Coaching Teacher Writers Practical Steps to Nurture Professional Writing

When teachers write, good things can happen; writing helps educators to better understand themselves, as well as students, parents, and colleagues. This practical book illustrates how to encourage, lead, and sustain teacher-writers, especially in group contexts. In contrast to guides on writing and teacher research, this book is designed for those who support teacher-writers, such as teacher educators and literacy coaches. The authors offer descriptions of key practices they have developed over years of coaching, teaching, and collaborating with K-12 teachers who write about classroom instruction, teacher research, or advocacy for better policy and pedagogy. Knowing firsthand just how hard writing can be for teachers, they provide a repertoire of strategies to elicit writing, to support teachers as they write, to find audiences for teachers' work, and much more.

This book offers clear guidance to coach teacher-writers to:

• Choose topics and shape ideas.
• Conquer insecurities and draw from their strengths.
• Establish authority with their audience.
• Navigate publishing, including choosing venues and working with editors.
• Find time and space to write and create the habits of writing daily.
• Respond to audience reaction to their writing.
• Reflect on their teaching and writing.
• Develop a voice and vision as a professional.