Did you know that Weeping Water School uses the National Writing Project’s College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) to teach critical reading and writing to students in grades 7 – 9. This professional development and instructional resource helps teachers teach college and career-ready writing – with a specific emphasis on writing arguments based on nonfiction texts, an important skill for students today.
Our district was one of 47 schools selected to participate in a 1-year SRI International evaluation of C3WP, which showed positive and statistically significant effects on student achievement, critical thinking and evidence-based communication. At a time when young people receive news and information from social media, it’s crucially important that they understand how to think critically, question source legitimacy and form their own opinions.
We are proud to be a part of this study and to see firsthand the positive effects this method is having on our students. We are confident their reading and writing skills that they’re learning today will have significant impacts on their confidence, interest in civic engagement and constructive dialogue on issues that matter well into their futures.
Other Nebraska Schools have also seen the benefits of C3WP’s instructional practices. NeWP just finished professional development at Madison School District and Pierce School District. The teachers at these schools received regular, personalized training and collaboration from NeWP teacher consultants.
For more information about the study and its impacts on students, visit https://www.nwp.org/uploads/images/C3WP-Scale-Up-Research-Brief-April-2021_Acc.pdf. If you’d like to know more about how NeWP can support your district teachers through professional development in evidence-based argument writing, please contact Robert Brooke at rbrooke1@unl.edu.
