Teachers at the Ripon Workshop
The teachers who create the Writing & Technology Workshop in Ripon are dedicated professionals who are intensely focused on each student's individual progress. They work and study as part of a university course sponsored by Great Valley Writing Project at California State University, Stanislaus. Fourteen GVWP Teacher Consultants met from November through May to plan the curriculum for this year's workshop. They created classroom lessons designed to stimulate thinking and to motivate students to express their ideas. Thirty other K-12 classroom teachers signed up to work and study alongside these GVWP leaders. Together, they read articles and texts, discussed teaching strategies, observed model lessons, and practiced new techniques, with everyone focused on a common goal: to become better teachers of writing. In every classroom at the workshop, from kindergarten through high school, multiple teachers were on hand to meet student needs. Each teacher served as writing mentor for a small group of students, building personal relationships that revealed each student's strengths, needs, and interests. In just ten days, the small-group interactions helped to establish a safe environment that encouraged open communication and provided a solid foundation for academic growth. At the Writing & Technology Workshop, teachers learned as much from the students as the students learned from the teachers. Every day, after the students went home, the teachers met to discuss what they read, what they observed, and what they learned. By studying Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This: Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor Texts, teachers learned how to help students deepen thinking, organize their thoughts, and develop their written voices. They analyzed instructional content and discussed ways to design lessons that help students meet the Common Core State Standards. They found new ways to build social interactions, engage critical thinking, and jump-start learning. Through this process, teachers discovered many effective ways to meet the varied needs of a diverse group of students. In August, they will bring new ideas back to their classrooms to recreate the excitement, productivity, and learning with students at their own schools. |