The theme of this year’s National Day on Writing on October 20th is #WhyIWrite, which will also be the topic of our #nctechat this Sunday. The chat will focus not only on the idea of “Why I Write,” but will also be framed around the habits of mind presented in the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing that were developed by NCTE, the Council of Writing Program Administrators, and the National Writing Project.
As it states in the executive summary of the Framework:
Habits of mind refers to ways of approaching learning that are both intellectual and practical and that will support students’ success in a variety of fields and disciplines.
The habits of mind are:
- curiosity
- openness
- engagement
- creativity
- persistence
- responsibility
- flexibility
- metacognition
As you consider how you might celebrate National Day on Writing this year and the ways in which you can answer the question “Why I Write,” we hope you’ll take some time to explore these habits of mind as a gateway into that celebration. And if you need more reason to come join the #nctechat fun, a little birdie told me you might even see a collection of former #nctechat hosts as well as some other well-known NCTE members joining in the discussion. It’s all happening this Sunday at 8 PM ET on Twitter. We hope to see you there!
Here are the questions we’ll explore throughout our hour-long conversation:
- Curiosity: How do we foster it in writing? What part does this play in writing?
- Openness: In what ways does writing require it?
- Engagement: What does an engaged writer look like?
- Creativity: How can we make this part of the classroom of 2015?
- Persistence: How do writers build this?
- Responsibility: What are writers responsible for?
- Flexibility: How do we approach different expectations and demands in writing?
- Metacognition: How do your students know what they’re doing when they write? How do you?