Teachers at Great Valley Writing Camp in Ripon
The educators who created the Great Valley Writing Camps in Ripon are dedicated professionals who care deeply about each student's individual progress. They worked and studied together as part of the "GVWP Demonstration Labs for Teachers," a unique set of college courses sponsored by Great Valley Writing Project at California State University, Stanislaus.
Ten GVWP Teacher Consultants met from January through May to plan curriculum units to demonstrate at the Great Valley Writing Camps. Each classroom team (K-1, 2-3, 4-6, and 7-12) created exemplary lessons designed to stimulate thinking and motivate expression of ideas.
Nineteen additional teachers signed up to work with these leaders. The teachers met in grade-span teams to read an assigned text, discuss instructional strategies, observe model lessons, and practice new techniques, with everyone focused on a common goal: to become better teachers of writing.
When students arrived at the Great Valley Writing Camps, the teachers learned as much from the students as the students learned from the teachers. Every day, before and after the workshop, teachers met to discuss their reading, their observations, and their discoveries. Many reported eye-opening reactions as they saw students respond to different styles of instruction.
In every classroom at the workshop, multiple teachers were on hand to meet student needs. Each teacher served as writing mentor for a small group of students, building personal relationships and discovering each student's strengths, needs, and interests. In just ten short days, the small-group interactions helped to create the kind of comfortable, honest communication that promotes academic growth. For teachers, the small-group mentoring provided the ultimate luxury: time to watch, listen, think, discuss, and try new strategies.
Teachers in the K-1 and 2-3 classrooms read Georgia Heard's A Place for Wonder: Reading & Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades to plan their curriculum. From March through May, they experimented with writing lessons from the text in their own classrooms. They met to discuss results, share materials, and decide which lessons to use at the workshop. During the workshop, the teachers continued their daily meetings to refine lesson plans and to take advantage of technology at the site.
Teachers in the 4th-6th and 7th-12th grade classrooms studied Revision Decisions by Jeff Anderson and Deborah Dean, a powerful book that helps teachers identify specific techniques that improve sentence quality and provides a structure for peer and self-editing. In daily debriefing meetings, the teachers analyzed the instructional content and discussed ways to improve lessons. They found new ways to build understanding, motivate revision, and jump-start learning.
With such wonderful guidebooks, and with so many colleagues contributing insights, every teacher gained new understandings and wider perspectives. Together, they all discovered effective ways to address the varied needs of a diverse group of students while helping those students meet the California state standards.
In August, the teachers who attended the Demonstration Labs will bring new ideas back to their classrooms to recreate the excitement, productivity, and learning with students at their own schools!
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT TEACHERS LEARN?
To learn more about what teachers learned during the 2015 Writing Camps at Ripon, visit our Facebook page or take a peek at Teacher Comments from past workshops.
Ten GVWP Teacher Consultants met from January through May to plan curriculum units to demonstrate at the Great Valley Writing Camps. Each classroom team (K-1, 2-3, 4-6, and 7-12) created exemplary lessons designed to stimulate thinking and motivate expression of ideas.
Nineteen additional teachers signed up to work with these leaders. The teachers met in grade-span teams to read an assigned text, discuss instructional strategies, observe model lessons, and practice new techniques, with everyone focused on a common goal: to become better teachers of writing.
When students arrived at the Great Valley Writing Camps, the teachers learned as much from the students as the students learned from the teachers. Every day, before and after the workshop, teachers met to discuss their reading, their observations, and their discoveries. Many reported eye-opening reactions as they saw students respond to different styles of instruction.
In every classroom at the workshop, multiple teachers were on hand to meet student needs. Each teacher served as writing mentor for a small group of students, building personal relationships and discovering each student's strengths, needs, and interests. In just ten short days, the small-group interactions helped to create the kind of comfortable, honest communication that promotes academic growth. For teachers, the small-group mentoring provided the ultimate luxury: time to watch, listen, think, discuss, and try new strategies.
Teachers in the K-1 and 2-3 classrooms read Georgia Heard's A Place for Wonder: Reading & Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades to plan their curriculum. From March through May, they experimented with writing lessons from the text in their own classrooms. They met to discuss results, share materials, and decide which lessons to use at the workshop. During the workshop, the teachers continued their daily meetings to refine lesson plans and to take advantage of technology at the site.
Teachers in the 4th-6th and 7th-12th grade classrooms studied Revision Decisions by Jeff Anderson and Deborah Dean, a powerful book that helps teachers identify specific techniques that improve sentence quality and provides a structure for peer and self-editing. In daily debriefing meetings, the teachers analyzed the instructional content and discussed ways to improve lessons. They found new ways to build understanding, motivate revision, and jump-start learning.
With such wonderful guidebooks, and with so many colleagues contributing insights, every teacher gained new understandings and wider perspectives. Together, they all discovered effective ways to address the varied needs of a diverse group of students while helping those students meet the California state standards.
In August, the teachers who attended the Demonstration Labs will bring new ideas back to their classrooms to recreate the excitement, productivity, and learning with students at their own schools!
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT TEACHERS LEARN?
To learn more about what teachers learned during the 2015 Writing Camps at Ripon, visit our Facebook page or take a peek at Teacher Comments from past workshops.