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Talbot Summer Institute for English Educators

The Talbot Summer Institute brings together English faculty from the University of ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ and high schools around the ÃÛÌÒµ¼º½ area to address our shared commitment to reading, writing, and literature. By increasing continuity between secondary and post-secondary English education, we hope to improve student success at all levels. Now in its 6th year, we've engaged close to 100 faculty members from dozens of middle and high schools on topics including Project-Based Learning for Writing, ELA for Multi-lingual and Multidialectal Learners, and Navigating GenAI.

Value to Teachers

1. Collaboration with peers: teachers specifically valued the chance to learn from and network with other educators, calling it a refreshing change from typical one-way professional development. They appreciate that the Institute incorporates their own expertise into the lesson development and seeks their input in annual planning.
2. Practical, transferable strategies: teachers highlighted the concrete takeaways that will immediately improve their classroom strategies. They particularly note visualization tools for academic writing and incorporating collaborative reading strategies to make complex texts more accessible to students.

Key Numbers

• This Year’s Cohort: 23 middle and high school educators participated in the training, representing 15 schools across the region, including MSCS, the Innovation School District, and charter schools.
• Grade levels and subjects: Teachers spanned 6th–12th grade, plus Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement courses. Subjects clustered around ELA core courses (English I–IV) but also included AP Seminar, Creative Writing, Journalism, Speech/Oral Communications, African American Literature, ACT Prep, and TN Ready Prep.
• Student populations served: Our teachers engage with students from almost every zip code in Shelby County. Their classrooms range from Honors and gifted programs, ESL learners, students with IEPs, and reading intervention students (bottom 25th percentile readers).
• Every respondent rated their likelihood of returning at 80 or higher (out of 100), with the average at ~93/100.
• Over 20% of our cohort were returning participants; we’re seeing both continuity across cohorts and continuing to find new audiences and schools.

What's Next

• Based on participant feedback, Talbot 2027 will develop teaching strategies for the two most challenging ELA standards, targeting 9th and 11th grade reading comprehension.
• For the first time, we hosted a panel of high school students. Next year, we’ll devote a full day to an ‘action research lab,’ with teachers fine-tuning learning materials based on student input.

Previous Institutes

Below you will find presentation slides from past Talbot Summer Institutes.