In this article, the author introduces the notion of the balloon metaphor, an exercise she created for preservice writing teachers, in which they reflect upon their writing mentors and their writing journey. The author also discusses three very important issues facing the field of literacy today: teachers are not taught to write, teachers of…

This qualitative case study documents a secondary English teacher's making, writing and teaching. The focal teacher engaged in diverse making practices -- including composing, crafting and digital fabrication. She also participated in a National Writing Project (NWP) Summer Institute that focused on both teacher writing and digital composing. Data…

This article describes a research study in which 10 early childhood education students participated in facilitated critical reflection experiences during a 7-week practicum. Students' critical thinking skills were quantitatively assessed using the Cornell Critical Thinking Test and qualitatively documented through analysis of daily, weekly, and…

As schools and the faculty are increasingly under scrutiny for student achievement outcomes, professional development is becoming a way for districts and schools to show a commitment to instructional improvement. They are required to establish practices and allocate funds for professional development. Teachers are required to grow professionally…

This study employed technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and new literacies frameworks to explore in-service teachers' developing understanding of integrating technology into literacy instruction while concurrently enrolled in a graduate level course and teaching students in a digital writing camp. The inclusion of a…

This National Writing Project 2011-2012 Report describes how Writing Project teacher-leaders study and share effective practices that enhance student writing and learning, work collaboratively with other educators, design resources, and take on new roles in effecting positive change. It includes a financial summary for years ended September 30 for…

Multilingual students, multidialectal students, and students learning English as an additional language constitute a substantial and growing demographic in the United States. But these groups of students tend to receive unequal access to and inadequate instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM), with their…

Using relational and action oriented qualitative modes of inquiry (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003; Raider-Roth, 2005), this research explores the trajectory of five veteran teachers' practice over two years. The participants were part of a group of teachers involved in an intensive Summer Teachers…

The authors describe the journey they undertook integrating the arts into the summer institute. The central reason for their focus on the arts in the summer institute is the desire to support education reform--with a particular eye to social justice in schools. The authors believe that when the field is open wide enough to allow everyone's ideas…

This volume examines learning, teaching, and reflective practice. It is a personal account of a summer institute held in 1989 during which 21 teachers engaged in an exploration of writing and reading. Among metaphors discussed at the institute, one of the most powerful was the notion of teaching/learning being created from a fabric of interwoven…

Genesee Community College (GCC), in New York, received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to conduct a faculty seminar focusing on the role and historical context of the computer as a medium for writing. Twenty GCC faculty from the humanities, as well as from career/technical programs, participated in the seminar in the summer of 1992.…