Dakota Writing Project

by Greg Dyer, University of Sioux Falls

In this article, Greg highlights the importance of experienced, knowledgeable teachers sharing their expertise, with a special invitation to current DWP teacher-consultants near the end. —Editor

Last week, I was sitting in a meeting where a well meaning colleague was talking about the writing ability of our students: “They can’t use commas, or semicolons, or document their sources. They just can’t write.”

I suspect many of us have heard these comments, or made them ourselves from time to time. (I know I have.) To be sure, conventions such as punctuation, usage, and documentation of sources are important facets of effective writing, especially for an academic audience. But I cringe every time I hear conventions equated with writing. On such occasions, I know I’m going to have about five seconds to figure out whether to let the comments pass, to affirm them by citing my own similar frustrations, or to broaden the discussion by explaining why writing is so much more than a person’s ability to handle the conventions of Standard Edited American English.

As most of us recognize, writing is thinking. Donald Murray notes, “Writing is the most disciplined form of thinking; writing is the fundamental tool of the intellectual life” (9). And the intellectual life getting more difficult—or, at the very least, it is changing. In his introduction to The Best American Essays: 2007, David Foster Wallace describes the challenges of living thoughtfully and purposefully in a U. S. culture that he labels “Total Noise”: “a culture and volume of info and spin and rhetoric and context that I know I’m not alone in finding too much to even absorb, much less to try to make sense of or organize into any kind of triage of saliency or value” (xiii – xiv).

Wallace, satirizing a line from President Bush, describes our increasing dependence on “Deciders,” those to whom we are “subcontracting and outsourcing and submitting” our intellectual lives (xvi). He goes so far as to note that “It may possibly be that acuity and taste in choosing which Deciders one submits to is now the real measure of informed adulthood” (xvi).

Pursuing “Informed Adulthood”

In order to live well and teach well in such a culture, we must find ways to revise the wide-spread and persistent view of writing as a matter of correctness, of conventions. Within a culture of “Total Noise,” we must pursue a pedagogy that instills in our students (and their parents, and our colleagues, and our administrators, and our public officials) a recognition of the fundamental role writing plays in developing information literacy, in developing the dispositions and skills necessary to choose one’s Deciders well, and perhaps even to serve effectively as a Decider for others.

We must undertake efforts to reach beyond the walls of our classroom and engage in an interdisciplinary fashion with our colleagues. Information has no disciplinary boundaries; it doesn’t fit neatly into any curriculum map. Teachers of writing, influenced by more than three decades of writing across the curriculum and the National Writing Project [1], are uniquely equipped to foster a more sustained interdisciplinarity with our colleagues. We may even find that an interdisciplinary pursuit of information literacy generates opportunities to advocate more effectively for writing across the curriculum. The American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy describes information literate people as “those who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, how to find information, and how to use information in such a way that others can learn from them” (American Library Association). Such goals simply cannot be reached without inquiry-based writing, or without an understanding of rhetoric and technology that enables one to evaluate information wisely and employ information well.

DWP Teacher-Consultants and the Next Step

As teachers of writing—at whatever level—we possess a vision and a pedagogy vital for cultivating an informed adulthood within our culture’s “Total Noise.” But we have some growing to do, as well. Our traditional boundaries are comfortable, and crossing those boundaries means overcoming social, professional, and institutional challenges. David Foster Wallace describes informed adulthood as “not just the intelligence to discern one’s own error or stupidity, but the humility to address it, absorb it, and move on and out therefrom, bravely, toward the next revealed error” (xxiv). Stated less severely, informed adulthood within the culture of “Total Noise” requires the intelligence, humility, and persistence necessary to continue taking the next step forward.

For those willing to take the next step, please give careful consideration to attending the Dakota Writing Project’s “Weekend Warrior” Professional Development Retreat to be held on the USD campus on April 18-20. This retreat is designed to equip DWP teacher-consultants to share their knowledge with other educators in the pursuit of a more holistic definition of writing and a more effective pedagogy. We recognize that providing professional development for one’s colleagues can be a formidable notion, but we also recognize the potential for “teachers teaching teachers” to transform education in our state. We’ve had the pleasure of witnessing your intelligence, humility, and persistence, and we hope you’ll consider joining us as we take this step in an exciting new direction for the DWP.

