5 questions on ... the Maryland Writing Project

Photo by Kanji Takeno

Do the write thing

Catherine Hearn, co-director of the Maryland Writing Project, says the MWP is not just for K-12 teachers. TU faculty and staff can improve their writing and teaching skills through Write to Learn Saturday workshops and the Summer Invitational Institute.

What is the Maryland Writing Project?

The Maryland Writing Project, or MWP, is an affiliate of the National Writing Project (NWP), which was created in the 1970s at University of California, Berkeley by James Gray, a former high school English teacher, as a way to improve the teaching of writing. Gray believed teachers who teach writing should be writers themselves, and that writing is an important component of learning.

The NWP, which is federally funded and supports the No Child Left Behind Act, has expanded to 200 sites across the United States. The Maryland Writing Project, which has been at TU since 1984, receives grant support from the NWP. The MWP has since expanded with satellite sites in Frederick and in Southern Maryland.

What type of teachers does the MWP serve?

During the past three decades we’ve served thousands of teachers and administrators, from Pre-Kindergarten to the university level, in all content areas—from art and music and physical education to science, mathematics and English.

What is the Summer Invitational Institute?

It’s our primary offering, worth six graduate credits, that runs from four to six weeks each summer. After an application and interview process, we invite 16 to 25 expert teachers from all levels and content areas to come to TU and share their best practices for the teaching of writing. Teachers develop a presentation during the course, which we encourage them to share with other faculty at their own schools and beyond. Teachers also work on their personal writing and do academic research on the teaching of writing.

Does the MWP work only with teachers?

We also work with TU students and with grade-school students. Through the College of Education we offer Towson students six to nine sections of EDUC 301, Writing and Communication Skills for Teachers. We also run a Student Writers' Workshop Summer Program for students in grades 2 through 12.

Tell me about the Write to Learn Saturday Workshops.

We hold sessions on Saturday mornings once a month from September to May—the next one is this Saturday, Sept. 29—where teachers who have graduated recently from the summer institute, our “teacher-consultants,” give their presentations to an audience of local teachers. It’s a great introduction to what the MWP does. Workshops are free, but registration is required so that we’re sure to have enough refreshments. Visit http://wwwnew.towson.edu/mwp/freesat.htm for details.

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