On Saturday, April 4th, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the Ozarks Writing Project will host a Saturday Seminar focused on "Community Inquiry as a Springboard for Writing". OWP Teacher-Consultants Kim Piddington and Kim Witt will share how they incorporated writing projects based on their urban and rural communities.
Whether you teach kindergarten or college seniors, you will take away ideas that you can use for your classrooms on Monday.
The meeting will take place in Pummill Hall 308. http://www.missouristate.edu/map/BldgTemplate.asp?b=51 .
Parking will be free on Saturday. You may wish to park in Lot 22 or Lot 24. http://www.missouristate.edu/map/othermaps/parking.asp
Registration is $20. However, any TC who brings a guest(s) with them will be admitted for free! Also, you might encourage your guest to see if his/her school district is willing to pay their $20 registration fee…a bargain for such quality professional development, and participatory certificates are given for attending. I am looking forward to seeing you. Please let me know if you plan on attending and have not already contacted me. We would love to see you there!
Showing posts with label professional development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label professional development. Show all posts
Friday, April 03, 2009
Thursday, June 19, 2008
PLWP Writing Retreat Summer 2008
John and I had a wonderful time writing at Conception Abbey this past weekend. Joining together with writers from five other NWP sites was a motivating and inspiring experience. I have written about our writerly adventure here.Kelly
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable
My first professional development presentation as a Teacher Consultant with the Ozarks Writing Project was exciting, scary, and refreshing. I presented a shortened version (one hour instead of 90 minutes) of my 2007 SI demonstration on using read alouds to inspire genre writing with students. I offered the demo three times during a Professional Development day with the Willow Springs School District, and the attendance for my session varied from as few as six to as many as 24. The teachers ranged in background from kindergarten to high school computer lab, but all were receptive and cooperative, and claimed to have gleaned at least one thing that will benefit their students from the session they attended with me.
The main question or concern that was asked of attendees was if I found it difficult to obtain copies of the read alouds I needed to do these units with my students. I explained that it did require some of my own investment on eBay or Amazon to find bargain books to supplement my collection, and that if I looked carefully, I could get a copy of a book I wanted for very little money. The most difficult part of the experience was trying to fit all the writing activities and information into what ended up being about 55 minutes, allowing for a few minutes to elaborate on the Ozarks Writing Project Summer Institute and encouraging participants to apply. A few participants did comment on the rapid speed of the presentation, but I provided the full demonstration packet with all of my contact information to all who attended so they knew they could go back and review any aspect of which they felt unsure at their leisure. A librarian in the audience commented as she was gathering her materials to leave that she was thrilled she had attended the session because she was going to use the demo in her library lessons with students, and that meant her plans were done all the way through February!
I felt an overwhelming desire to do well as I represented the Writing Project; more specifically I felt compelled to positively reflect on Casey, as Willow Springs is her home school district—my attendees are her colleagues, so doing my utmost best was the only option I had! Needless to say, I did not sleep much the night before, and the drive home required caffeine and good music to keep me from getting drowsy. I just knew going back to my students the next day would be grueling and I even considered making sub plans to spend the day recovering. Surprisingly, though, I went back to school the next day energized to work with my students again, almost as if sharing my passion with others refueled me in that all-too-familiar mid-year slump. I would gladly and enthusiastically participate in professional development in other schools and school districts; I hope those opportunities can be developed in our TC’s home districts, as well as those districts that are only presently unfamiliar to us. What a thrilling day of becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable!
The main question or concern that was asked of attendees was if I found it difficult to obtain copies of the read alouds I needed to do these units with my students. I explained that it did require some of my own investment on eBay or Amazon to find bargain books to supplement my collection, and that if I looked carefully, I could get a copy of a book I wanted for very little money. The most difficult part of the experience was trying to fit all the writing activities and information into what ended up being about 55 minutes, allowing for a few minutes to elaborate on the Ozarks Writing Project Summer Institute and encouraging participants to apply. A few participants did comment on the rapid speed of the presentation, but I provided the full demonstration packet with all of my contact information to all who attended so they knew they could go back and review any aspect of which they felt unsure at their leisure. A librarian in the audience commented as she was gathering her materials to leave that she was thrilled she had attended the session because she was going to use the demo in her library lessons with students, and that meant her plans were done all the way through February!
I felt an overwhelming desire to do well as I represented the Writing Project; more specifically I felt compelled to positively reflect on Casey, as Willow Springs is her home school district—my attendees are her colleagues, so doing my utmost best was the only option I had! Needless to say, I did not sleep much the night before, and the drive home required caffeine and good music to keep me from getting drowsy. I just knew going back to my students the next day would be grueling and I even considered making sub plans to spend the day recovering. Surprisingly, though, I went back to school the next day energized to work with my students again, almost as if sharing my passion with others refueled me in that all-too-familiar mid-year slump. I would gladly and enthusiastically participate in professional development in other schools and school districts; I hope those opportunities can be developed in our TC’s home districts, as well as those districts that are only presently unfamiliar to us. What a thrilling day of becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
