Past Institute Days
2018 Institute Day:
On Friday, October 12, 2018, we hosted Eastern Illinois Writing Project Institute Day in Eastern Illinois University’s Doudna Fine Arts Center. The conference, titled “Authentic Literacy Assessment Across Disciplines,” focused on authentically assessing reading and writing across disciplines in relation to the English Language Arts Common Core Standards. Maintaining the "teachers teaching teachers" model that is a hallmark of EIWP, teachers from across disciplines and grade levels shared teaching ideas in multiple breakout sessions to creatively meet the Common Core Standards.
Keynote speakers for the event were Professional Development Coordinator Katie O'Dell and English professor Terri Fredrick.
2016 Institute Day:
On October 14, 2016 we hosted the Eastern Illinois Writing Project/Teaching with Primary Sources at EIU Project Institute Day in Eastern Illinois University’s Doudna Fine Arts Center. This year’s conference focused on alternative approaches to teaching argument across disciplines and grade levels.
This free Institute Day ran from 8:30-1:30 and included two breakout sessions with your choice of teacher-driven presentations and workshops. All sessions emphasize our belief that the best teachers of teachers are other teachers.
The 2016 Institute Day focused on teaching argument across disciplines, including math, science, history, social studies, and technical subjects. Teachers from across disciplines and grade levels will share their teaching ideas in multiple breakout sessions, maintaining a teachers teaching teachers model to creatively meet the Common Core Standards. CCSS addressed will include CC.K-12.W.R.1-10, CC.K-12.R.I.1-10, and CC.K-1212.W.1-10.
During the 2016 Institute Day, Dr. Tim Taylor and Dr. Fern Kory also facilitated a keynote workshop and discussion entitled
Beyond Pro vs Con: Motivating Productive Arguments
Their workshop and discussion will highlight new ways of approaching argument. As Dominic Delli Carpini explains in Composing a Life’s Work “Too often, research, is defined simply as a search for ‘sources’ and inspired by little more than fulfilling requirements. To develop as a student and a professional, you must go beyond this limited (and limiting) understanding of research and treat it as a sincere desire to learn more about a topic.“ (301) These events will address “Real research” that is motivated by a sincere need to learn more about a topic so as to speak or write credibly about it, and to draw substantive and reasonable conclusions; finding information is a means to that end.” (306) Drs. Taylor and Kory will also lead a luncheon discussion and resource share session.
2015 Institute Day:
The Seventh Annual Institute Day was held Friday, Oct. 16, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Doudna Fine Arts Center at EIU.
Each fall, teachers gather on the campus of Eastern Illinois University to attend the Eastern Illinois Writing Project and The Teaching with Primary Source Project at EIU Institute Day program. This FREE Institute Day runs from 8:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m. and includes teacher-driven presentations and workshops that allow both attendees and presenters to share effective ideas and confer with one another, emphasizing our belief that the best teachers of teachers are other teachers.
The 2015 Institute Day focused on teaching literacy and technology across disciplines and the ELA Common Core Standards. Teachers from across disciplines and grade levels shared their teaching ideas in multiple breakout sessions, maintaining a teachers teaching teachers model to creatively meet the Common Core Standards. CCSS addressed included CC.K-12.W.R.1-10, CC.K-12.R.I.1-10, and CC.K-12.W.1-10.
To highlight this interdisciplinarity across grade levels, we had a great keynote speaker: Dr. Troy Hicks. Dr. Hicks is an associate professor of English at Central Michigan University and focuses his work on the teaching of writing, literacy and technology, and teacher education and professional development. A former middle school teacher, he collaborates with K–12 colleagues and explores how they implement newer literacies in their classrooms. Hicks directs CMU's Chippewa River Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project, and he frequently conducts professional development workshops related to writing and technology. Hicks is author of the Heinemann titles Crafting Digital Writing (2013) and The Digital Writing Workshop (2009) as well as a co-author of Because Digital Writing Matters (Jossey-Bass, 2010) and Create, Compose, Connect (Eye on Education/Routledge, 2014) in addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters. The following descriptions highlight Hicks’s presentation for the October conference:
Keynote: “Mixing Sources, Amplifying Voices: Crafting Writing in a Digital Age”: As the inputs continue to multiply, how can we help students find, evaluate, and synthesize information from a variety of sources? More importantly, how can we help them craft digital writing in effective ways, utilizing the information that they have found to develop multimedia texts? Bring your favorite device, because in this interactive keynote we will explore a variety of web-based tools and mobile applications to help students mix together a variety of sources and amplify their digital voices.
Post Keynote Luncheon Conversation: Please bring your questions and ideas from the keynote straight into this follow-up conversation. Here we can discuss some of the digital writing tools in more detail, connect more directly to your classroom practice, and look at more examples of student work. You will help make this session happen, so please come prepared to interact, learn some more, and create your own digital writing.
