Teacher Consultant Kudos!
We have new additions in our Prairie Lands family. Sara Capra (1998 Institute) has a son, Caelin Alesio, born April 2: 7 lbs 8 oz; 20 inches long. Stefanie Lyle, (2004 Institute), has a daughter, Abigail Caroline, born April 11: 7 1bs 2 oz; 20 inches long.
Donna Klein (2003 Institute) is a St. Joseph School District Teacher of the Year Finalist. Donna teaches grade 3 at Coleman Elementary School.
Mary Lee Meyer, (2002 Institute) our PLWP technology liaison, and Diane Goold, (1998 Institute) NIE director for the St. Joseph NEWS-PRESS, will be facilitating workshops this June about "Digital Literacy," and "PowerPoint" at Stanberry High School (Mary Lee) and "Newspapers in Education" at the St. Joseph News-Press (Diane). Read about and sign up for the workshops, each with optional Northwest Missouri State University graduate credits.
MWSU’s English faculty members Dawn Terrick (2000 Institute), Meredith Katchen (2007 Institute), and Bill Church accepted the Conference on Basic Writing’s 2008 Innovation Award for Western’s exemplary Developmental Writing Program, Eng 100 Introduction to College Writing, at the Conference on College Composition and Communication in New Orleans in April. The innovations, including an annual student publication, writing groups, and sequenced assignments using a textbook created by the course instructors were developed by Dawn as Developmental Writing Director in collaboration with ENG 100 faculty, including Tom Pankiewicz (PLWP Institutes Director).
Ann Dotson (2006 and 2007 Institutes) and Terri McAvoy (1998, 2006, and 2007 Institutes) represented Prairie Lands at the NWP’s annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D. C. As a part of that meeting, they were part of the Missouri Writing Projects Network delegation which met with Senator Claire McCaskill. They also provided Northwest Missouri’s U. S. House Representative Sam Graves with a booklet of student writings from St. Joseph Skaith Elementary School Students. We note with pleasure that Representative Graves has signed the 2009 "Dear Colleague" letter in support of funding for NWP.
MWSU English faculty members Meredith Katchen (2007 Institute) and Patricia Donaher (2007 Institute) conducted a workshop, "Source’s Apprentice: How Not to Do a Mickey Mouse Job of Attribution” for the state's annual Write to Learn Conference, for language arts educators, grades K - 16, held at Tan-Tar-A in February. See the new website created by Meredith and Trish for Missouri teachers to share effective teaching strategies for teaching citation and reducing plagiarism. Write to Learn is co-sponsored each year by the Missouri Writing Projects Network, and Jane Frick (PLWP director) assisted with the MWPN's poster session, which featured the successful classroom inquiry projects recently completed by teachers in Prairie Lands' Literacy Academy facilitated by Valorie Stokes (1994 Institute) and Heidi Mick (1996 and 2002 Institutes).
Tom Pankiewicz (Institutes Director) wrote the successful grant application that will send $4000 to Prairie Lands next year to fund our Teacher Inquiry Project related to Academic Writing.
Send us kudos about yourself or other PLWP TCs. We will update and archive kudos every month during the school year.
Kudos Archives
PLWP Teacher Resource Wiki
Read and/or contribute to our Wiki about improving teaching: Educator Organizations, Revolutionary Books, Lesson Plans and Handouts, Teacher Resource Links, and PLWP 2008 Writing Retreat
Professional Learning Community
ENG/EDU 502 Professional Learning Community (PLC): Using Writing to Build Community in my Classroom (1 cedit.) Tuesdays, 2/26, 3/25, and 4/29: 5-8 pm, in MWSU’s Eder Hall 201, plus six hrs, arranged.
Dr. Melody Smith, St Joseph School District Superintendent and Prairie Lands Writing Project Advisory Board Member, facilitates this one-credit PLC. Participants will engage in a cycle of inquiry, reflection, and action related to successfully implementing a learning community in their classrooms. They will focus on several key tenets: acculturation and re-acculturation, dialog versus discussion, teacher as coach, and writing as a community building endeavor. Texts: James Flaherty’s Life Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others and Georgia Heard’s Writing Toward Home.
Fee: $100 Includes access to texts, light meal, and one hour MWSU graduate tuition or 15-hour professional development certification.
Enrollment is limited to eight educators; pre-register online now.
Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing
Based on the National Writing Project’s core belief that teachers of writing must themselves be writers, the 18-hour graduate program provides opportunities for participants to write, revise, share feedback, and reflect on their own writing and teaching of writing as well as develop leadership skills. Click here for program details.
Invitational Institute
Every National Writing Project site—including Prairie Lands Writing Project— offers experienced teachers the opportunity to apply and participate in an annual summer Invitational Institute. During the summer, these Teacher Scholars prepare for leadership roles by demonstrating their most effective practices, studying research, and improving their knowledge of writing by writing themselves. Upon succesful completion of the Invitational Institute, they receive NWP Teacher Consultant certification and join our TC cadre, putting their knowledge and leadership to work to improve student achievement. To learn about prior PLWP Invitational Institutes, browse our Institute Archives.
Library Listings
The PLWP office is home to a comprehensive library of books related to the teaching of reading and writing at all levels. We are proud to share these resources with our TCs at no charge. Click here to open a current list of our library holding (in an excel file.) If there is a book you wish to borrow, e-mail us and we will be glad to pull it for you. You may then arrange with us to pick it up from the PLWP office.
TC Database
Stay in touch with fellow Teacher Consultants and find out where they are today with our new TC database. We are attempting to make the information as correct as possible. If your email or teaching status has changed, please let us know via e-mail.
Click here to open the TC Database.
Middle School Literacy Academies: A Missouri Writing Projects Network Initiative
2007 MWSU Literacy Academies Slide Show
Literacy Academy Flyer
Since June 2006, Prairie Lands Writing Project (PLWP) and the other four National Writing Project sites in Missouri have been under contract with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to deliver Middle School Literacy Academies at each of the state’s nine Regional Professional Development Centers (RPDCs). Read more about how the NWP sites in Missouri (MWPN) developed the statewide inservice series with DESE’s assessment division.
The academies are a multi-year project designed to improve students’ performance on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), Missouri’s “No Child Left Behind” accountability exam. The state’s nine Regional Professional Development Centers host/sponsor the academies, with at least two National Writing Project Teacher Consultants (TCs) facilitating each academy. The TCs use a common format, delivery, set of instructional resources and assessment materials.
For 2007-2008, PLWP is delivering “Year One: Reading and Writing” and “Year Two: Teacher Inquiry” Middle School Literacy Academies at Missouri Western State University (in conjunction with the Northwest Regional Professional Development Center), and at Truman State University (in conjunction with the Northeast Regional Professional Development Center). (continued)
