NeWP: Week 1

My first week in the Nebraska Writing Project is over and I am about to begin my second week. I can honestly say that I enjoy this program. There are 18 people total, three facilitators and 15 Nebraska teachers ranging from 1st grade to college professors. Here is a typical day in the NeWP:

1. Free-write for 10 minutes
2. Meet with our permanent small groups to share a new piece of writing and receive feedback
(1 hr.)--this is probably one of my favorite parts. I truly enjoy reading writing from my group members and receiving helpful feedback to better myself as a writer.
3. One of the class members presents their EQUIP for 90 minutes. This is a project that we develop based on expertise we may have with a certain topic/issue (E), questions we may have about education or any other pertinent issue (QU), inquiry into an issue/topic (I), or problems we see or may have in our classrooms (P). I have to be honest, at first I was extremely intimidated and scared of this portion of the program. But after participating in the first week of EQUIPs and starting research on my own EQUIP, I am excited.
4. We usually break for lunch around 1 or 1:30
5. Afternoons are dedicated either to guest speakers who are experts on writing and teaching, time with small groups to inquire about professional development topics (I just finised reading "Writing to Change the World" by Lincoln author Mary Pipher), or writing time to respond to people or to post on the National Writing Project's E-Anthology (an on-line forum for all NWP participants to write and respond).

It counts as six hours towards my master's degree, but I see it as so much more than a requirement. I have already learned so much and have met many great people, it seems that Nebraska is full of great people :)

Until next time,
D