 Inservice Rationale The Oklahoma Writing Project (OWP) is a state-wide network of teacher consultants serving teachers of all grade levels, kindergarten through university, and devoted to improving the teaching of writing in Oklahoma schools. Working from a firm belief in the power of classroom experience and knowledge, the OWP employs as teacher-consultants (T-C's) Oklahoma teachers who have participated in the OWP invitational Summer Institutes. Throughout the school year, T-C's conduct workshops in district-sponsored inservice programs designed to meet the particular needs of the participating teachers. Each program includes demonstrations, with writing activities, of approaches to teaching writing that are classroom-tested and supported by current theory and research in writing. OWP's general aim in planning school-year programs is to offer series of workshops for a total of 15-21 hours. Typically, series consist of three-hour workshops scheduled after school or on Saturdays over several weeks or a full year; some schools schedule several full days of workshops during the summer. Districts may suggest other formats to meet their needs. All school-year inservice programs are fully funded by the schools receiving the inservice. Several of our programs are approved for graduate credit through Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education, specifically the 15-hour, 21-hour, and 30-hour programs. Usually these series consist of 3-hour workshops. In these cases, the sponsoring school or district pays for all direct program costs; graduate credit may be available by individual choice for those participants who wish to pay graduate tuition. The OWP Teacher-Consultant Inservice Catalog (compiled each fall) includes information about the workshops. With over 50 workshops available, there is plenty of variety, so schools can hold inservice programs with a different focus year after year. A site coordinator and the OWP Inservice Director will work with your district Staff Development Committee to plan a series to meet the needs of your district. For instance, you may focus a series on writing across the curriculum, raising district writing assessment scores, combining the arts with literature and writing, etc. The first step is to contact Janis Cramer, OWP Co-Director of Inservice, at (405) 495-4903, FAX (405) 495-2113 (cramerj@sbcglobal.net), or Priscilla Griffith, Director of OWP (pgriffith@ou.edu ). Costs and Payment Procedure Basically, the district contracts with the OWP and pays the OWP. The OWP/University, in turn, pays the individual presenters, the site coordinator, and administrative costs. The cost to your district is $130 per hour. For instance, for a 5-series, 3-hour workshop, the cost would be $1,950. Graduate Credit |