Throughout this course you will explore and practice using writing as a means to help students develop and communicate their understanding of important disciplinary concepts and ideas. Practicing teachers will try out writing strategies that promote understanding of content and support the development of writing conventions. Administrators will explore ways to support writing across the content areas. Finally, you will learn how to develop rubrics and criteria for ongoing assessment that contribute to students' learning in the content area and their comfort and skill as writers.

Participants will notice two ongoing threads: exploring how writing helps to motivate and engage students in learning, and finding the balance between a crowded content curriculum and writing. During sessions 2, 3, and 4, you will incorporate writing strategies into your lessons. This will provide practice for the cumulative product of this course, which is a polished lesson plan incorporating writing that promotes content understanding.
The core questions we will investigate during this course are:

• What are the ways in which students can use writing skills to improve their understanding of disciplinary content in any subject?
• How can writing help students connect with, inquire into, and convey their understanding of disciplinary content?