The Oregon Writing Project at SOU recognizes the primary importance of teacher knowledge, expertise and leadership. Graduates of each Intensive Summer Institute become Teacher Consultants for the Oregon Writing Project. Teacher Consultants play key roles in the ongoing work of the Project: as instructors and coordinators of school-year staff development programs, directors of youth programs, and part-time Writing Project staff members.
There are many ways for Teacher Consultants to renew their teaching skills and knowledge base and share their expertise with others. The OWP organizes writing groups, focus groups, and special projects each year. The topics for our inservice programs vary in response to current issues and needs.
Opportunities to share best practices in writing with other teachers:
- Initiate or participate in a professional reading and discussion group.
- Attend the TC Reunion in the spring
- Write articles for the OWP newsletter or the NWP's Quarterly.
- Participate in a teacher-as-researcher group.
- Participate in an Advanced Institute.
- Coordinate and present an inservice workshop.
- Write a book review for the OWP web site.
- Share a great lesson plan for posting on the OWP web site.
- Present at the NWP Annual Meeting or other conferences.
- Coach or mentor another teacher who wants to improve students' writing.
- Share writing strategies via a faculty newsletter or list-serve.
- Share writing tips, perspectives, information, etc, via a parent newsletter.
- Continue work on your writing from the Summer Institute and publish it. Reinforce that teachers of writing must be writers as well.
- Read (or just listen) at a 1st Thursday Teachers as Writers Pot Luck.
- Work with OWP Young Writers' Program.
- Present at the Summer Institute as a Returning Teacher Consultant.
- Participate in the NWP Teacher Exchange by either hosting a teacher-consultant from another site, or visiting another NWP site to learn from/teach leaders at another site.
- Advise a student-writing group and publication at your school.
- Initiate brown-bag lunches circles with colleagues around the topic of writing.
- Provide leadership to professional associations and bring the principals of OWP with you.
- Coordinate demo-lessons in your school so teachers can learn from other teachers.
- Write chapters for a book on pedagogy.
Find a new form of leadership this year and send us your idea!
