The NWIWP offers many different types of programs to help teachers improve their methods for teaching writing and to help districts and schools successfully introduce new programs and forms of assessment. They include:
Half-Day Programs Full Day Programs Semester or Year-Long Programs
Half-Day Programs The NWIWP will come out to your school and provide professional development to your entire staff. Topics and length vary depending on your needs. Here are two sample programs: Introductory Program 4 half-day sessions/12 hours 1. Introduction to Teaching Writing: The Writing Process. 2. The Reading/Writing Connection I. 3. The Writing Workshop 4. ISTEP+ Rubrics
Advanced Program 4 half-day sessions/12 hours 1. The Reading/Writing Connection II 2. Writer’s Workshop II. 3. Writing Across the Curriculum 4. Preparing Students for ISTEP+
Full-Day Programs Any of the half-day programs can be expanded into full-day programs.
Semester or Year-Long Programs The NWIWP is also available to provide ongoing professional development training at your school in the evenings.
Below is a listing of recent workshops. Click on each link to see a sample syllabus for each. The syllabi will open in PDF files.
Boone Grove, Porter County (Year-long in-service)
Webster Elementary, Gary (Semester-long in-service)
Writer's Workshop, Whiting (Semester-long focused in-service)
I have a new awareness of how important it is that I write...I know that I’ll feel less judgmental of my students’ efforts to write as a result of the project, too.
This has been one of the most worthwhile educational processes in which I have ever been privileged to participate and I look forward to continuing my association with the Northwest Indiana Writing Project in the future. I’m changing as a learner every day. I have a wealth of ideas to try...My revision skills have been sharpened and now my revision time is being spent more on ideas than mechanics. You have inspired many of us to become the kinds of teachers we always wanted to be. You have given the children of Northwest Indiana a precious gift. I’m ready to skip summer and get back to school. My fear of poetry no longer exists. I see poetry in a different light now.I honestly learned more from teacher demonstrations than from anything else.... This is the first education class that has been applicable....I am overwhelmed by the creativity and variety in this classroom. I am gaining invaluable experience at such an early stage of my teaching career. This is the first college education class I have taken that taught me something on a daily basis...This class taught me how to use common sense ideas in a practical manner. Results, not just theories. ...I feel that I have gained confidence with my own writing. It was one of the most remarkable classes that I have ever experienced. It was an incredible journey. I am very fortunate to have been chosen to participate in such a wonderful project. I’m most grateful for the wealth of ideas I will use in my classroom. The Northwest Indiana Writing Project helped me redesign my writing program. My students benefited from these changes by gaining confidence in their abilities. The Northwest Indiana Writing Project gave me the confidence that I could trust myself, that I could take educational risks.