Saturday Seminars

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WRITING AS A WAY OF LIVING & LEARNING

Join Hudson Valley Writing Project teachers to gain new insights and powerful practices that give students opportunities to use writing to develop their identities, make sense of the world, and express their ideas.

April 27, 2024

*Note: This event will be in the Lecture Center, in Room 104, off the South Lobby.

Event Schedule

8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m. Sign-in Registration, Welcome, Refreshments

9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. KEYNOTE ADDRESS

WRITING AS A TOOL FOR LIVING: Re-Imagining the Transformative Possibilities of Writing in a Challenging World

Increasingly, educators are coming to understand that student success has as much to do with factors such as self-efficacy and resiliency as with academic skills. Moreover, to meet the challenges they face in this post-pandemic, so-called post-truth world, students need more than academic competence. To that end, writing instruction should foster student well-being as well as competence, so that writing may become a tool for living in a complicated world.

Because writing is bound up in our sense of self, it has the capacity to transform how we understand ourselves in relation to the world we share. In this session, participants will explore how integrating ungraded and low-stakes writing practices into formal instruction can give our students access to this transformative power of writing.

Robert P. Yagelski is the Dorothy G. Griffin Professor of English Education and Chair of the Department of Educational Theory and Practice in the School of Education at the SUNY Albany, where he teaches in the doctoral program in curriculum and instruction and the graduate program in secondary teacher certification. He was Founding Director of the UAlbany Program in Writing and Critical Inquiry and Director of the Capital District Writing Project. Yagelski's latest book will be titled, Madeline Was Our Sister: Narrative, Truth-Seeking, and the Experience of Writing, and explores writing as a process of truth-seeking.

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. BREAKOUT SESSIONS

TO BE A WRITER: Identity & Identification

Rebecca Quackenbush, Chester Union Free School District

"Everyone is a writer." I tell my students this all of the time. But what happens when they actually begin to believe me? In this workshop, we will explore what happens when students internalize this idea and identify as writers. We'll study students' written reflections and engage in self-reflection as we discuss implications for future teaching and learning. (K-Grade 12)

EXPLODING THE OUTLINING PROCESS: Helping Students Understand Academic Writing Moves

Harriett Meyer, Highland High School

Graphic organizers are important tools for differentiation, scaffolding, and support; but do students come away with an understanding of academic writing that allows to them to express their ideas well? We will explore a deconstructed outlining process for academic writing and consider the implications for student thinking and writing. (Grades 4-12)

POETIC FORM AS PLAY: The Pantoum

Meg Davis Roberts, SUNY New Paltz

Working with poetry in the classroom—especially with poetic form—can be intimidating, both for teachers and students. But what if we rethought poetry as play? Join this workshop session to write poetry and learn about the pantoum form. We will engage in low-stakes poetry writing practices and discuss easily adaptable and fun pantoum writing materials for the classroom. (Grade 4-College)

GUIDING PEER RESPONSE: Using Appreciative Inquiry for Student-to-Student Feedback

Sam Mossman, Crispell Middle School

Young people want and need feedback on their writing to become better writers. When students provide feedback to their peers, they gain valuable learning experiences and insights. In this workshop, we will examine an appreciative inquiry framework that can inspire and guide students as they begin the conversation on feedback with fellow writers. (Grade 5-College)

April 27, 2024| 8:30 am- 12:00 pm | SUNY New Paltz - Lecture Center - Room 104

HVWP is a NYSED-approved sponsor of CTLE.

Certificates documenting 3 CTLE hours available upon request.

Registration fees: $15 in advance / $20 at the door | $5 for college students

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Saturday Seminars are an opportunity for teaching professionals, candidates, and students to brush up on key classroom skills while learning practices and methods from colleagues in the field. HVWP holds 4-6 Saturday Seminars each year during the fall, winter, and spring.

Saturday Seminars regularly feature our Institute cohort members leading small, practical workshops tailored around a theme or concept, often led by interactive keynotes from respected leaders in the field.

To receive announcements about future Saturday Seminars and other HVWP programs, please join our email list.

Please note that this event will take place in person at SUNY New Paltz in the Lecture Center. See the SUNY New Paltz campus map for directions and parking.

COST: $15 in advance/ $20 at the door ($5 for college students)

HVWP is a NYSED-approved sponsor of CTLE. Participants will receive certificates documenting 3 CTLE hours after the event, upon request.

Questions? Please email us at hvwp@newpaltz.edu or call (845) 257-2836.

This program is provided with support from the School of Education and Campus Auxiliary Services at SUNY New Paltz.