And another Summer Institute starts! This year another 15 teachers will learn and read and write (and eat) together for four weeks. Today we drew our writing processes–fascinating how different they are, even among pretty good writers. And we’re all on NWP interactive, Twitter, wordpress, with more coming. Everyone brought a laptop this year. That’s been a big change since we provided them in the past. We were worried that the software would be too varied, but we’re not having trouble yet. Movie making might be more of a challenge.
Getting to this point was easy this year with such a crew of teacher-leaders. Of course having the models of the last 3 years helps, but we also made some changes and clarifications based on our experiences in other SIs.
The loss of federal funding is a cloud hanging over this summer institute. Is this our last one? It might be. At the very least any future institutes will look different. Our almost-60 wonderful teachers will come up with something to keep this excellent professional development alive.
UIWP 2011
June 13, 2011 by libbiemorley
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I am excited to experience the SI from the TC perspective. I enjoy how the SI is never the same class- each demo is completely new, and I am writing as many notes for myself this year as I was last summer. It’s also great to see all the fellows jumping in and really immersing themselves in the writing.
I have to admit that I’m optimistic about the future of UIWP, though it is clear that our focus will have to change if we don’t procure additional funding. In a perverse way, perhaps the timing couldn’t be better. The UIWP site is becoming well-established, but maybe the important thing at this point is for us to support and build community among the individuals who have gone through past Invitational Summer Workshops.
I look forward to our planning meetings.
Yes Libbie, we must find a way to fund this invaluable program. I have really grown this past three weeks as a teacher….going to places that I have never dared to go before (blogging, tweeting, video making). I have moved into the present and will be able to incorporate new learning styles into my classroom next year!! How exciting!!