Chapter 6: The Role of the National Writing Project in Closing the Gap Between Teacher Preparation and Teaching Writing in Secondary Schools

This chapter presents evidence from national assessments, like the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), about what improves student writing and what represents the most promising strategies and classroom practices. This chapter will demonstrate the ways the National Writing Project has been a key force in not only the professionalization of teachers in the schools, but also in helping teacher candidates connect writing theory and practice. Focusing on examples of partnerships between university instructors and writing project sites, this essay shows how writing project teacher-consultants, university instructors, and teacher candidates can productively collaborate.