In ECI 509, Teachers as Writers, Dr. Harrington encouraged and pushed us both as writers and as teachers of writing.
Dr. Harringon asked us to create an individualized collection of writing resources using the technology tool Live Binder. We were required to gather resources on the class topics of building writers, writing workshop, writing genres, writing mentor texts, writing skills and strategies, and writing assessment and conferences. I loved that I was able to gather resources that would be applicable to all grade levels as well as focus my efforts on finding resources for adolescent learners. Because of my background and interest in special education, I also gathered resources on differentiated instruction. I was able to quickly and easily share my LiveBinder with the teachers at my school and I know that I will use this tool in the future to help me keep my resources organized and easy to find.
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Dr. Harrington also challenged us to choose and read a text about teaching writing. I chose to read "Lessons that Change Writers" by Nancie Atwell because I knew she is well-respected in the educational world, especially with middle grades instruction. For our assessment, we wrote an "Expert Book Review" and posted it on the website GoodReads. We also read and commented on our peers' book reviews.
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For our final exam in ECI 509, Dr. Harrington required us to synthesize our learning from the course, specifically 6 significant understandings about writing instruction that have indicated a "shift" for us as teachers of writing or as a writer. For each shift, we were asked to explain specifically what we learned about writing instruction, how we gained or learned this information, and how this understanding will influence us as a writer or teacher of writing in the future. Each shift was to be evidence-based, grounded in the research, theory, and practices of effective writing instruction. See below for my completed assignment.