

by Krista Bruggeman, Lennox Public School

During my time at the National Writing Project in Nashville, Tennessee, I attended an informative and worthwhile session entitled,
“The Invitational Summer Institute: Developing Teacher-Consultants from Interviews to In-service” (apparently the name “Start to Finish: Creating Teacher-Consultants” was already taken). One of the most worthwhile parts of attending the National Writing Project Annual Meeting was meeting teachers from all over the United States who had a common goal, furthering their own writing projects and promoting writing across the curriculum, and just as important, shared common concerns with our own writing project. Teachers and leaders wanted support and information not only to keep their writing projects going but also to increase attendance and keep the momentum in high gear. One answer to this quandary is to create a pool of teacher-consultants each year.

We looked at overall formats from two different summer institutes that have been very successful in recruitment of teacher-consultants and making their name essentially a common word among teachers in their states and areas. The basic premise is promotion and recruitment. The key to this begins with implementing more professional writing during the institute and creating more professional development leaders. By drawing future leaders from the pool of summer institute participants, you can effectively organize a group and train them to succeed as future leaders for the following year and years to come.

Summer institutes begin with a screening process—for many institutes, including ours, that means a formal application and a
writing sample. The session leaders suggested going one step further by actually having a face-to-face interview with the applicants. Not only would this ensure that ever important element of diversity, but also ensure that the applicants are serious not only about their own writing but teaching writing to their students. A serious level of commitment should be demonstrated, and this interview is an excellent chance to stress to the applicant that their participation is expected to continue long after the summer institute is completed—through word of mouth, attending meetings throughout the year, and being available as a teacher-consultant.

The pre-institute, or boot camp as it was called by our leaders, is the next step in the process. Participants at the session, including myself from the Dakota Writing Project, agreed that this was a crucial time to develop trust and ease into writing. However, there are things that were recommended that perhaps many of us we’re not stressing enough. The leaders suggested that the boot camp last as perhaps longer than a day, for instance a weekend, and that several teacher demonstrations, given by former institute participants, take place during that time.

Not only should the participants participate in the demo, but they should be given a thorough breakdown of the process—in other words, how the lesson was developed, how it impacted students, and how it can be adapted. This prepares the participants to develop their own demo thoroughly, and also opens the doors for discussion over shared concerns in the classroom. Lastly, the participants should peruse and choose no less than two professional textbooks to discuss during the institute.

When the actual institute begins, participants should bring with them a list of concerns they have about teaching in their own classrooms. They should also have written a response letter that includes specific questions or concerns they might have concerning the demonstrations. The teacher-consultants who taught the lesson should also respond back to the participants. A list of shared concerns should be discussed in the early days of the institute—the days can be split into personal writing along with professional development. Large general issues should be then condensed into specific, concrete ideas and concerns that should be reflected on by the participants through writing and then shared discussion.

From the beginning, participants should create a portfolio of their work, both professional and personal. They should include reflections of the writing at the end of the portfolio that includes an explanation of how it spans the continuum. The institute itself should be led by two co-directors as well as two coaches, along with teacher-consultants. When the participants present a demo, they should be sure to model it after the boot camp demos. All participants should write a reflection that includes questions once again regarding the demo as well as any comments and concerns, and the demonstrating teacher should respond. Also, emphasis on professional writing should take place throughout. More than one theme can be experimented with, and a final finished product does not need to come at the end of the institute—instead, more of a work in progress.

This brings us to the final key for writing project success. Once again, the learning and progress doesn’t end in the summer. Various workshops, professional writing retreats and meetings should be set up throughout the school year to encourage further professional writing and training for the new teacher-consultants, selected at the end of the summer institute. They need to feel as if they are a part of something bigger than a workshop. These new teacher consultants become part of your public relations work when they pass the word on at their own schools and communities. Also, form committees to create a brochure that advertises the institute, constantly updated year to year to keep it fresh. Create a letter that goes out to administrators and heads of departments to get the word out that writing matters, and we’re here to help you teach writing more effectively.

A lot of excellent ideas were presented at this session, and I am excited to meet with our Dakota Writing Project Board to implement
these changes. While I learned a lot of new things we can do to improve our institute, I was also satisfied to know that we are doing many things right and that our concerns are not unique. Our combination of ambition, creativity and genuine belief that writing is the key to shaping the future for students will make our institute a success.