Looking Backwards: The WPCTE English Festival by John Manear

The annual WPCTE English Festival has become the signature activity for WPCTE for the last twenty-nine years.  When I accepted the position of Executive Director in the late 80s, it was to allow for the continuity of the council’s work when new officers were elected every three years.  Two initiatives that the council promoted are still in effect today: free membership and the annual English Festival.

The late Dr. Albert Labriola from Duquesne University served as WPCTE President beginning in 1990.  He and I felt that the membership would be interested in an activity which would involve students in the promotion of reading.  We visited Youngstown University’s English Festival, already in operation for several years.  We came back and presented our observations and a proposal to our council, and the rest is history.  Twenty-nine years of history.    

The purpose of the Festival is enrichment. As adapted from our influence from the Youngstown Festival, participating students are required to read six novels selected by the committee.  Schools register teams of 3-5 students who challenge teams from other schools on the Festival day in activities such as Trivia, Talk Show, and Insights.  A modified schedule was also adopted for the grades 4-6 Festival day which started up the following year at a different date and location.  A featured author of one of the book selections is invited to make a presentation and sign books.  Some of the national and local authors who have participated have included Bette Green, Chris Crutcher, Todd Strosser, M. E. Kerr, Naomi Shiab Nye and Sharon Draper and locally Patricia Easton, Sharon Flake, and Philip Baird.

The location for the Festival for grades 7-12, due to the involvement of Dr. Labriola, was Duquesne University.  It was the generous offer of the university facilities and its services from the outset that has made the inception, expansion and continuation of the Festival possible.  The same holds true for the use of my school, Seton-La Salle High School, for the Festival for grades 4-6.

The timing of the Festival has a history of its own.  Originally, the Festival day was scheduled in order to take advantage of Duquesne’s spring break when classes would not be in session.  All went well for a few years until, for several years in a row, March snowstorms attacked.  We were not able to reschedule because of our use of the campus, commitment of author engagements, and last minute school cancellations.  That is when we wisely rescheduled to May.

 

The attendance at the Festival began with about 30 schools and 500 students.  After that, and with the addition of the day for grades 4-6, we have typically hosted over 1200 students each year.  The records also reveal several schools and teacher moderators have returned repeatedly over the years.  Likewise, several members of the committee have been loyal supporters for many years.

With the unfortunate necessity to cancel the 2020 Festival, we are optimistic that the 2021 virtual Festival will continue to motivate and inspire our membership and the students we hope to make lifetime readers.

Author’s Bio: John Manear is a classroom teacher of 57 years, an NCTE member for 55 years, and a WPCTE member for 52 years.  He has served two terms as WPCTE President, and since 1989, as Executive Director.  He has served on the Executive Board of NCTE, and as a member of the Secondary Committee.  He served as the local chair of both the 1993 and 2005 NCTE conventions here in Pittsburgh.  Since the inception of the English Festival in 1993, he has served as Coordinator.

Project-Based Learning: Beyond the Poster Board by Casey Sirochman

    On January 19, 2021, Nicholas Provenzano, author of Beyond the Poster Board: Project-Based Learning in the English Language Arts Classroom, attended and spoke at the WPCTE Book Club discussion. Like the book, the author offered several anecdotes in regard to integrating project-based learning (PBL) in an English Language Arts classroom. Provenzano provided both live and in-print practical ways to redesign and reimagine already-developed teacher-led assignments. He suggested that teachers new to PBL explore the ideas of making one assignment in a unit more authentic and student-driven. Nicholas also talked about how it can sometimes be difficult for teachers to give up the control in the classroom. Furthermore, he mentioned (both live and in-print) the importance of remembering to learn from setbacks and failures. The book mentions one particular assignment the author thought was a failure. During the short hour-long book discussion, I did not have a chance to ask him about the failed assignment and some other questions. Hence, below are the questions and answers to my follow up email questions:

Sirochman: Walden Pond Project - did you ever revive, update or change?

Provenzano: No. I moved away from it because I realized I wasn’t assessing anything meaningful with the assignment. I moved to a project where students tried to create a perfect Transcendentalist society and explored how rules and government fit in with this philosophy.

    During the book discussion, he spoke about the idea that with computer coding it is typically not a failure if a program does not work correctly; instead they say, ''It is not a mistake, it is a feature!” This is my new favorite quote! 

    In the book, he mentions the idea of PBL on a spectrum. The idea being that there can be many different types of PBL opportunities. I asked him another follow up question about this concept. 

Sirochman: I love the idea of the PBL spectrum, and I would love to see a visual representation - do you have one or know of one?

Provenzano: I’ve never created a graphic that breaks down the spectrum. The main reason is that parts of each idea bounces around the spectrum. I feel like it is hard to visualize in a meaningful way. I am not saying it can’t be done, I just haven’t found the right image in my head yet. 

In relation to the idea of PBL on a spectrum, Provenzano also offers in his book a list of myths related to PBL. He has in print if anyone can think of more myths to let him know. In my follow up email questions, I offered this statement and his response is below: 

Sirochman: In regards to the myths, I would suggest that it can be a myth of PBL to require them to all end in the creation of a public product or community connection.

Provenzano: I feel that PBL does need to end with some type of artifact that represents the learning that has taken place. I also believe that there needs to be an element of sharing what you have learned as well. Now, that doesn’t mean everything should be a school wide or community wide presentation, but presenting to the class is important. It helps build presenting skills, but it also helps share learning with others in the class that will reinforce the content that was covered in class. It is like a big review of the content shared by the students.

The book is broken into several different types of project-based learning. For example, he mentioned 20 time and genius hours and an action research program. I emailed him a follow up question in regards to these topics. 

Sirochman: Is genius hour and 20 time just PBL on a timer - specific time of day, week, and time limit?

Provenzano: Sort of. The main difference is that students make 100% of the decisions. They choose the topic from the very beginning. As an ELA teacher, students did not have to choose an ELA-focused topic. The research, reading, writing, and presenting they did would cover a wide variety of ELA strands.

Sirochman: Action Research Program - is this still being implemented and how is it working?

Provenzano: The program is going strong at school and kids love it. It is something that really sets us apart from the local community of schools. Kids love it and parents love it. I love it because students are so inspiring.

Overall, the book was an amazing, informative, practical, and a quick read. The price point is also very attractive at only $20 on Amazon. The book discussion was recorded if you want to inquire about the recording to watch. The author is very willing to help via conversations with teachers interested in beginning PBL in their classrooms. He suggested the resource, PBLWorks, as a great place to get started with ideas. The best way he can be reached is via email. 

Of course, I am attempting to try my first PBL assignment with my book groups this semester. I am excited to attempt more authentic learning in the classroom. I am not afraid to give up control; however, I am a second-year teacher. If anyone is interested in chatting with me about this PBL idea or others, you can email me.  

Author’s Bio: Mrs. Casey Sirochman’s  teaching experience spans over a decade working in public, academic, and special libraries across Pennsylvania. ​She has a Bachelor's of ​Science​ ​degree​ ​in​ ​English​/Communications from​ ​The​ ​Pennsylvania State University, a Masters in Teaching English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a Masters in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh.​ ​She is in her second year as a ninth grade English teacher at Frazier School District.