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1. Interestingly enough, the origins of writing across the curriculum pedagogy are rooted in nearby Pella, Iowa, where Barbara Walvoord initiated the first WAC faculty seminar in the 1969-70 academic year (McLeod 149). The National Writing Project began in 1974, with the Bay Area Writing Project.

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Works Cited

American Library Association. “Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report.” 10 January 1989. Association of College and Research Libraries. 1 February 2008.

McLeod, Susan. “The Pedagogy of Writing Across the Curriculum.” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Ed. Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. 149-164.

Murray, Donald M. The Craft of Revision. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1991.

Wallace, David Foster. “Introduction: Deciderization 2007 — A Special Report.” The Best American Essays: 2007. Ed. David Foster Wallace. Series Ed. Robert Atwan. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. xii-xxiv.

Experience the Dakota Writing Project’s first ever writing retreat, via Nancy Zuercher’s digital story. The retreat was postponed one week because of a blizzard that shut down some of South Dakota’s Interstate highways. Fortunately, we had planned for a snow-date!

DownloadDWP Writing Retreat

by Lindsay Sorben, Ellis Middle School , Austin, Minnesota (formerly at Bennett County in South Dakota); DWP Regional Liaison

Four and a half days of intense writing. Four and a half days at Lied Lodge, in the heat and humidity of Nebraska. The building itself was air conditioned, but like the heat, all of the participants were relentless in producing pieces for publication, or at least the dream of having them published.

At the meet-and-greet online in Tapped In, we met each other two weeks prior to attending the Technology and Writing Retreat sponsored by the National Writing Project. On Wednesday evening on July 26, we were able to put those names in Tapped In to actual faces while we learned a little more (some strange facts, some intriguing) about one another. Dakota Writing Project was well-represented with three participants: Anne Moege of Mitchell Middle School, Jane Overmoe of Watertown High School, and Lindsay Sorben of Ellis Middle School in Austin, MN.

Each writer came with at particular topic in mind to write about. Everyone had a different vision, but all came with the common theme of using technology to write and teach writing. In that first night, response groups were set up, consisting of three or four members that had some common thread of interest with their topic. And that’s where things took off.

In between the writing, we had the opportunity to receive feedback from actual editors of different publications. They told us of the publishing process and an editor’s perspective when they receive pieces of writing. One of NWP’s editors was in attendance for the entire retreat to assist with our writing questions and needs. What an opportunity!

Thursday night, we all took a break from the exercise of writing to show off a few of our uses of technology in our classrooms with a smorgasbord of showcases. The displays fueled the teacher-brains, gathering new ideas to take home. These progressions in technology and writing bring even more evidence for the case of the effectiveness of their uses for learning.

In our final night at Lied Lodge, each participant had the opportunity to share a portion, a three-minute reading, of the writing that they had been working on. Creatively enough, one of the facilitators created a timer that would “gong” the reader’s time limit. Intimidating! Each reading left everyone wanting to hear more. Powerful!

Writing, writing, and more writing. Oh, and, dare I say, eating were all a part of the experience. With so much time set aside in the beautiful setting, one couldn’t help but be inspired to put words to paper. But, if any of the participants were like me, my piece took on a metamorphosis. I had a clear vision of what I wanted the focus of my article to be before arriving. By the end of the retreat, however, that focus took a slightly different direction.

This is writing, I suppose. It is a journey of thousands of words muddled together that either do or do not make sense. It’s the playing around of thoughts and questions and answering those uncertainties that leave holes in what we are trying to say. After this experience at the WAT Retreat, I’d have to say that writing is also a community. It is a community that is willing to share what they have (so far) and assist when those visions of the writing become blurred. To celebrate what is accomplished and to support those that need cheers from the sidelines. It is community that reminds us that we are indeed writers!

