We still do not know what our classes or schools will look like in the fall, but we do know that we all have to do some serious thinking about how we will teach. We know that we will need to be flexible. We know that we will need new strategies and tools to meet the variable needs of our students. We know that we will need new procedures and plans to engage our students without burning ourselves out.
The Morehead Writing Project Online Summer Institute will provide educators with a supportive collaborative community as well as tools and strategies to meet our challenging and changing education environment. “The Summer Institute has always been a life- and career-changing experience,” said Dr. Deanna Mascle, director of the Morehead Writing Project. “But this year we are uniquely situated to offer the wealth of our experience teaching online and hybrid classes in addition to our comprehensive literacy tools. We will enter a new stage of pandemic teaching in the fall and the Online Summer Institute can help teachers prepare.”
The National Writing Project has been delivering research-based comprehensive literacy professional development for decades and the Morehead Writing Project has been delivering online professional development (led by Kentucky educators with experience teaching online and hybrid classes) for almost a decade. “NWP and specifically the Morehead Writing Project know how to teach online and hybrid classes. We have our personal experience as well as our national network to support this work. The Morehead Writing Project Online Summer Institute is a unique professional development experience — and it is one that many teachers need in our current moment.”
The Online Summer Institute offers research-backed PD designed to fit the individual schedules and needs of educators. This professional development is approved by the Kentucky Department of Education, the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant, the FY20 Kentucky Comprehensive Literacy grant, and the Effective Instructional Leadership Act which makes this professional development right for teachers, teacher leaders, literacy coaches, supervisors of instruction, and administrators.
Benefits offered by the Morehead Writing Project’s Online Summer Institute include:
- An online self-paced program, educators will gain first-hand experience that can later be applied to their specific teaching context
- Project-based learning is embedded in the program to help educators gain first-hand experience and insight into developing their own project-based units of instruction
- The creation of individual online lesson plans is a requirement of the OSI which means educators will be coached through the process and gain access to both models and a library of resources that can be adapted for their classroom needs
- Led by educators with experience teaching both online and hybrid classes, participants will be introduced to a wide range of tools and strategies that can be harnessed for their future teaching challenges
- Comprehensive literacy instruction (reading, writing, and critical thinking) runs throughout the work of the OSI which will help educators at any level across all content areas embed these strategies in their classes
Learn more on the Morehead Writing Project web site or contact Site Director Dr. Deanna Mascle for details.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- IS THERE A CHARGE? Yes. The cost is $1,000 for 36 hours of professional development credit. Those interested in graduate credit can enroll in Eng 608 for three graduate credit hours (and Eng 609 for an additional three hours and a total of six) through Morehead State University’s graduate program. Students enrolled in the classes for graduate credit do not need to pay the PD fee.
- WHO SHOULD ENROLL? Educators from kindergarten through college in any discipline, teacher leaders, literacy coaches, supervisors of instruction, and principals. We are approved to provide professional development by the Kentucky Department of Education. We are also a preferred provider for the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant and the FY20 Kentucky Comprehensive Literacy grant. In addition, the OSI has been approved for EILA credit.
- WHAT IS THE TIME COMMITMENT? The OSI will take place during the Summer I (June 8-July 2) session at Morehead State University. The Summer Institute will be offered asynchronously which means there is not a specific time and date that you need to work. There will be weekly expectations, but you can meet those on a schedule that best fits your life at the time. You should expect 8-10 hours of work each week (obviously double that if you elect to take six graduate hours). You will also have the opportunity to jumpstart the work if you sign up now.