What writing experiences do teachers bring to their teaching? How might writing facilitate membership in a professional community? How do teacher-writers contend with issues of authority and agency? How do teachers’ writing experiences affect their classroom practices with respect to writing? And what happens when writing becomes a feature of high-quality professional development
Current projects in this area:
The Centre Teacher-Writers are a group of Centre County teachers and teacher educators who meet to support one another in professional writing. The group meets monthly during the academic year and more frequently in summer, including an annual multiday writing retreat which I co-lead. Teachers in the group have submitted work to academic journals as well as magazines; the group also has had a column in the Centre Daily Times newspaper focusing on issues affecting teachers and their students.
Publications on the Teacher-Writer:
Whitney, A. E. (in press; forthcoming Fall/Winter 2020) Teachers writing, healing, and resisting. Accepted for Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education.
Washell, D., McCracken, M., and Whitney, A. E. (2020). Partners at work. PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, Spring 2020 issue.
Damico, N. & Whitney, A. E. (2017). Getting Off Autopilot: Mindful Writing for Teachers. Voices from the Middle 25(2), 37-40.
Whitney, A. E. (2017). Developing the teacher-writer in teacher education and professional development. In Locke, T., & Cremin, T. (Eds.) Writer identity and the teaching and learning of writing. London: Routledge. Invited chapter. Peer reviewed edited volume.
Hicks, T., Whitney, A. E., Fredricksen, J., & Zuidema, L. (2016). Coaching Teacher- Writers: Practical Steps to Nurture Professional Writing. New York: Teachers College Press.
Fallon, L., & Whitney, A. E. (2016). “It’s a two-way street”: Giving feedback in teacher writing groups. Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education. Fallon is a doctoral student.
Whitney, A. E., Hicks, T., Zuidema, L., Fredricksen, J., & Yagelski, R. (2014). Teacher-Writers: Then, Now, Next Research in the Teaching of English 49(2) 177-184.
Arshavskaya, E., & Whitney, A. E. (2014). Promoting pre-service second language (L2) teacher learning via narrative: A sociocultural perspective. Journal of Language Teaching and Research 5(4), 731–741. Arshavskaya was a doctoral student.
Whitney, A. E., Zuidema, L. & Fredricksen, J. (2014). Understanding teachers’ writing: Authority in talk and texts. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice 20(1) 59-73.
Whitney, A. E. (2012). Lawnmowers, parties, and writing groups: What teacher-authors have to teach us about professional writing. English Journal 101(5), 51-56.
Whitney, A. E., Anderson, K., Dawson, C., Kang, S., Olan, E., Olcese, N., & Ridgeman, M. (2012). Audience and authority in the professional writing of teacher-authors. Research in the Teaching of English 46(4), 390-419. Anderson was a master’s student; Kang, Olan, Olcese, and Ridgeman were doctoral students.
Whitney, A. E. (2010). The voices of teachers: A resounding tradition. Catalyst for Change 36(2), 1-3.
Whitney, A. E. (2009). NCTE journals and the teacher-author: Who and what gets published. English Education 41(2), 101-113.
Whitney, A. E. (2009). Opening up the classroom door: Writing for publication. Voices from the Middle 16(4), 17-24.
Whitney, A. E. (2009). Classroom teachers as authors of the professional article: National Writing Project influence on teachers who publish. In Bazerman, C., Krut, R., Lunsford, K., McLeod, S., Null, S., Rogers, P., & Stansell, A., (Eds.), Traditions of Writing Research, 237-248. New York: Routledge. Peer reviewed edited volume.