Knowledge about the teaching of writing comes from many sources: theory and research, the analysis of practice, and the experience of writing. Effective professional development programs provide frequent and ongoing opportunities for teachers to write and to examine theory, research, and practice together systematically. ~ From the NWP Core Principles
To support this goal, teacher leaders of the Chippewa River Writing Project believe:
- When teachers of writing are writers themselves — and receive constructive feedback — they learn the process of writing in new and different ways.
- Connecting to an authentic audience of other teachers validates us as writers and as professionals.
- Fostering our identities as writers is powerful and self-affirming, and we can help each other do so in a public sphere.
- Producing and publishing digital writing — in the form of blog posts — is a critical skill for teachers to learn so they can mentor their students in this process.
Writing for the CRWP Blog: General Guidelines
We welcome CRWP teacher consultants to submit blog posts for the Chippewa River Writing Project Blog. The CRWP blog is a place for teachers to tell their stories and to see their writing published to a large audience.
- Each blog post should be approximately 500-1000 words in length. Bloggers might consider writing a series of posts if a topic requires more coverage.
- Posts should focus on your work as a teacher (outside or inside of the classroom). For example, bloggers may describe teaching practices that are making an impact in their instruction, reflect on their journeys as educators, speak to the changing landscape of education, or talk about their writing lives.
- Blog posts often incorporate multimedia links. We encourage the use of links to resources, student exemplars, lesson plans, and technology tools, as well as incorporation of images and video where they enhance your post.
- Blog posts will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. This will allow other educators to use your ideas while giving you the appropriate credit; it will disallow use of your ideas by others for profit.
- Contributors to the CRWP blog are encouraged to share their published posts with their schools, local districts, and professional networks, as well as through social media and cross-posting on their own blog sites.
- With your blog post, please include a few sentences about yourself and a head-and-shoulders image of yourself that we can include on the site.
Writing for the CRWP Blog: The Nuts and Bolts
- Generate a topic based on the ideas above. Contact one of the editors (Janet, Debbi, Troy, or Liz)
- You may have a conversation via email, hangout, phone, or over coffee!
- Submit a draft to your editor via Google Docs (you know how to do this!)
- Your editor will give you initial feedback within a few days
- Return to your draft to make initial revisions and then contact your editor again
- Your editor will share your draft with the editorial team, and they will give you more feedback
- Repeat step 3 as often as required! (Usually once… maybe twice… but no more than three times!)
- Remember that we will ask for a short bio and a head/shoulders picture
- You will work with your editor to select a picture that represents your post, find out the publication date, and circulate your post on social media
- In general, this process — from topic to final post — takes about three to five weeks, depending on your pace as a writer (and reviser!). We are flexible and willing to work with you, but will keep you moving along at a steady clip.
- We understand that you may be nervous. Remember how you felt on that first day in the summer institute when you shared your writing? Trust us, we are a safe, welcoming, and supportive community. We will work with you so your writing represents your best thinking, and you will be happy to share it with the world.
- Unlike an academic journal — where “reject” or “revise or resubmit” is a typical response — we want you to revise, but will help you along the way. Our goal is to work with you as you express your ideas about teaching, not to criticize what you have written and say “No!” In short, we want to see you published and will do everything we can to make that happen.
Thanks and we look forward to writing and working with you!