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The National Writing Project has become one of the most influential and longest lasting professional development programs in the history of the United States. With 175 school/university sites in 49 states, it has the reputation of being a career-altering professional development experience. This volume looks at the National Writing Project, analyzes what makes it so successful, and shows how other professional development efforts can learn from it.

Inside the National Writing Project:

• Describes the principles of the Writing Project, its activities, its social practices, and the complexities involved in building and sustaining such a network.
• Studies the activities of two sites of the Writing Project--one in urban Los Angeles and one in rural Oklahoma--interjecting the voices of the participants throughout.
• Illuminates the link between network learning and classroom teaching by following six teachers who participated in NWP institutes to see what they took back to their classrooms.
• Describes a different way of thinking about professional development--one that involves teachers in their own learning, builds teacher leadership, and sustains teacher commitment to improvement.