Becoming a writer : the personal and pedagogical effects of participating in a writing group on teachers of writing

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact the Tennessee Governor's Academy for Teachers of Writing had on the eleven members of one core writing group in terms of their understanding of writing and their beliefs about how writing should be taught. In order to accomplish this purpose, a qualitative study was designed that focused on collecting data that would reveal the individual perceptions and experiences of the participants. The researcher became a member of the core group under study and conducted in-depth interviews with each of her co-participants following the Academy. These interviews were analysed using the constant comparative method of Glaser and Strauss. Hyperqual, a software program for qualitative analysis, was used in the unitizing and categorizing phases to simplify data management.

The study explores the experience of the Governor's Academy from the point of view of the participants because without their unique perspective this learning situation could not be fully understood. Although researchers have found that writing groups and projects can provide teachers with an impetus for positive change in the pedagogy of writing, they have not explored why this is so.

The members of the core writing group that participated in this study were all teachers. Upon entering the Academy, they were faced with the challenge of taking on two additional roles: those of learner and writer. Because at that time the Academy literature was very unclear about what would take place during their two weeks at the Academy, they arrived expecting to be learners, but few expected to become writers. However, by their own reports, they did.

Writing assignments allowed for a great latitude of interpretation, and core group members were encouraged to write from personal experience. The sharing of writing in the core group was a daily occurrence, one that was, at least at first, somewhat frightening for most of the members. However, the supportive and intimate environment of the core group provided a venue where participants could share their writing safely while receiving the feedback they desired and needed in order to improve.

Following the Academy, participants continued to write and to become more comfortable and confident their roles as writers. Changes in their understanding of writing and of the personal importance of writing were effected as they reflected on the meaning writing and the Academy experience held for them. These changes were mirrored in their beliefs about the teaching of writing and in their pedagogical practices. Increased emphasis on writing in the classroom, widespread use of journals, more freedom provided to students in the selection and construction of writing projects, increased emphasis on expressive writing, and a lessening of emphasis on grammatical correctness were some of the teaching changes these teachers attributed to alterations in their perspectives toward writing resulting from their participation in the Governor's Academy.