2008 – 2009 Department PD Planning Template

SLC/DPT: English Members: Ali Lauer, Beth Kennedy, Chris Luckey, Jean Collins, Eleanor Barbour, William Garrett

Performance Goal - Single School Site Plan Alignment / 2.1.3.1 SLC content teams (PLCs) meet and collaborate regularly regarding the instructional practice and develop common assignments and interdisciplinary lessons aligned with standards and research-based strategies. (WASC #6)
2.1.4.1 Continue professional development and district-mandated buyback days to include appropriate instructional strategies, such as SDAIE, differentiated instruction, accommodation/modification, collaborative/cooperative learning, and technology integration for student achievement.
Area of Focus / We will study the best available research on the best practices in the teaching of writing.
Goal Objective / We will read several well-respected reports on the teaching of writing and discuss them in the context of our own classroom practice. Each teacher will implement her own response to the research and will report back to the group, where feedback will be offered.
We will identify what data is available at Lincoln that specifically addresses student writing abilities.
Obstacles
Are there any obstacles we must we address / Writing instruction is a long and non-linear process. Student growth is often hard to determine.
The team members are not teaching the same courses, so comparisons among the group members may not be relevant.
Outcomes / We will be successful if each teacher is implementing new strategies or familiar strategies with greater confidence.
Strategies / Activities
What will you do? What action will you take?
How will you proceed to look at and solve the problem stated in your Goal Objective above? / We will read the following reports:
·  Writing Next (http://www.all4ed.org/files/archive/publications/WritingNext/WritingNext.pdf)
·  Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Brief produced by NCTE (http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/PolicyResearch/AdolLitResearchBrief.pdf)
·  The Neglected “R” (http://www.writingcommission.org/prod_downloads/writingcom/neglectedr.pdf)
·  Writing: A Ticket to Work… Or a Ticket Out (http://www.writingcommission.org/prod_downloads/writingcom/writing-ticket-to-work.pdf)
·  Writing Now (http://wwwdev.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/PolicyResearch/WrtgResearchBrief.pdf)
·  Teaching Composition: A Position Statement (http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/teachingcomposition?source=gs)
·  NCTE Beliefs About the Teaching of Writing (http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/writingbeliefs?source=gs)
·  Writing Assessment: A Position Statement (http://www.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/writingassessment?source=gs)
·  CCCC Statement on the Multiple Uses of Writing (http://www.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/multipleuseswriting?source=gs)
High Performance in High Poverty Schools: 90/90/90 and beyond
Collected Data/Evidence / We will analyze implementation of the strategies, using anecdotal and classroom-based evidence.
Duration (days, weeks, months) / Through April 2009
Configuration / We will use our PD time to discuss the articles and debrief our classroom practice, specifically in our attempts to implement the research.
Resources needed / Copies of the reports for those who prefer to annotate.
Follow up / The PLC will report the fruits of their study to the department and also to their respective SLCs.
Meeting Syllabus / For each meeting we will discuss the agreed upon article(s) and discuss our efforts to implement the previous article.
11/18 Writing Assessment: A Position Statement
12/9 90/90/90; Writing Now; NCTE Beliefs
1/20 Writing Next
2/24 Neglected R
3/10 Writing: A Ticket to Work 4/21 Pulling together a summary for the dept and SLC