A challenge to all Writing Project teachers who read this: set your sights on an NWP retreat! Every teacher’s experiences are worth hearing about and worth writing about. Before the school year begins, find a focus for the year. What do you want to improve? What is something new that you’re going to try with your students? Journal about it and document your experience. Then . . . write about it. Even without the intension of publication, you’ll learn more about your teaching and ways to improve student learning.

by Lil Manthei, Takini School

This experience certainly rewrote my definition of what it means to be rural. For me, rural has always been the vast West River prairie and the seemingly endless fields of corn and beans that cover East River, South Dakota. At this conference, I was introduced to other areas of this country that are just as rural as my sacred South Dakota. The mountains of West Virginia; the peninsula in Washington State; the farmlands of Ohio; the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Montana; Maine; and even the state of New York can claim rural status. Writing projects in these areas face many of the same issues that we deal with in South Dakota.

The issue of distance and time that is required of teachers to attend summer institutes. In South Dakota, some teachers have been required to travel distances of over 400 miles to attend an institute. Teachers that have families have found this to be difficult, if not at time impossible for them to accomplish. Other states also acknowledge this problem. In West Virginia, teachers would travel over two hours one way twice a month to attend a writing project function. This issue and others were addresses at one of the breakout sessions that I attended. The session was presented by members of the West Virginia Writing Project and Santee Wateree Project from South Carolina. Their solutions including combining student writing retreats along with teacher writing retreats. The teacher strand would include demonstrations. The South Carolina Project does a series of two-hour sessions monthly, beginning in January and ending in May. Their focus was on teacher inquiry.

Along with enlarging my sense of ruralness (new word: not yet in any dictionary but mine), I learned that the issue of poverty is characteristic of many of the areas represented at the Rural Sites Conference. The Puget Sound Writing Project in Washington state presented their annotated bibliography for teaching and working with students who live in some level of poverty. Given that two of the three highest poverty-level counties in the country are located in South Dakota, I feel that this annotated bibliography has a wealth of resources for educators throughout our state.

Other aspects of the journey to New Mexico included a trip to see the Acoma Pueblo and visit with a tour guide of the Pueblo who had attended Haskell Indian School with a friend of mine from Pine Ridge. We also took a tour of Sky City Elementary School, where the native language is integrated completely into a third-grade classroom. I also participated in a “walk, shop, and talk” trip through Old Town, where a sidewalk vendor told me the story of the day that he made a turquois cross that I purchased from him. It was a Palm Sunday, and he was watching parishioners entering and exiting the San Felipe Mission.

All-in-all, I was completely enchanted by the “land of enchantment” that is Arizona.

Revisioning Writing in Rural Landscapes

by Dixie Linn-Norberg, White River

In the closing session of the Rural Sites Conference, one of the questions Joyce Sheehey (High Plains WP) asked us to write about was how the conference had broadened our thinking about teaching and learning in rural schools.

I wrote, “Rural Sites has already provided me with a tremendous opportunity for professional growth that reflects in my classroom.” I was referring, in part, to the project that DWP Board member Lil Manthei and I had coordinated and carried out with White River freshmen and Takini freshmen and sophomores.

Using Nicenet, our students, who live about 125 miles apart and on different reservations, exchanged ideas about regional literature. We began the unit with an exercise in metaphor:

Who Am I?
“I am the skyhawk,” wrote a Takini student
“I am the medicine pole,” wrote another.
“I am the great-grandson of a pioneer,” wrote a White River student.
“I am all the colors of the rainbow,” wrote another.

The positive student response and excitement generated by this project impacted my notions about rural teaching and learning before the conference began. By the time we presented our project, “Using Technology to Expand the Rural Classroom,” those presumptions were already being revised, and I was eager to learn about other classroom projects and practices. I was only disappointed by the impossibility of attending all sessions.

