I. Individual Writing
Following the National Writing Project principle that teachers of writing should be writers themselves, participants will work on several pieces of individual writing, including:

• A personal narrative
• A genre piece
• Expository, persuasive, or professional writing

II. Writing Activities
Over the course of the Institute, there will be scheduled time for:

• Generating activities
• Individual writing
• Revision strategies
• Response-group meetings to discuss the pieces in progress
• Read-arounds of more or less completed pieces

III. Learner's Log
Participant's will keep a learner's log during the Institute in which they will record their experience as students of writing and teaching through reflective writing about their own development and about the issues being raised for them during the Institute. The learner's log is a place to:

• Explore ideas
• Reflect on workshop presentations
• Question others and themselves
• Respond to readings
• Consider the implications of particular theories and practices
• Identify points that confirm or challenge past experience

IV. Research
Participants will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of a particular issue of interest or concern to them about the teaching of writing through:

• Doing individual research
• Preparing teaching strategies
• Sharing information and questions with peers
• Preparing a workshop on the issue under study

V. Workshop
Participants will prepare and present a rehearsal of a ninety-minute workshop on the topic of their research. As part of this process, they will:

• Participate and model workshops presented by participants from previous Institutes
• Learn the characteristics of an effective workshop
• Work with a coach in preparing their own workshops
• De-brief their rehearsal through a conference with an Institute facilitator