Sue's 6.21.10 Workshop on Workshops

RWP/NWP Inquiry Workshops:
A Uniquely Valuable Practice by (and for) Astute Minds
21 June 2010

Sue McIntyre
Redwood Writing Project Director (TC 2004)
Humboldt State University English Composition Instructor
skm27@humboldt.edu


“No description, no guidelines…can encompass the infinite variations
in teaching, the humor, the gentleness, the astute minds
that Teacher Consultants bring to their workshops.”
--Mary Ann Smith, “How Teachers Teach Teachers”

“The workshop that NWP summer institute fellows and teacher-consultants
conduct [is] a unique and uniquely valuable genre of research in education.”
--Patricia Lambert Stock, “Toward a Scholarship of Teaching Practice…”

Agenda

I. Quick Write: Reflect on inservice, presentations, and workshops you’ve attended in the past. What worked? What didn’t? (5 minutes)

II. Partner/Small Group Share (5 minutes)

III. A few words about ISI and RWP/NWP workshops (5 minutes)

IV. Read, annotate, and reflect on Smith’s “How Teachers Teach Teachers” and excerpt from Stock’s “Toward a Scholarship of Teaching Practice: Contributions from NWP Teacher Inquiry Workshops.” (15 minutes)

V. Our Guidelines for RWP Workshops: Group Discussion and Brainstorm (15 minutes)

VI. Individual Reflection and Planning (15 minutes)

VII. Questions and Considerations (10 minutes)

VIII. Resource Review

Workshop Resources

There are dozens of books available on public speaking, workshop development, and presentations. Rather than identify one amongst the many general tomes, I’ve provided a few RWP-specific resources below:

National Writing Project. Home Page. 2010. www.nwp.org
In addition to information about NWP Events, the Resources and Publications menus have many useful articles, publications, and forums covering workshop delivery, classroom practice, research, and political action.

Redwood Writing Project. Home Page. Updated 14 June 2010. Tracy Duckart, Webmistress. www.redwoodwp.org
Under the Teacher Consultants menu, you can access a pdf of the RWP Coaching brochure, which includes questions for consideration when planning a workshop. Also note that a link to the RWP library holdings database will be added this coming year.

---. Teacher Consultant Coaches. RWP Office. 707.826.5109.
RWP has many experienced workshop facilitators that serve as coaches for TCs planning workshops. You may contact a TC you know directly, but if you are uncertain of who to approach, simply contact the RWP office and you will be referred to one of our experts.

Smith, Mary Ann. “How Teachers Teach Teachers.” The Quarterly. July 1987. www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/1646
Smith describes key concepts and ideas that have been important in NWP workshop delivery since the early days of NWP.

Stock, Patricia Lambert. “Toward a Scholarship of Teaching Practice: Contributions from NWP Teacher Inquiry Workshops.” Keynote Address, National Writing Project 2007 Spring Meeting. Washington, DC. March 2007. www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2391
Stock examines the characteristics of NWP inquiry workshops and identifies parallels to the methodology of standard educational research practices, concluding that the workshops are in themselves “a uniquely valuable genre of research in education.”

Participant Suggestions? Share your favorite resource with the group.