Yet, a part of the growth I was referring to in response to Sheehey’s question during that closing session dealt with the reshaping of my perceptions by speakers such as keynote speaker Scott Richard Lyons. Lyons provided a statistical portrait of Native Americans in the US: 65% complete high school and only 9% graduate from college. Lyons spoke about life and his family on a northern Minnesota reservation. He spoke about poverty and other lasting effects of colonization before he challenged teachers to be “witnesses” to history regarding Native people and culture. As “public intellectuals,” Lyons says teachers can provide evidence and can “speak the truth” about what has happened and is happening in our world. He mentioned the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump and the patenting of wild rice. Lyons suggested several books throughout his address. They included, on the topic of white privilege, White Like Me and What’s the Matter with Kansas.

Later that day, Laurie Smith-Small Waisted Bear (Montana WP) provided teachers with several critical thinking activities designed to increase teacher awareness and sensitivity to the numbers and cultural history of indigenous students who pass through our classrooms. “Reframing the American Historical Narrative Through Indigenous Ways of Seeing” offered participants the “The Other Side of the (Indian Education) Story.” We were given a syllabus for this very full session.

Following a traditional Lakota introduction, Ms. Smith-Small Waisted Bear led us through an “Introductory Text-based Discussion” of the article, “Willing to be Disturbed.” We used a double-entry organizer to “take a line for a walk”; then we shared our responses with others at our table. This was followed by a nine-minute “Writing Marathon.” We wrote to these questions: What is an American? How does this country tell its story, i.e., “the American narrative?” and “What is an American Indian?” We finished our marathon with a read-around.

The next activity was a “Gallery Walk.” We were given a rather limited amount of time to peruse a display of visual and written text. The items were displayed in groups; for instance, an Edward Curtis photo might be hung next to a collage of Indian mascot names. We selected one visual and one text from the display, then chose our format. We were encouraged to use a double-entry organizer or the “Say, Mean, Matters” handout to record our observations. Again, we ended the activity by sharing at our tables.

The final activity was “Critical Literacy: Taking a Closer Look.” We were asked to consider “the what,” “the how,” and “the why” when selecting examples of Native American literature.

Another session I attended within the Classroom Practice strand was “Can Writing Improve Reading? Yes!” by Sue Fischer of High Desert WP and Theresa Sweeney of South Coast WP. I was so impressed by both presenters and their success at teaching kindergarteners to write that I have copied the materials and sought out local primary teachers to share them with. Can kindergarteners write four sentence pieces about literature? Can they write persuasively?

Sue Fischer’s presentation, “Which Comes First—Writing or Reading? How Daily Journaling in a Kindergarten Classroom Enhanced Reading Skills” includes a section called “How We Did It (Reached Our Goal).” Here are three items pulled from a list of about twenty:

*We wrote in journals every day, from the first day of school.
*We modeled writing and reading every day, using a morning message.
*We helped children who needed help by writing their dictation for them until they were ready to write on their own.

Theresa Sweeney, South Coast WP, followed with “Good Writers Make Good Readers.” Her kindergarteners use organizers to summarize stories and then write from those organizers. Besides summarizing, students use other comprehension strategies such as drawing conclusions and inferring, predicting, and making connections. According to Ms. Sweeney, these strategies help good readers develop into good writers. Ms. Sweeney provided us with examples of student work, from kindergarten to third grade.

Reflecting on the conference and Sheehey’s question, I have concluded that the entire experience has transformed my perception of teaching and learning in rural schools. I am very appreciative of the opportunities I have been given through DWP. When I consider the progress that I have made as a teacher of writing since DWP 2005, I feel very humble and grateful. My students, of course, are the real winners.

by Krista Bruggeman, Lennox Public School

On a blustery day in November two small town girls from South Dakota—myself from Lennox, and my friend and fellow teacher-consultant Karen Rahn from Rutland, set out for a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Our destination was not Opryland or the Country Music Hall of Fame, but instead the National Writing Project. We were both first-timers, virgins if you will, of the National Writing Project, and we had no idea what to expect. Would two South Dakota girls be worthy of this experience?

