Bluebonnet Writing Project Summer Institute Orientation

Good Morning and thank you for attending our Bluebonnet Writing Project Orientation.

Today's Schedule:
9-10 Message from Dr. Hirtle
Pass out books, Because Writing Matters
Read The Green Stone
Write a response to The Green Stone
Debrief

10-? Dr. Pete Smith--Overview of Technology
Scott Massey--Technology Particulars

Message from Dr. Hirtle:

I am sorry I can not be with you today. I am with my mom and dad in Louisiana while my dad is in the hospital. Our associate director, Janelle Quintans is teaching in the Bluebonnet Young Authors Camp as you've probably seen today, and our co-associate, Joyce Jacobs is attending a professional development in FWISD. Luckily, my colleague, Beverly Boulware has graciously volunteered her time to be with you today! We each want to extend you a warm welcome and tell you how happy you are you've decided to become part of our Bluebonnet Writing Project. We are like an extended community--a family of writers and this experience will hopefully be a positive one that will support you in your teaching and writing endeavors for many years to come. In this Summer Institute you will make many friends who will continue to support you long after the institute is over.

You are receiving a copy of the National Writing Project's publication, Because Writing Matters, and we would like you to read it before the Summer Institute which begins July 9. It is an easy and interesting read and we'd like you to take a few minutes to record your thoughts and reactions to this text as you read. We have a Bluebonnet Writing Project blog on which we'd like you to post your comments about the text. The blog can be found at on our in our virtual Bluebonnet Village at http://www.txbluebonnetwp.org and specifically on http://www.txbluebonnetwp.org/bluebonnet/Blog/Blog.html Please be aware that we are loaning you Because Writing Matters and you will receive your texts for the course after the Summer Institute begins.


Dr Pete Smith, Assistant Academic Vice President at UTA and Director of the Center for Distance Education at UTA, and advisor to the Bluebonnet Writing Project will be visiting you at 10:00 overviewing some of our philosophy, goals and plans for utilizing technology in our Summer Instiute. Pete is one of most incredible supporters and he, brings us, among other things, Tuesdays with Technology--an important feature of the SI.

Scott Massey, the Director of Training for the Center for Distance Education at UTA, will be here at 10:00 AM (als0) to help you get a blog set up to record your thoughts, opinions, actions, reactions and other things you'd like to share now that you are a Bluebonnet. Integrating technology in a natural and functional way is part of the BWP philosopy and we hope that you enjoy what you will experience with teaching and learning with technology this summer.

Scott Floyd is our off site Technology Liaison and we hope that he will be able to visit us in person for some experiences as well as meet with us via Skype in a live video teaching experience.

Our summer experience will include daily reading, writing, responding, teaching and discussions. You will create a:

Teaching Demonstration
Critical Incident
Story of Choice (Could be critical incident in another genre)
Inquiry Question (with why this question is important to you and to teaching and learning)
Review of the LIterature (supporting your inquiry question)
Proposed Methodology
Digital Story
Blog

Do not worry about doing this work in advance or in a hurry. The purpose of this institute is to take you through five weeks of immersion in writing, inquiry, reading, teaching, and discussing. You have time to do this work here with some reading at home. These five weeks are for you to explore in a supportive and positive learning community. Take your time and enoy the process.

Now to help you begin your thinking I would like you to listen to a story that my colleague Beverly will read to you. It is The Green Stone by Alice Walker. After she reads the story we will ask you to write a response to it.

Read the The Green Stone by Alice Walker

What does the Green Stone represent in this story?

If you had to define a Green Stone in your teaching, how would you define it?

Is there a time you felt you really had (metaphorically) "the green stone" and you did some of your best teaching? If so, can share in story format, a critical incident in your teaching where you felt you did inspired work and were successful--where you made a difference in a student's life? Describe the student. Describe the problem. Describe what you tried. Describe the outcome.

Is there a time you felt you really had (metaphorically) "the green stone" and you were challenge in your teaching? If so, can share in story format, a critical incident in your teaching where you felt you stumbled--where you could not reach someone you really wanted to reach. Describe the student. Describe the problem. Describe what you tried. Describe the outcome.

Pairs Sharing:

Share what you have written outloud to one other person.
Listener: Please record the "heart" of what you heard on a post it note. Read what you wrote to the person who shared the story. Then give them the post it note.

Reverse the procedure now. The listener becomes the sharer and the sharer become the listener and responder.

Group Debriefing:

Beverly: Would anyone like to share their story?
What did you learn from the feedback your listener gave you?
Is there anything you learned that you would like to do further research on to help you in your teaching?

Please save this rough draft and begin to work on it going into more detail with the telling of your story. Make sure the critical incident is written with a problem, characters, setting and solution. Bring the critical incident back to the first day of the summer institute.

Also bring a digital picture of yourself to the summer institute.

We will see you on the blog and see you July 9 at 9:00 AM in Library 512!