25th Annual Literacy Conference for Teachers attracts more than 400 educators

More than 400 educators from across the nation attended the UCI Writing Project’s 25th Annual Literacy Conference for Teachers, Grades K-12, on December 5. The daylong conference featured keynote addresses and targeted workshops in the theme of the conference, "Motivating and Engaging Young Readers and Writers." 

School of Education Professor Carol Booth Olson opened the conference by summarizing the impact of the conference on literacy instruction and commending the educators for their commitment to improving literacy opportunities for their students. 

"Over the years, the conference has become one of the key professional development events focused on literacy education in Southern California," Olson said. ​"It's wonderful to see old and new faces attending the conference over the years, because we know that they're a committed group who will be taking what they learn back to the schools, and improving student performance as a result."

Kelly Gallagher, Carol Booth Olson, Penny Kittle

The 2019 conference featured two keynote speakers: Kelly Gallagher, English Language Arts teacher at Magnolia High School, Anaheim, California, and Penny Kittle, Teaching Lecturer in English, Plymouth State University, who together co-authored 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents.
 
“Gallagher and Kittle collaborated for an entire school year: planning, teaching, and reflecting within their own and each other's classrooms in California and New Hampshire, then published what they learned in 180 Days," Olson said. “We are delighted to have the two master teachers on hand.”
 
Gallagher and Kittle co-delivered the morning keynote, entitled, “Motivating Young Writers: Relevance, Engagement, and Agency.”
 
​"By considering classroom condition grounded in these key principles - relevance, engagement, and agency - we can help writers construct identities of power and opportunity and to challenge themselves through meaningful talk in writing groups both inside and outside our classrooms,"  Gallagher said.

Following the morning keynote address, attendees expressed their appreciation for the benefits they receive from the annual conferences.

"I come to these Writing Project conferences because they inspire me," said Mary Wilson, Don Juan Avila Elementary teacher (right, top). 

​"I believe I’m a good reading and writing teacher because I’ve attended the Writing Project. You are around people who love teaching and want to be better at it. The presenters always give you practical advice that you can take back into the classroom. At the end of the day, I can’t wait to get back to my classroom and try the new techniques. Plus, part of the experience is validation of what I am doing, which I think is really important also."

​"We’ve been in our partnership with UCI Writing Project, and I’ve had the joy of attending these annual conferences, for seven years," said Lynn Schaulis, Teacher on Special Assignment, Literacy Specialist Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (right, bottom). 

​"Having such close proximity to the  big names – the gurus in the field - to hear first-hand their stories, their journeys as English teachers, is ever a call to action back in the classroom or in my support role with teachers. Just coming out of this opening session has raised the volume on reading and writing, and I can take new ideas back to the classroom tomorrow, or I can write a message to a teacher that I am working with. This definitely keeps the teachers going."

The afternoon keynote address, also delivered by Gallagher and Kittle, was entitled “Motivating Young Readers: Strategies for Engaging Inquiry with Books.”

"There is a big difference between compliant readers and engaged readers," Kittle said, "and there are strategies for moving all students — including those who have lost their momentum as readers — into engaging inquiry with books."

Following the keynote addresses, Kittle was effusive in her praise of the annual writing conference.

"Professor Olson has supported and empowered such an incredible group of educators," Kittle said. "The quality of talk about writing is better than anywhere... so impressive."  

Workshops included the following:

