Literacy Center Summer Institute Application
The Literacy Center, in partnership with the Chippewa River Writing Project (CRWP), at Central Michigan University invites you to participate in a one-of-a-kind, intensive professional development experience. From June 26 to 30, teachers who apply to and are accepted for our CMU Literacy Center 2023 Summer Institute will meet on CMU’s campus each day to practice the art of writing, participate in writing groups, and share their teaching practices with a group of supportive colleagues.
Over the course of the week, participants will learn a variety of strategies for integrating writing into their classroom instruction. Thus, we seek a diverse cohort of applicants including new, early-career, mid-career, and veteran K-12 teachers from schools that are rural, suburban, and urban, and who demonstrate the capacity for literacy leadership in their own schools, districts, and communities.
Led by CMU faculty Dr. Chad Waldron (Director of the CMU Literacy Center), Dr. Meghan Block (Co-Director of the CMU Literacy Center) and Dr. Troy Hicks (Director of the Chippewa River Writing Project), as well as CRWP teacher leaders Megan Kowalski, Jenny Sanford, and Andy Schoenborn, the institute will consist of multiple teaching demonstrations that bring best practices in the teaching of writing to life.
In addition to a stipend of $500 upon successful completion of the summer institute, we will provide dorm housing and up to 13 meals for those traveling more than 50 miles from Mount Pleasant and, for those closer, will provide parking, mileage reimbursement, and a dorm cafeteria lunch each day.
Details
9:00 to 4:00 on Friday
Where: On CMU’s campus in Mount Pleasant (exact building and room, TBD)
How: in-person, full-day workshop model to immerse you in your own writing and to explore best practices in the teaching of writing, K-12. Teaching demonstrations will include:
- Narrative Writing for the Digital Age
- Teaching Tinkering: Encouraging Students to Engage in the Art of Revision
- Poems as Pathways for Reluctant Writers
Why: with the generous support of an anonymous benefactor, the Literacy Center is able to fully sponsor 15 teachers with all expenses paid as well as a $500 stipend.
Since this is a competitive program, to apply, we will ask you for your contact info, some demographic information about your school, and a brief essay (400-500 words) in which we ask that you respond to the following:
- Describe yourself as a writer and teacher of writing. What kinds of personal and professional writing would you like to do during the summer institute?
- Explain an approach to teaching writing that you want to think about with others (one you have tried already or are planning to pursue). How would your experience in our Summer Institute help you improve this practice in your classroom and then share it with other teachers in your school or district?