At the Marriot Convention Center, where the majority of the conference took place, there was a whirlwind of activity—excited chatter, hustle and bustle, tables of books and pamphlets, and plenty of eager teachers from all different places and backgrounds ready to get started. Karen and I went our separate ways in search of answers to our most important question—what could we do to help our writing project succeed? I am happy to report that all of my sessions—Developing Teacher-Consultants, Young Writer’s Projects and Rural Networking—provided valuable information, as well as new acquaintances! The great thing about educators is that you never have to worry about long bouts of awkward silence or strained conversation. No matter where a teacher is from, they have stories to tell, questions to ask and advice to give.

At the end of our first full day, Karen and I once again called a taxi to deliver us back to our motel. Throughout the day, when asked
where we were from, we often received the genuine surprised look and the comment of, “South Dakota, really?” The most priceless moment, however, came from out taxi driver. He casually asked where we were from, and when we replied, he turned around, flipped on the dome light, and checked us out like prize pigs at the local county fair. His first comment was, “I ain’t ever seen anyone from South Dakota before! I have to take a closer look!”

I assured him that we looked like everyone else, and that we did not have horns growing out of our heads. Taking the opportunity to get one over on him, I explained that the state of South Dakota does not often let us out due to decreasing population concerns, and that we wear tracking devices to ensure our return. After we finished teasing him a bit, he also inquired why we did not speak like the people in the movie Fargo. Once the geography lessons were finished, however, he was a fun, friendly guy who offered his services to us for the rest of the trip.

While I learned important information in my specific sessions, the general session, “Writing for a Change,” offered some of the most
fascinating information. For instance, there are currently 73,000 writing programs offered each year throughout the United States. In 2005 alone, over 3,000 teachers attended the summer institutes, meaning that 2.9% of the teaching force is touched by the National Writing Project in a single year. In the past five years, 48% more sites were added. An impact is being made by the National Writing Project in the field of education, and the message is being spread that writing is transformative, and the writing for real audiences makes communication much more powerful.

The most powerful speaker was Sheridan Blau. He was a passionate, funny and informative speaker that made everyone sit up and
take notice. He stated that the writing project transformed his career, and that he has found that writing is the best and most reliable tool for learning. Sharing writing and receiving that crucial feedback is a fundamental belief that he shared with our audience. He truly believes that writing cannot only make crucial changes for an individual, but for an entire community as well. Finally, he drove the point home of why the National Writing Project and all of the state projects are so fundamentally important: teachers are the best teachers of other teachers.

Overall, I found the experience to be extremely rewarding and informative. I returned to my classroom with renewed vigor to inspire more and better writing from my students, and to continue learning myself. Nashville was a fun place, and the people were incredibly hospitable. Don’t get me started on the food—it was fabulous, especially the seafood. While I did not have a lot of time to see the sights, I did experience some amazing rockabilly music in downtown Nashville. Also, I did make it over to the Opryland resort, newly decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful to say the least. Two girls from South Dakota did survive Nashville, and more importantly, Nashville survived us! I am looking forward to next year’s adventure in New York City. I wonder what the cab drivers there will think?

Thoughts From NWP Meetings, Nashville, TN, November 2006

by Nancy Kampfe, Stevens School, Rapid City School District

I learned so many ways to improve our image and our status across the state that I almost don’t know where to begin. Key to this discussion is the question, How can we design our programs to maximize their impact and thereby set the stage for effective marketing of all DWP has to offer South Dakota’s teachers?

This program design with the marketing strategy built in is an intentional change in what we do to build impact and to market the Writing Project. Our reputation builds by what we do and how we do it. We were continually cautioned to avoid looking at numbers as the definition of “success” in Writing Project programs. The value of the program to those who participate is far more important because those people talk to other people, and interest in our programs will grow. Success depends on key people doing it the right way (following the NWP model), not on numbers. We were urged to always stick with the NWP Model – never to adapt ourselves so much that we lose site of our mission!

Summer Institutes are the mainstay of a writing project, and many sites have built in more ways to help TCs continue their affiliation with the WP and also continue their professional growth. One project sets up a Yahoo! Group for their SI participants, and the group continues after the Summer Institute. Other projects use the NWP blog during the SI, just as we do. Mississippi State WP uses the NWP blog in Summer Institute, requiring participants to post a draft of their professional piece to the blog within two weeks after the SI. Responses to/by writing group members are required about prompts that help them connect the piece to their own classroom practice.