Morning Session

• “Expanding Understanding: Helping Children Generate Compelling Ideas and Develop Multiple Perspectives while Engaging with Multiple Texts, Grades K-6,” - Maria Nichols, Director of School Innovations, San Diego School District 
• “Awakening Our Dormant Writers: Practical and Creative Strategies to Engage Students in Idea Generating that Fosters¬ Their Writing Identity, Grades K-8,” - Lynne Dorfman, Literacy Coach and Staff Developer, Upper Moreland School District; Co-Director, PA Writing and Literature Project
• “Kernal Essays for Autonomy: Teaching Students to Become Self-regulating Designers of Their Writing, Grades 4-12,” - Gretchen Bernabei, Educational Consultant
• “The Academic Writing Apprenticeship: Helping Students Become More Engaged Writers and Legitimate Participants in the Intellectual Life of their Classroom through the Commentary Project, Grades 6-12,” - Sheridan Blau, Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University; Former President, National Council of Teachers of English
• “Workshopping the Canon: Revitalizing the ‘Classics’ with High Interest Text Sets, Workshop Structures, and Reading Strategies, Grades 7-12,” - Mary E. Styslinger, Associate Professor of English and Literacy Education, University of South Carolina; Past Director, Midlands Writing Project
• “How Do We Prepare Students for Success on Unfamiliar Literacy Tasks? Cultivating Independent Learners through Rhetorical ¬inking, Grades 7-12,” - Jennifer Fletcher, Professor of English, California State University Monterey Bay
• “All Truly Great ¬Thoughts Are Conceived by Walking: Using the ‘Walkabout’ Assignment to Motivate Reluctant Writers and Inspire the Creation of Multimodal/Digital Texts about Community Art, Grades 6-College,” - Cheryl Hogue Smith, Professor of English, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York; Chair, Two-Year College English Association​

Afternoon Session 

• “Expanding Understanding: Helping Children Generate Compelling Ideas and Develop Multiple Perspectives while Engaging with Multiple Texts, Grades K-6,” - Maria Nichols, Director of School Innovations, San Diego School District 
• “Awakening Our Dormant Writers: Practical and Creative Strategies to Engage Students in Idea Generating that Fosters¬ Their Writing Identity, Grades K-8,” - Lynne Dorfman, Literacy Coach and Staff Developer, Upper Moreland School District; Co-Director, PA Writing and Literature Project
• “Kernal Essays for Autonomy: Teaching Students to Become Self-regulating Designers of Their Writing, Grades 4-12,” - Gretchen Bernabei, Educational Consultant
• “The Academic Writing Apprenticeship: Helping Students Become More Engaged Writers and Legitimate Participants in the Intellectual Life of their Classroom through the Commentary Project, Grades 6-12,” - Sheridan Blau, Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University; Former President, National Council of Teachers of English
• “Workshopping the Canon: Revitalizing the ‘Classics’ with High Interest Text Sets, Workshop Structures, and Reading Strategies, Grades 7-12,” - Mary E. Styslinger, Associate Professor of English and Literacy Education, University of South Carolina; Past Director, Midlands Writing Project
• “How Do We Prepare Students for Success on Unfamiliar Literacy Tasks? Cultivating Independent Learners through Rhetorical ¬inking, Grades 7-12,” - Jennifer Fletcher, Professor of English, California State University Monterey Bay
• “All Truly Great ¬Thoughts Are Conceived by Walking: Using the ‘Walkabout’ Assignment to Motivate Reluctant Writers and Inspire the Creation of Multimodal/Digital Texts about Community Art, Grades 6-College,” - Cheryl Hogue Smith, Professor of English, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York; Chair, Two-Year College English Association

View images from the 2019 Literacy Conference here.

The 26th Annual Literacy Conference for Teachers will be held in December 2020.

ABOUT THE UCI WRITING PROJECT
Established in 1978, UCI Writing Project is the 13th site of the California Writing Project and the oldest of the Subject Matter Projects on the University of California, Irvine campus. Located in UCI's Graduate School of Education, UCIWP is one of 200 sites of the National Writing Project. UCIWP has trained 800 teachers/consultants from 85 local school districts and twelve colleges and universities. Additionally, the project has trained 675 teachers in its open program on Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking, and 600 teachers in the Governor's Professional Development Institutes. The project has reached over 20,000 teachers via conferences and inservice programs. It was the first California Writing Project site to create a summer youth program, which has grown from 35 students and 2 teachers in 1984 to more than 2500 students and 200 teachers in 2013. UCIWP has been hosting a yearly conference since 1995.