Teacher-Leaders Prepare Resources, Training for Arkansas Teachers

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From left, front row, Julie McFarland-Ordonez, Heather Zaloudek, Rebecca Chatham, Jennifer Carter, Teresa Rutledge, Hannah Mhoon, Lara Searcy and Angie Greiner; back row, Chris Goering, Shirley Gregory, Eryn Killingsworth, Cindy Dean, Katy Beuhrer, Vicki Collet, Ginney Wright and J.P. Watts

For 15 teachers from Arkansas school districts, the last two weeks of summer included learning and working together during the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project Invitational Summer Institute based at the University of Arkansas.

These teachers fine-tuned their instructional practices for argumentative writing, created free educational materials, and prepared for professional development they will provide during the 2015-16 school year. The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project awarded fellowships, based on applicants' instructional expertise and academic excellence, to the 15 teacher-leaders, who came from as far as Fort Smith and Berryville to attend the Institute.

Funding from a National Writing Project grant allowed these teachers the opportunity to study the latest research on teaching writing and to create resources for their classrooms and for the classrooms of others. McNair Middle School in Fayetteville generously hosted this summer's institute.

"We are committed to providing teachers with resources and professional learning opportunities that support them as they implement the new Common Core State Standards for writing," said Vicki Collet, assistant professor at the University of Arkansas who led the Institute along with Chris Goering, associate professor of English education and director of the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project.

Resources for teaching opinion and argument writing created by the project are available at http://tinyurl.com/NWAWP-Argument. Information regarding related professional development is also available at that site; contact Collet at collet@uark.edu for additional details.

Goering stated, "What stands out to me about Writing Project work and especially about the Institute work this summer and these 15 outstanding teacher-leaders is that it is incredibly well-informed by actual classroom practice and research in the field. Teachers and students across the region stand to benefit greatly from this work as the charge for this summer's participants is to spread their learning in as many areas of our state as possible."

The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project works to develop excellent writing teachers for the sake of students across a nine-county service area in Northwest Arkansas. With the support of the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions and more than 20 national grants since 1997, the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project designs and delivers customized in-service programs for local schools, districts and higher education institutions, and provides an array of continuing education and research opportunities for teachers at all levels. 

Judy Buchanan, deputy director of the National Writing Project, pointed out the importance of such experiences.

"Through these opportunities, teachers are better equipped to support their colleagues and to help their students excel in writing across all disciplines," Buchanan said.

National research studies have shown that professional development programs designed and delivered by National Writing Project sites have a positive effect on the writing achievement of students across grade levels, schools and contexts. To learn more, visit the National Writing Project website.

For more than 40 years, the National Writing Project has focused the knowledge, expertise and leadership of the nation's educators on sustained efforts to improve writing and learning. Located on nearly 200 university and college campuses, the National Writing Project works in partnership with K-12 schools, libraries, museums, after-school programs and local Writing Project sites to provide high-quality, sustained professional development for 100,000 teachers a year. Through its programs and partnerships, the organization reaches 1.4 million pre-kindergarten through college-age students in more than 3,000 schools districts annually.