The Summer Institute

The Summer Insitute is a four-week writing and learning retreat open to teachers of all disciplines and grade levels. Its goal is to produce better teachers of writing by producing better writers among teachers. Participants are introduced to new and inventive teaching strategies, gain confidence and validation for their current best practices, and are treated to a collegial environment for fellowship, shared brainstorming and troubleshooting.

The institute meets daily from 9-4. The morning is spent experiencing guided writing activities and mini-lessons on the craft of teaching. During the morning session, participants also share instructional demonstrations and reflect on relevant professional literature. The MWP Writing Marathon and Writing Walk-About are two of the highlights of the summer as well as our MWP Open Mic at CoffeeTree Books. In the afternoon, participants are given two hours of uninterrupted time to write in solitude or to meet in small peer conferencing groups. MWP also hosts local authors and editors to conference with participants. At the end of the day, participants meet for an hour of sharing and reflecting.

Teachers who join the Summer Institute take risks and gain confidence with their own writing as well as learn research-based writing strategies for the classroom. They learn how to establish writing workshops in their classrooms, how to integrate writing notebooks and electronic portfolios, and how to conference with students about their writing. In past years, participants from the MWP Summer Institute have been published in regional, state and national professional and literary.

• An $800 stipend for completing the Summer Institute and attending four (4) follow-up meetings in the year following the Institute
• Free housing on MSU's campus during the Summer Institute
• Six hours of graduate credit