The Midlands Writing Project (MWP) is a collaborative program of the University of South Carolina’s College of Education and school districts in Columbia, SC and throughout the Midlands, dedicated to improving the teaching of writing in all classrooms Pre K-12.
Dr. Beverly Busching founded the MWP, which is based at the University of South Carolina, in 1982. The Midlands Writing Project, currently directed by Mary Styslinger and co-directed by Libby Carmohan, Beverly Jackson and Victoria Oglan, is an official site of the National Writing Project, a nationwide program that works to:
- Improve students’ writing abilities by improving the teaching and learning of writing in the nation’s schools.
- Provide professional development
and enhance the professional roles of teachers.
- Improve students’ ability to use writing to learn in all subject areas.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Education studies from writing project sites across the country demonstrate the success of the NWP in improving the teaching of writing and student writing achievement. A sampling of these research results is available in Profiles of the National Writing Project. To receive a copy, please contact the NWP office, or download an electronic copy from the NWP website at http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/results.csp
Mission Statement
The MWP teacher development program focuses on the teaching of writing in all subject areas from the earliest grades through high school. Our goal is to help improve the writing abilities of all students and to create vital communities of thoughtful writers in all classrooms in our area -- rural, suburban, and urban. We recognize the potential of writing in learning in all disciplines, in the shaping of lives, and in the citizenship of a democracy. MWP teachers are learners, continually updating and deepening their understanding of promising practices in the teaching of writing. Firmly committed to the belief that teachers are the key to educational change, MWP uses the leadership of teacher consultants to offer a variety of programs, including in-service courses, workshop series, curriculum consulting, special events, student writing camps, teacher writing groups and informal teacher networking activities.
History of the National Writing Project
NWP sites, all located on university campuses, serve over 141,000 educators annually. NWP continues to add new sites each year with the goal of placing the writing project within reach of every teacher in America. The National Writing Project has served over 2 million teachers and administrators since 1974. In addition, the National Writing Project has received the highest national recognition for in-service programs:
The best large scale effort to improve composition instruction in operation in this country… - "The Carnegie Corporation of New York
…has been by far the most effective and ‘cost effective’ project in the history of the Endowment’s support for elementary and secondary education programs - " National Endowment for the Humanities on NWP
The South Carolina Writing Project
The South Carolina Writing Project (SCWP) is beginning its 17th year as the state network for the National Writing Project sites.
SCWP's goals, as part of the NWP, are:
- to improve student writing and learning in K-16 classrooms
- to extend the uses of writing in all disciplines
- to provide schools, colleges, and universities with an effective professional devleopment model
- to identify, celebrate, and enhance the professional role of successful classroom teachers
- to extend the services offered by NWP sites to South Carolina counties without current service
The Midlands Writing Project is proud to be affiliated with both the National Writing Project and the South Carolina Writing Project, while cooperating with the Writing Improvement Network. |