Some projects require that a new TC lead some kind of project in their school in the year following their attendance at Summer Institute. Then the TC goes to another school to do a demonstration as inservice. The third step in the professional growth process is for the TC to write an NCTE proposal to present nationally. Other writing projects pair a veteran TC with a new TC, asking them to lead some kind of presentation or workshop.

To make such a requirement work, we might also consider holding an in-service session for Administrators of TCs with TC and administrator attending together. The session models how to advocate for the Writing Project in the school and gives examples of how the TC learns in the Summer Institute. Administrator and TC are also given the opportunity to discuss how the TCs expertise can be used in school in-service. The Vermont WP holds a two-day Administrators Writing Workshop with TCs presenting demonstrations as a variation of a study group. This is another good way to build administrative support for the Writing Project model.

The Denver WP holds a Summer Institute for SI Alums for one week, held at the same time as the regular Summer Institute. The project director emails alums to ask their assistance in mentoring SI participants with demonstrations. The Connecticut WP holds an advanced institute called “Revisiting the Summer Institute,” a four-day workshop that they write into their annual grant so they can pay attending teachers $50 a day. The institute refreshes teachers on the NWP model, and helps them develop curriculum as well as preparing them to do professional development work for the project.

The Kennesaw Mountain WP in West Virginia holds an Advanced Summer Institute that brings together teachers who have already completed an SI and who want to work on professional writing projects of their own. Affiliates who did their initial NWP work with another site are also welcome to attend the KMWP advanced program. Again, large numbers are not needed; only an interest in writing to share their expertise with the profession is required.

One Michigan WP holds a Three-Day Reunion Retreat in first week of August. The TC pays the cost of the retreat, usually held at some camping site, or possibly at a church camp. Day one, participants reconnect in a variety of ways, one being to write a letter to themselves: where I am, what I plan to do this year. The Project Director mails the letter to TCs in January when the doldrums hit, so they can revitalize themselves. On the second day, a guest author is invited. The TC’s administrator is invited on the final day; a mini-writing marathon is done, along with a “sharing celebration” so the administrator also gets to see what the SI helps teachers write. This writing celebration is held during the August reunion to help new TCs to bond with other TCs rather than only continuing the close-knit bond formed with SI participants during SI. What a wonderful way to begin a new school term!

Programs held throughout the school year are another way to provide continuing professional development for TCs, and these programs can also be a way to get non-Writing Project teachers interested in what we do. The Vermont WP offers “Saturday Special” workshops at the university site. They charge teachers $20 to attend—this is for TCs and those who have never been to SI. They provide breakfast snacks and lunch along with a variety of demonstrations about writing. They never hold a Saturday Special in September as teachers are too busy to attend, and they make a glitzy brochure to advertise the programs.

The Chicago WP holds Saturday Seminars, charging teachers $20 to attend, giving a $5 discount if you bring another teacher from your school. They run three concurrent sessions for one and a half hours, followed by a break, followed by three more one and one-half hour sessions. They have the same strands on each Saturday. (We could substitute any other grade level for the ones here). They advertise the program in advance and put pdf flyers on their website.

9:15-10:45	11:00-12:30
A. K-2 session	D. Writing to Learn
B. 3-5 session	E. Writing Workshop
C. 6-8 session	F. Miscellaneous: Poetry, Assessment, Reading-Writing Connection

Saturday sessions would provide new as well as continuing TCs with professional development opportunities, either in attending or presenting sessions for other teachers.

The Upper Peninsula WP in Michigan also holds Saturday Sessions, from 9 am to noon, four times per semester. Participants write to a prompt, share student work, and do some problem-solving of classroom issues. These sessions are advertised beforehand in local newspapers. Dividing their state into sections (focused around where TCs live) helped the UPWP decide where to hold the sessions each time.

We might also consider dividing our state because we are so far apart from east to west. Holding the sessions in a different place each time would also open up opportunities for more teachers and for more TCs to help provide professional development to their colleagues.

