The Most Powerful PD by Cherylann Schmidt

For 13 years, I thought of myself as a writing teacher. I wore that identity as a team jersey. Mind you though, I never really wrote and didn’t think of myself as a writer.

In 2007, I began working on a doctorate in Reading, Writing, Literacy, and what I learned was that writing is hard. Very hard. Sometimes I wanted to cry. Sometimes I wanted to give up. Sometimes I felt that I had nothing to say. Sometimes I felt I had a lot to say and no way to say it.

Quite simply put, my writing life became the most powerful PD I have ever embarked upon. I transitioned from writing teacher to writer.

I found feedback to be the most important writing tool I used, so I began to look more deeply at the feedback I give student writing. My comments changed from being scribbled notes on their final drafts to a separate typed page. Using their own words, I began to show students how their writing could be improved. I used phrases such as “What would happen if you…” I stopped being the final say and started mentoring them as novice writers, giving them control over their words.

Now when I hand scored essays back, I give students reflection questions to answer--questions that make them read and think about the feedback. I allow students to revise an already graded paper in order to apply feedback.

I continue to reflect on my practice as a writer, and this process continues to weave its way into my teaching. My identity has changed once more from writing teacher to coach. Just as coaches show their novice athletes how to handle a ball or racket, I show my novice writers how to brainstorm, draft, conference, and draft again.




Cherylann Schmidt is a writer, middle school ELA teacher in NJ, and professor in the Urban Teaching Residency program in GSE at UPenn. Her toughest critic and taskmaster is her Pit Bull, Keira. She maintains a blog about YA Literature and adolescent reading at www.youngadultreader.com. Cherylann can be found on Twitter at @ya_reader or @DrSchmidtJPC