WRITING ABOUT TEACHING: A Vehicle for Reflective Practice & Inquiry

INSTRUCTOR(S): Mark Bingen, Waukesha School District
GRADE LEVEL: 6-12
CREDIT: 1, 2 or 3
 

Teaching is about curriculum and instruction.  There are reams of books and stacks of programs on curriculum.  There are, however, few courses on instruction.  This is a writing course based on you, based on your instruction, based on your stories and experiences, based on analysis:

	Why did you start to teach - who and what were your influences?
	What do you do best while teaching - what are the stories that reveal this?
	What are your areas of improvement - what stories reveal this?
	What lessons have been particularly effective - how can this be reproduced?
	What educational journals might be willing to print your story?

This course is based on the principle that self-reflection on theoretical and real issues encountered in the life of a teacher is essential to the acquisition of experiential learning and the incorporation of the values and behaviors of the educational professional.

In the midst of writing about the art of teaching, we will be studying and experiencing the use of writing in a classroom setting.  By combining process writing and workshop techniques with six-trait terminology and analysis, participants will fully understand the power and value of an integrated writing approach first-hand.