General Information
Designed for teachers across disciplines and grade levels, the Capital Area Writing Project (CAWP) provides an intensive summer forum for sharing practical classroom strategies for using writing as a learning tool and for enhancing composing ability. Alternatives to traditional approaches are emphasized, with attention given to the process of composing as well as to final products. The smaller units of language (i.e., the grammar of the sentence) and the product features of composition (i.e., spelling, punctuation, form) are addressed as part of the whole writing process, but not as the primary focus of instruction. Strategies for successfully completing the NC state writing tests and meeting state standards are addressed within the larger context of writing curriculum. To exemplify writing as a means of communication and as an instrument for increasing our potential for learning, a teacher-as-learner model is used in the summer institute in which participants become writers themselves, sharing in peer response groups. Thus, participants enhance their own writing skills while internalizing the strategies that they can incorporate into their own teaching and learning. Participants read extensively during the project, conduct a demonstration lesson for their colleagues, and create a Position Paper and an Implementation Plan. Additionally, instructors review relevant composition theories and research, lead discussions, introduce new books and materials, and make some presentations.
Project Objectives
Participants will demonstrate:
- knowledge of the issues and trends in the teaching of composition.
- knowledge of issues and assumptions in using writing in the content
areas.
- understanding of the features of the process model of teaching composition
and how it differs from traditional approaches.
- knowledge of current research findings relevant to teaching composition.
- ability to evaluate effective materials for teaching writing, including
software.
- ability to organize, train, monitor, and evaluate peer writing groups
and partnerships.
- ability to create, execute, and evaluate a writing assignment.
- ability to identify and use a variety of evaluation instruments and
strategies to assess growth in writing, and to create an evaluation rubric
for a composition assignment.
- ability to evaluate the cognitive skills that come into play in various
writing tasks.
- ability to design a sequence of writing assignments and experiences.
- ability to formalize a philosophical position on how to teach composition.
- ability to assess own power and confidence as a teacher and writer.
Orientation: Saturday, June 4, 2005
Institute Dates:
Tuesday, June 7-Friday, June 25, 2005. No formal class meetings on Monday
June 13 and 20 (these dates reserved for consultation and library use).
Location: Room 120, Poe Hall, NC State
Instructors for this session:
Ruie Pritchard, NC State
Sandra O'Berry
Paige Elliott, Wake County Public Schools
Eligibility: Experienced public-school teachers—all
grade levels, all disciplines—are eligible for
Fellowships. Applicants should have a genuine interest in improving their
effectiveness in the teaching of writing, in using writing as a learning
tool and in sharing new knowledge with their colleagues. A limited number
of tuition-paying applications will also be accepted.
Structure: Sessions for the Institute will be held 5 days a week, 8:30 a. m.-3:30 p. m. Activities include writing of all kinds, from journals to position papers; presentations by Institute faculty and qualified consultants; demonstrations of effective teaching strategies; peer group responding and editing; professional reading; and weekly social activities. An orientation meeting will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2005. Follow-up sessions are held fall & spring.
Benefits: The Capital Area Writing Project, like the other sites of the North Carolina Writing Project funded by the National Writing Project, offers 14-15 Fellowships. Fellows will receive tuition and fees for 6 hours of graduate credit and a text of numerous writing activities and successful teaching strategies developed during the three weeks of the Project.
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