Final Research Reflections - Jen Liddy

I came to SI wanting to revamp my college-level writing course so that my writers could continue to improve without continuing to burn myself out. However, once I began Summer Institute, more questions quickly arose: “How can I encourage my students to write more without needing my approval and feedback on every piece? How can I empower them to own their work and care whether they’ve been heard?” From there, many more questions were generated. I read numerous texts to help me answer these, but what truly inspired me and really shaped my research was what I saw happening in real time during Summer Institute.

In Summer Institute, there is authentic and high-level learning going on everyday in a fairly unstructured environment. Teachers are treated as professionals, a novelty for most of us, and we are provided tools and encouragement to reach our goals. In this environment, I am thriving as a writer and a thinker. I am challenged, but not overtly or coarsely. No one tells me what to do, but I am inspired by what I see others doing. From day one, I wondered how to replicate this model in my classroom.

Ultimately, NWP’s Summer Institute is student-centered, and this is why it works. I have always said my classroom is student centered and that I am merely a facilitator, but I realize now that I have a long way to go before making that claim as truth. As I undertook the task of revising my first unit in English 098, a non-credit Fundamentals of Writing class, I had to revise and revise and revise my approach to teaching. I rewrote a unit plan on teaching the narrative essay by using the modeling, interactions, demos, and prompts I had experienced in SI.  However, I found it difficult to do because, since I’ve been teaching for so long, I have some teaching habits that needed to be explored and expunged. During this unit revision, I was mentally exhausted at the end of each day because I fundamentally re-wiring my brain to approach teaching (and specifically the teaching of writing) in a truly student-centered manner.

At the end of these three weeks, I have been exposed to excellent resources in the form of published authors, but it was my personal interactions with the directors, assistant directors, and participants that most effectively, vehemently, and powerfully affected the changes I now see in my revised curriculum. I would like to thank the NWP for this valuable professional development opportunity, as well as those with whom I worked closely, these women who taught, modeled, and provided feedback for me in an inspiring, supportive manner.

In honor of Friday love letter writing, this is my love letter to NWP. I think my students will thank you too.

Sincerely,

Jen Liddy

Adjunct Instructor, Cayuga Community College