Layingthe Foundation Lily 2006
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Transcript of Layingthe Foundation Lily 2006
Laying the Foundation
Teacher Preparation Programs and the Teaching of Writing Inquiry Project Synopsis
Lily N.WMWP Summer Institute
2006
How are teacher preparation programs preparing our nation’s teachers for the complex realities of teaching writing?
Despite a rigorous college experience, I felt drastically unprepared
My experience with student teachers and others in the field
So what exactly is happening in teacher preparation programs?
Lack of proper preparation often highlighted by teachers Student results as testimonial to this
problem Researchers (Bowie) say student
writing not improving A national embarrassment 1992 National Assessment of
Educational Progress: Majority of high
school juniors unable to produce adequate persuasive or analytic essay
Student problems frequently attributed to inadequate teacher preparation Bowie: “Few teacher education programs
offer specific courses on how to teach writing”
Meyer: 8th grade writing lags far behind
research and theory Teacher preparation focused on
literature Teacher enthusiasm and strategies
revolve around literature “Who can blame them, given the
training we’ve given them?”
A Closer Look at Teacher Preparation Programs Study by Bowie:
233 Teachers surveyed, from undergrad. And grad programs
Rated preservice writing training on scale of 0 (poor) to 3 (excellent)
Teachers gave undergrad program mean rating of 1
Grad programs received mean rating of 0.8
“The literature indicates that teachers do not feel prepared to
teach writing.”
Study by Grossman, et al Followed teachers through
training, student teaching, and first year
About half “entered student teaching with relatively few strategies for teaching writing”
Others “firmly believed [their] teacher education coursework had provided [them] with many good ideas for teaching writing”
Overall, researchers concluded preparation programs need to offer strategies for predictable dilemmas in teaching writing
So what do Writing Project Teachers Say? I’ve spoken to several of you on this
topic The majority have concurred that they
did not feel adequately prepared, from both undergrad. and grad. programs
Many were not given explicit instruction in teaching writing
Some, however, did feel prepared and were given explicit instruction in the teaching of writing
Conclusions and Continued Study Overall, data varies--overwhelming
majority points to poor preparation for teaching writing
Clearly teacher preparation programs need improvement, many must improve
Plan of Continued Study: Investigate local universities and colleges, their
preparation programs Interviews with teachers to gauge their sense of
preparedness Possible focus on high school level, including
demands of writing across curriculum and preparation for that
Works Cited
1. Bowie, Robert L. “Future Teachers Perceptions of Themselves as Writers and Teachers of Writing: Implications for Teacher Education Programs.” Paper for Annual Meeting of College Reading Association. Charlestown, SC. 1992.
2. Grossman, Pamela, Sheila W. Valencia, Kate Evans, Clarissa Thompson. “Transitions into Teaching: Learning to Teach Writing in Teacher Education and Beyond.” Journal of Literacy Research. Chicago, IL. December 2000.
3. Lesser, Felice. Personal Interview. Amherst, MA. July 2006.
4. Meyer, Jim. “’It’s a Lot of Hectic in Middle School’ : Student-Teaching in an Urban Classroom.” The English Journal. NCTE. May, 1999.