As a PhD student, I will likely not have a classroom to implement the knowledge I have gained during the institute in the coming academic year. I will, however, be researching, and this institute has truly helped me to further understand the importance of bridging the gap between research and practice. The institute participants are doing wonderful work in their classrooms, which I have been exposed to through the dynamic teaching demos and many discussions we participate in amongst ourselves. A broad theme seems to be making helping students make connections and building on their funds of knowledge that they bring with them to the classroom (social and cultural). There are many exercises and activities that I believe can be implemented in the classroom. However, as a researcher, each individual instructor's contentions about writing education and their beliefs have made me think deeply about rationales behind why teachers are choosing specific learning activities. In the future, I would like to keep learning about these foundational justifications and rationales and how they inform teaching and learning of writing.
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