Who We Are

The Columbus-Area Writing Project (CAWP) is an affiliate of the National Writing Project (NWP), a federally funded initiative to improve the teaching of writing in the nation’s schools.  The CAWP is also a professional development project of The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology.

The co-directors of the CAWP are David Bloome, Kevin Cordi, Robin Holland, George Newell and Melissa Wilson. We believe that writing is fundamental to learning across the curriculum, from preschool through university.  Students need frequent opportunities to write in all of their classes.  We also believe that writing contributes to both academic excellence and social justice; and all students can become effective writers who enjoy writing.

What is known about the teaching of writing comes not only from research but also from the practice of those who teach writing.  Therefore, we believe that professional development needs to be based on teachers teaching, sharing, and exploring with each other.  As there is no single “right” approach to the teaching of writing, we encourage a critical examination of a variety of approaches from a variety of sources.

Although learning to teach writing well requires commitment, energy, and a willingness to take reasonable ‘risks,’ we think that professional development should be fun, affirming, renewing, and should help each teacher develop leadership qualities.