Article about teachers of writing, teaching writing and collaborative inquiry
This morning I read an article by Fanning and Schmidt from the latest edition of the English Journal. The article is relevant to my thesis in several ways:
- The article was written by teachers and describes a process they underwent through professional development and collaborative inquiry.
- The article contains the kind of reflective statements I expect to hear from teachers: “I trudged on, hoping that no one would catch on that I wasn’t sure of what I was doing when it came to assessment” (p. 31). “I have used point systems and rubrics and that cursed ‘gut feeling’ but often had the nagging sense that if anyone looked too closely at my system, the lack of system is what would be seen” (p. 31). Both comments show the confusion and the insecurity I believe are common in teachers of writing.
- The article deals with how teachers see themselves as professionals.
- The article stresses the importance of listening to teacher stories. Inquiry into these stories can lead to neaningful change in schools. Teachers are integral to educational reform.
- The authors propose that it is important for teachers to see themselves as writers. (When I was studying Graham Parr’s unit and was required to write a story I followed up this question for personal interest. There is no consensus on this issue. I will dig out those old articles. I wonder whether as soon as you are blogging you are actually a writer?)
- The authors recommend rubrics similar to those I use in the classroom.
- The authors stress the impact collaboration had on their professional development. This is important in the building of successful PD programs but also in the methodology of my thesis. If I go in the direction of blogging, I must emphasize the reading of other blogs and commenting on them.
- “We know how easy it is for any of us involved in education to fall into despair. The frustrations are plentiful and run deep. Yet, we must realize that for a multiplicity of problems facing educators there are also a multiplicity of answers, and the answers lie in each of us and in the collective wisdom that comes from the inside of education” (p. 35).
Fanning, M., & Schmidt, B. (2007). Viva la Revolucion: Transforming teaching and assessing student writing through collaborative inquiry. English Journal, 97(2), 29-35.