The Institute Day also included teacher-driven presentations and workshops that allowed both attendees and presenters to share effective ideas and confer with one another, emphasizing the belief that the best teachers of teachers are other teachers. Workshops included “Lessons on Common Core Peer Editing,” “Technology and Common Core,” “Curriculum Development and Common Core,” “Primary Sources and Common Core,” Writing to Learn,” and “Google Apps and Common Core.” These workshops helped teachers meet their students’ literacy needs across the curriculum and grade levels, facilitating ways for students to mix together a variety of sources and amplify their digital writing voices.
Participants earned up to five Continuing Professional Development Hours (CPDHs) toward teacher certification renewal. Students were welcome to attend, as well!
Download the 2015 Pamphlet here!
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The programs for the 2014, 2013 and 2012 Institute Days will give you an idea of the types of opportunities that you can expect each year.
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2014 EIWP and The Teaching with Primary Source Project at EIU Institute Day, "Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum and the Common Core Standards." - View the program here.
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2013 EIWP and The Teaching with Primary Source Project at EIU Institute Day, "Teaching with Primary Sources, Literacy, Diversity, and the Common Core Standards Across the Curriculum." - View the program here.
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2012 EIWP and The Teaching with Primary Source Project at EIU Institute Day, "Creative Teaching That Meets the Standards: Integrating Reading and Writing Throughout the Curriculum." View the program here.
Workshop Series
The EIWP workshop series will provide teachers the opportunity to read professionally, participate in small and whole group discussions, learn and practice new teaching strategies that will ultimately improve student writing and learning.
This series will show creative ways to integrate reading and writing throughout the curriculum—and still meet the Illinois Common Core Standards. Come try out a variety of assignments you can use with your students!
Each session will include demonstrations of strategies, participant writing, and time to brainstorm applications to various content areas/topics. Participants will receive CPDHs (two per session, six per semester).
Most sessions will be conducted by practicing teachers who have taken part in previous EIWP Summer Institutes.
Upcoming workshops will be announced here as soon as they are scheduled.
Current & Past Workshops:
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Summer 2015 - The Eastern Illinois Writing Project (EIWP) held Summer Writing Workshops for K-12 teachers on June 19 and June 26, 2015, on the campus of EIU in Charleston, Ill. The 2015 Summer Writing Workshops for K-12 Teachers Across the Curriculum served teachers across disciplines and grade levels and focused on reading informational texts, writing to learn, writers’ workshop, and integrating technology into literacy across the curriculum.
The first session on June 19 included workshops focused on writing to learn, Google Classroom Part I, and Writer’s Workshop. The second session on June 26 included workshops focused on teaching with informational texts, Google Classroom Part II and literacy across the curriculum. Both sessions were held from 9 a.m. to noon. Teachers earned three Continuing Professional Development Hours per session.
The workshops were presented by seasoned teachers, who have completed the EIWP Invitational Summer Institute and participated in professional development activities designed to hone their teaching demonstrations and/or presentations. The teachers have completed at least six hours of graduate credit in an intense four-week workshop for teachers across the curriculum and grade levels.
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Winter 2013/Spring 2014 - "Professional Development in the Martinsville Schools: Language Arts Common Core." The EIWP Professional Development Program in the Martinsville Schools builds on the district’s assets: a strong commitment to authentic literacy instruction and new technology resources with which to work. Because Illinois has adopted the Common Core Standards, which promote more writing in every discipline, helping teachers of all subject areas teach writing and reading across the curriculum and across grade levels has become more important than ever before.
The emphasis on literacy instruction in social studies, the sciences, technology, and, of course, K-12 English language arts presents a particular need and opportunity for EIWP and the Martinsville Schools. With help from our teacher leaders, the Martinsville teacher will be more able to navigate changes from the Illinois State Standards to the new Common Core.
The program plan currently includes six in-service half day writing to learn and writing and reading across the curriculum workshops; a full-day Institute Day on the campus of EIU; professional development reading groups focused on Content Area Writing: Every Teachers’ Guide, Digital Writing Matters, and works focused on the writing and reading workshop from Nancie Atwell and Ralph Fletcher. There will be opportunities for teachers to write and share their writing through journaling and group action projects.
Design of the Series: Sessions will be conducted by practicing teachers who have taken part in EIWP Summer Institutes. Each session will include demonstrations of strategies, participant writing, and time to brainstorm applications to various grade levels/content areas/topics. Sessions will include discussion of a professional book about the teaching of writing. (Each participant will receive a copy.) Participants will receive one CPDU per contact hour.
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Spring 2013 - "Creative Teaching That Meets the Standards: Integrating Reading and Writing Throughout the Curriculum" held at Sullivan High School. View the pamphlet here.
