Inside the National Writing Project

The National Writing Project has become one of the most influential and longest lasting professional development programs in the history of the United States. With 175 school/university sites in 49 states, it has the reputation of being a career-altering professional development experience. This volume looks at the National Writing Project, analyzes what makes it so successful, and shows how other professional development efforts can learn from it.

Inside the National Writing Project:

• Describes the principles of the Writing Project, its activities, its social practices, and the complexities involved in building and sustaining such a network.
• Studies the activities of two sites of the Writing Project—one in urban Los Angeles and one in rural Oklahoma—interjecting the voices of the participants throughout.
• Illuminates the link between network learning and classroom teaching by following six teachers who participated in NWP institutes to see what they took back to their classrooms.
• Describes a different way of thinking about professional development—one that involves teachers in their own learning, builds teacher leadership, and sustains teacher commitment to improvement.

Ann Lieberman was a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is now at Stanford University. Diane R. Wood is Assistant Professor at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Southern Maine.

“This thoughtful and thorough look at the National Writing Project offers rich grist for the mills of staff developers, teacher leaders, administrators, and others who would promote profound levels of learning in adults and youngsters alike.”
—Roland S. Barth, author, educator, and founding director of the Harvard Principals’ Center and of the International Network of Principals’ Centers.

“An essential addition to the education reformer’s bookshelf! Inside the National Writing Project shows how the social practices that suffuse this vital network transform teachers’ work and provide a powerful model of professional development that is applicable across settings.”
—Milbrey W. McLaughlin, David Jacks Professor of Education, School of Education, Stanford University

“This wonderfully insightful book is essential reading for those of us working within the National Writing Project. It illuminates the intellectual and social processes that promote teachers’ learning throughout their careers and highlights challenges and opportunities inherent in the network model.”
—Richard Sterling, Executive Director, National Writing Project