Network Logic - Index of

Untangling the threads
teachers experience what it means to be a student and they feel
viscerally what it means to engage in writing.
By the second day of the institute, teachers are reading their
unfinished pieces, working in their writing groups, teaching lessons to
a large group, reading educational literature and participating in
discussion groups. As the weeks progress, the institute runs itself as
the teachers take over primary responsibility for its rich, varied and
intense curriculum. Out of the give and take of these learning
activities, institute fellows develop characteristic ways of interacting
with one another. They develop, in effect, social practices that weave
together the process and content of their learning and embed the
cultural expectations and norms of the NWP, creating a strong
professional community. By the end of the institute, fellows have
internalised these practices, which include:
approaching every colleague as a potentially valuable
contributor
encouraging teachers to teach other teachers
creating public forums for sharing, dialogue, and critique
turning ownership of learning over to learners
situating learning in practice and relationships as well as
relevant knowledge
providing multiple entry points into learning
communities
thinking about teaching through reflection on learning
sharing leadership
adopting an enquiry stance
and rethinking professional identity and linking it to the
professional community.
The writing project approach to developing good writers and good
teachers underscores two principles. First, deep understanding arises
from practice – in both of its common meanings. That is, both writers
and teachers learn from doing. Writers get better at writing by
actually writing and teachers get better by teaching. Moreover, both
Demos 69