Project Activities*

*Note: These are archived materials. The Summer Institutes are not currently being offered

A sample of the agenda and topics from Summer Institutes that were held for the 3 summers from 2001-2003 is includes below.

Summer Institute 2001-2003

The Summer Institute activities were designed to

• Teach participants to use computers to support writing process instruction
• Show participants how to implement inclusive instructional practices to support language learning
• Provide hands-on experience working with students in grades 1-3 in an inclusive setting
• Allow participants to join a learning community of speech-language pathologists and teachers from around the country

(Week One) - During the first week, teams learned about inclusive, computer-supported writing process instruction, referred to as the Writing Lab Model. In the mornings, they participated in seminar activities and shared planning sessions. In the afternoons, they practiced implementing the model with a diverse group of students in grades 1-3. The focus of instruction was on writing narrative stories.

On Friday, of week one, an all-day seminar was held with prior participants invited to return to discuss how they had been implementing the writing lab approach in their own settings; no students attended that day.

Week Two (4 days) - During the second week, participants continued to learn about the model as it applied to writing expository text. Again, seminar activities were held in the mornings and the Writing Lab Approach was implemented in the afternoons with a diverse group of summer school students. On Thursday of Week Two a "Publishing Party" was held to share work and celebrate accomplishments with students and their parents and others who were interested.

Participation

The Summer Institute gave priority to applications from two- or three-person teams consisting of at least one special educator (teacher or speech-language pathologist) and one general educator in grades 1, 2, or 3 from the same school system. Individuals also were invited to apply.

Teams were asked to commit to both short and long-term goals for:

• Developing knowledge and skills related to writing process instruction and computer use
• Implementing computer-supported writing process activities in their own schools
• Attending the entire 9-day Institute
• Conducting action research projects with their own students and sharing results with colleagues
• Sharing progress on development of their own writing lab activities with other Writing Lab Outreach Project participants via email and/or listserv

 

 

This material was developed by the Writing Lab Outreach Project (WLOP), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Grant #H324R980120, 9/1/98 - 8/31/01. Permission is granted to copy and disseminate this information. If you do so, please cite the WLOP. Contents do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the WLOP, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Public Schools, or the U.S. Government.