Monday, we will be discussing the Writing Next Report, issued by the Alliance for Excellent Education. Here are my thoughts on the prompt, “How has reading the Writing Next Report encouraged you to rethink aspects of your teaching practice?” The Writing Next Report, written by Steve Graham and Dolores Perin, issued earlier this year by [...]

The questions that we have collectively explored the past two days leave me with many thoughts, which I will get to in a moment. First, I need to synthesize this weekend with the other working retreat that I recently attended — the CEE Leadership and Policy Summit in Chicago. Having had two weeks to reflect [...]

Opening Thoughts – Day 2 Dixie Goswami – Bread Loaf Think about a follow up conference in 2009 that would invite the young people with whom we are working to attend as well. The literacy that our young people are learning is collaborative; every talk that I have heard shows that the students are the [...]

Closing Thoughts on Day 1 Six friends of the NWP will offer closing comments on day one! Jackie Royster – Truisms Literacy is not benign – it has social and policitcal power wiht predictable and unpredictable conseuences. Digital technologies make it easier to see Truism 1. We have teachers who want to do right by [...]

As we move into the afternoon’s work, we have been asked to refine our thinking about the conference questions. So, here are some brainstormed ideas… What stood out for me most in Joe and Ailish’s case study this morning was the fact that Joe, having a firm understanding of writing pedagogy, took a tool that [...]

Here are notes from Joe and Ailish’s presentation on “Language Learning and Peer Response Online in a High School ELL Classroom.” They both teach at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. “Language Learning and Peer Response Online in a High School ELL Classroom” by Joe Bellino and Ailish Zompa Overview of Project What [...]

Teaching Writing in the 21st Century – Opening Session Notes History of the Organizations’ Work Bread Loaf Teachers Network – Dixie Goswami Founded in 1984 with the belief that working class children’s rich literacies were not part of their learning in schools. The vignettes that will be shared tomorrow are about connections and advocacy in [...]

We’ve just been asked to reflect on a presentation about the history of the Bread Loaf Teachers Network, the NWP, and the Technology Initiative Work. It has been useful to be reminded of this history, and think about where we are at in this unique moment. In particular, there are three questions that they want [...]

Tonight, I am blogging from Baltimore, where I am attending an NWP working meeting, “Teaching Writing in the 21st Century.” I feel very fortunate to be here with about 60 colleagues and friends of the National Writing Project and the Bread Loaf School of English. There are many, many wonderful people here — too many [...]

The second book that we are using in our summer institute is both practical and promotional. Teachers’ Writing Groups: Collaborative Inquiry and Reflection for Professional Growth (Kennesaw University Press, 2006) describes multiple configurations of writing group — important to our summer invitational — and is co-edited by Kathy Yancey, the keynote at MCTE’s fall conference. [...]