Mississippi State WP formed six continuity areas for their mid-week sessions held at night. A TC leads the group, with the agenda decided by the group assembled or by the TC. Participants earn Continuing Education credit.

Northwest Inland WP in Idaho forms One Book One Community groups. With a bookstore willing to do it, the group can meet one night at the bookstore to look for a book to teach a literary element in your classroom. The bookstore gives a free book to each TC who attends and brings another person along.

It may be time for us in the DWP to take the Institute to the teachers, as the Oregon WP does. Oregon’s Satellite Institutes began as Open Institutes. Now they are four weeks in length and teachers get a stipend. Oregon holds three Satellite Institutes in sites around their state. One director of the OWP is in residence at the Satellite Institute for the first week to complete the necessary paperwork and for quality control in getting the institute off and running. Oregon holds pays a $1000 stipend to participants, and the two most enthusiastic TCs in the SI become co-directors of the next Satellite Institute. The Oregon WP got a Project Outreach grant to move their Summer Institute from LaGrande to Pendleton. Maine WP holds an Embedded Institute online during the school year, an idea that might also work across our miles here in South Dakota.

All these ideas demand time to come to fruition. Long-range planning and thinking into the future are needed as we think of more and better ways to help our TCs continue to develop professionally and to bring the Writing Project message to more teachers in South Dakota. If we take baby steps, go back, review and reflect, try and try again, I know we will be thrilled with the results.

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.

by Karen Rahn, Rutland Public School

A desire for change is what brought me to the Dakota Writing Project in the summer of 2006. I wanted to change how I taught writing, not because I had complaints or because someone in an upper office mandated it, but because I personally felt that I needed a change: an energy boost. I got that boost from DWP, and like a Writing Project junkie, I went to the NWP convention in Nashville looking for more of the same.

Meeting up again with fellow Writing Project participants from the summer was a grand thing. There was a positive energy in the air as I went into the sessions for the day.

The first session that I attended was “Inquiring into Teacher Demonstrations,” which was presented by the Northern California and Hudson Valley Writing Projects. As a Writing Project newbie, I found this session to be interesting because it talked about how other summer sessions are handled. It was evident that the overall model of “teachers teaching teachers” was the cornerstone of all institutes, but the way that the demonstrations are handled vary from site to site. The NCWP group talked about the importance of the coaching, and looking at student work in a global way. They spend quite a bit of time coaching teachers to look at student writing through a framework of “features,” writing down what the student can do. Much like the work we did with protocols this summer, the shared perspective with another colleague offered rich insight into the lessons.

The HVWP group took this idea a bit further by applying it to the demonstrations themselves. They felt that the demonstrations had become a form of “show and tell” of best work and left little room for true growth for the instructor. They changed the name of the demonstrations to “Teacher Inquiry Workshops” and shifted the focus to what could be learned through inquiry about a lesson. This format placed a greater emphasis on the post coaching and reflections with the presenter from the whole group. All participants wrote personal letters to the presenter, evaluating the lesson. The next day, the presenter was given time to come back to the group and share concerns and ideas which were addressed in the letters. This moved the lesson toward more scaffolding and percolating of ideas. This step made the post reflection a bigger part of an inquiry process, and therefore gave the whole lesson more depth.

Both groups spoke of the importance of face-to-face coaching sessions both before and after the lesson. They felt the best coaching sessions would have two teachers and a site director involved and would last approximately an hour. In this coaching session, focus would be placed on reciprocal learning, authentic questions, and looking at student work as part of the inquiry process.

At the end of this three-hour session, I felt reassured, knowing that sites were working to constantly monitor their own effectiveness as writing project institutes. I also felt saturated and ready for a lunch break. It was great to meet with other DWP’ers and debrief over an elegant lunch buffet at the Marriott restaurant. Yum!

After lunch I went to the Willis Center to attend a session on “Using Youth Writing Programs as Professional Development,” which began with a glimmer of promise, but quickly fizzled for me. It was evident that this session was focusing on writing with ELL students, which is a hot topic in much of our country, but as yet does not directly affect me in my small, rural school. The best parts of this session were being introduced to “Wiki Sticks” which we used to make shape poems, and looking at examples of student work coming from youth writing projects.

