Writing Project Summer Institute

At BYU my favorite classes usually had to do with reading. It was something that I'd always loved and felt comfortable with. I could get lost in the plot, fall in love with the characters, and totally escape off to a new world. In teaching kids reading I got to help them experience the same thing.

For some reason writing hasn't been the same for me. I loved to write in elementary school--especially fiction and poetry. Somewhere, however, in high school I started to feel more self-conscious about it. In college it only got worse, especially since I was an English major and an editor so I put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect. What I've learned since is that you go to class to learn more than to show off what you've already learned (although I guess there's an element of that as well). I just didn't feel as comfortable with my writing or writing instruction as I wanted to.

That's why I applied for the local Writing Project Summer Institute. After this past year I was afraid that I'd burned myself out of teaching. I'd said yes to too many things and hadn't really taken time for myself. I didn't feel like I was being very effective and I just wanted for someone to tell me "the right way" to teach writing.

Turns out there isn't one. Or at least not just one. What I loved about this class (beyond the six grad credit hours) was that they had us write. Fiction, poetry, personal narrative, etc. They had us go through our own writing process and trusted that we would be able to relate it back to our teaching. Yes, we researched article after article on writing. We did group presentations on feedback and teaching 21st century learners. We did teacher demonstrations. We heard from experts. All in all, it helped to show me that I'm already doing a lot right and giving me a ton of ideas of other things to try.

Lessons Learned:
1. The writing process really isn't linear. I know in certain ways that this seems obvious. It's not always Prewrite, Draft, Revise, Edit, etc. I know that they sell big giant signs that say that in teacher supply stores, but the process really is messy (and not the same for every student). Although I've thought about this a lot before, this really showed me how true it is. In assigning writing and holding students accountable, I've always tried to keep "the process" in mind. Having students do drafts, conferencing with them, etc. What I thought was the process is and what it looks like in action, though, are two different things.

2. Writing groups can be uber-powerful and helpful. I've always been afraid of showing my writing to others, however, having a writing group that looked at my work helped me to improve it significantly. I think that there's something to be said for having to articulate your ideas to someone else who wasn't there while you were thinking it up. I think too that it was a great community and that we learned together. I'm not sure how I'm going to set this up in my classroom, but this is something I definitely want to remember.

3. I'm on the right track as far as teaching students to keep considering the audience and purpose behind each writing task that they get. My goal is for students to be able to solve problems they encounter in writing, no matter what the situation or context they find themselves in. If they can adjust their writing to fit their audience and purpose, they're well on their way. I've been trying to give more authentic assignments and give students writing opportunities and this just reinforces that.

4. Have students write more. I think this goes right along with "You don't have to grade everything." Yes, I know that it's important for students to get feedback, but I also think it's important for them to write for different reasons--to think, to inform, to entertain, to persuade. Sometimes the purpose in writing may just to be see what they think about something. I always have a reason behind every assignment I give, but sometimes my grading doesn't fit my objective. So, just a note to self.

5. The person doing the most work is doing the most learning. I think that this goes back to inductive teaching. Having students draw conclusions from information rather than telling them straight out what they should know. Yes, it's a lot faster and sometimes a bit easier to tell students something and have them apply it. If you look at how students learn best, though, it involves engagement--whether it's being emotionally engaged, having to teach something to a classmate--whatever. If students interact with the information in some way it just makes more sense that they'll process it and be able to recall and apply it better.

I learned a ton more than that, but here's a start. My other lesson was that I should write more. Yes, I try to write what I assign my students (okay, besides the literary analysis papers), but I also need to write to keep in the forefront of my mind what writing really looks and feels like. Plus, my goal has always been to be a writer, so really, it just makes sense.