February 26, 2001 UCSC Writing Project documents 25 years of student, teacher success By Alyssa Clagg After 25 years of encouraging teachers to use writing as a tool to inspire their students, the Central California Writing Project at UC Santa Cruz has documented its achievements in a video designed to reinforce the importance of communication through writing. Entitled Beyond the Margins, the documentary celebrates the project's work aiding teachers and students in the greater Monterey Bay Area. Susana McNeely, left, and Shannon Churchey take part in the Invitational Summer Institute. "The video gives a feel for the spirit of the project," said Susan Freeman, codirector of the Central California Writing Project (CCWP). "The CCWP has developed its own voice, and by building a community of educators and writers, it shows the strength of that community to work toward positive change and allow students and teachers to have a voice." The Writing Project has generated a fellowship of more than 400 teachers who are actively engaged in the development of alternative models in the teaching of writing and reading comprehension. "The Writing Project provides a model for empowerment and making meaning for who we are in the world," Freeman said of the writing process. Each year, 20 teachers of all grade levels attend the project's Invitational Summer Institute, in which various aspects of pedagogy are explored in intensive study-group atmospheres. The 30-minute documentary captures the way CCWP participants use innovative teaching strategies to advance writing and critical-thinking skills, and it shows teachers discussing the theory and practice of teaching writing. "[The CCWP] is a unique and wonderful way to incorporate innovative teachers' methods and perceptions into a school's writing program. The video is extremely useful to demonstrate what the professional development of teachers might look like," said Writing Project director Donald Rothman. "It shows that the program works." On the video, teachers share strategies for teaching writing to diverse groups of students and discuss the ways that writing can expand student thinking and learning. Students share their writing assignments, expressing their feelings about everything from the atrocities of a drive-by shooting to the difficulties of living in an overcrowded apartment. "I can learn about problems that sixth graders have, and seventh graders, and I can better prepare myself for those problems when they do arrive," says one community college teacher in the video. Through the program, he is also "able to reflect on how I teach, answer questions about how I teach, and talk to other teachers about how they teach." By working with teachers, providing comprehensive writing agendas, and creating long-range partnerships with individual schools, the Writing Project has facilitated lasting relationships between local educators and the University of California. The CCWP is funded by the National Writing Project and California Writing Project, through which teachers receive additional support and services through UC and the state Department of Education. Freeman said the documentary "demystifies" the Writing Project by helping teachers become familiar with the program and introducing them to the idea of a collegial approach to professional development in teaching writing. "By receiving collegial support, teachers have more resources available to them," Freeman explained. "In working with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, for example, we are helping to implement a districtwide writing program in which there will be teacher dialogue and inquiry groups meeting at some schools once a month. With collegial support, teachers can explore and understand the relationship between their teaching and the outcomes of student writing." The documentary is evidence that effective writing instruction creates what Rothman calls "engaged learning communities" for both teachers and students. Sharing some of the program's strategies for success, Beyond the Margins makes the Writing Project accessible to more educators and encourages teachers to replicate the program in their schools. "Writing has a place in schools for students and teachers--to encourage complex, reflective thinking that can lead to new understandings and give voice to our ideas, experiences, and concerns," Freeman explained. "In doing so, it creates a democratic community dialogue in which each person is valued and respected for his or her contributions. The Central California Writing Project helps teachers take the lead in building literate communities in our schools." The video can be seen periodically on cable Channel 25. For more information on Beyond the Margins or the CCWP, call (831) 459-4506. Return to Front Page