Someday, I will probably look back at information from this session, stored away in my “I’ve-heard-about-this-somewhere-before” portion of my brain, and realize that The Marshall Plan is a grant that I need to look into as I am working to increase diversity in my classroom while accommodating ELL students. In this case, “Writing for a Change” is a path still waiting to be taken.

Friday morning began with an old-fashioned, revival-style meetin’ feeling as the general session of the NWP Convention convened. At first it felt like a juxtaposition, mixing great writing intellectuals with the Minnie Pearl holler of “Howwwdeee!” but after a bit, I realized that it was no different than the Writing Project’s ideal of teachers teaching teachers: a down -home approach to obtaining lofty goals. Using statistics to buoy up our purpose in the political arena is a necessary thing, and quite impressive on a fraternal level as well. The statistics also showed that “Writing for a Change” is a positive change in the overall education of our students. During this general meeting I felt that I got a good overall view of what the Writing Project is accomplishing nationally. It felt good to see how far-reaching the project is, and how carefully the Project monitors itself to stay on that path.

The Friday afternoon session on Successful Site Networking was one in which I felt like I was in over my head. This site was definitely aimed at those people that are heading programs and keeping the big picture on path. It was at this point that I definitely felt like the lone leaf in the forest. When they talked of lobbying our state legislature for sums of money upward of a million dollars for individual writing projects, I felt like I was in a science fiction movie. I was out of my league. I am not a businessperson; I couldn’t even sell Girl Scout Cookies, so I found myself tuning out. I hope that we have good people with business sense that can go to bat for our program and keep the project afloat, but I doubt it will be me.

Saturday was spent at the NCTE site and then sightseeing, followed by my trip home on Sunday. This, you would think, would be the end of the NWP experience, but no! I had the most enjoyable trip from Nashville to Chicago talking with Cathie English of the Nebraska Writing Project! She really got me thinking about how I teach my research writing and also reaffirmed my decision to change directions in my freshman composition class. It was an unexpected and rich ending to the convention. I would like the opportunity to go again next year!

by Michelle Rogge Gannon, University of South Dakota

The Dakota Writing Project and the Vermillion Literary Project (VLP), a USD student organization, are coming together to plan and host “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: A Creative Writers’ Camp.” The camp, which will be held October 14th in Old Main on the University of South Dakota campus, is open to area high school students who have a genuine interest in writing and who have been nominated by their school administrators or teachers.

Sara Kniffen, a leader in the VLP, came up with the idea originally. She, Annie Christain, a 2006 DWP teacher-consultant and VLP leader, and Michelle Rogge Gannon, a DWP co-director and VLP faculty advisor, have been working together to shape this one-day camp, which will include workshops with writing professionals who are also DWP teacher-consultants. Workshop writers include Associate Professor Dennis Sjolie (USD–English) focusing on fiction; Assistant Professor Timothy Duggan (USD–School of Education) focusing on songwriting; teacher-consultant Sue Morrell (Wagner–English) focusing on poetry; and PhD student Annie Christain (USD–English) focusing on performance. There will be an open reading at 4 p.m., which parents, educators, and the general public are invited to attend.

The camp’s name “A Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” was, in part, inspired by this quotation from writer Charles Baudelaire: “To handle a language skillfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery.” This quotation appears prominently in the letter and brochure that were mailed to area high schools. DWP teachers are welcome to nominate promising high school students who are interested in writing in a variety of genres, including fiction, songwriting, and poetry, as well as performing their work. No experience is required, but students are expected to attend and participate in the entire camp, which is held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. central on Saturday, October 14th, 2006.

The $20 fee per student includes all workshops, a camp t-shirt, a copy of the VLP 2006 literary magazine, and break snacks. Students should bring $8-10 for lunch. The number of participants is limited to twenty, with registration first-come, first-serve. Registrations should be postmarked by September 8, 2006. For details about the camp, the workshop writers, and a registration form, visit http://www.usd.edu/orgs/projlit/camp .