Illinois State Writing Project

Leadership Institute 2022 (Eng. 409.06, "The Writing Project"): July 6 through 21

(For teachers: weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Please contact ISWP Director Bob Broad (bob.broad@IllinoisState.edu) for application information.

The Illinois State Writing Project (ISWP) began in 1992 with support from a grant provided by the National Writing Project. ISWP provides professional education by promoting the strategy of teachers teaching teachers (the motto of the NWP).

The Writing Project emphasizes teacher research and teacher writing. Each Leadership Institute participant identifies a problem or question and then spends three weeks developing teacher research and demonstrating a teaching activity or set of activities that address the problem or answer the question. Other participants engage the researched writing and participate in the demonstration, noting where the research and activities are effective and where there is room for improvement.

Teachers from pre-kindergarten through high school and/or teachers from fields other than English (of which the ISWP has many) often come in with a fear of writing. By the end of the Leadership Institute, all view themselves as experienced and capable writers. Research and publication for an audience of professional peers becomes part of an ISWP Teacher-Consultant's future professional life.

After the Leadership Institute, ISWP Teacher-Consultants continue their teacher research and also continue to contribute to the ISWP model by teaching other teachers. Each participant follows up with continued research, workshops for peers, and participation in professional organizations at the local and national levels. Leadership Institute Teacher-Consultants form a pool of experts who continue to contribute to the growth and expansion of their professional communities.

Teachers can participate in the ISWP Leadership Institute as graduate students-at-large or as graduate students in the Department of English. If you are interested in additional professional education, The Leadership Institute of the Illinois State Writing Project (ENG 409.6) can be counted as part of the course work for our department’s Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program in the Teaching of Writing and/or for a Master’s in English.