What is the history of Voice Lessons?

Voice Lessons patterns itself after the West Tennessee Writing Project (WTWP), a program designed to improve writing and writing instruction in West Tennessee Schools, K-12. Over 200 K-12 teachers have participated in WTWP summer institutes and have implemented improved pedagogical approaches to writing in their classrooms. Students of WTWP teachers are writing more, and so are the teachers. The success of WTWP led to the development of a faculty writing project model which led to pre-applications to FIPSE (Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education). The UT Martin Office of Faculty Research and Faculty Development made possible the first five-day Voice Lessons model in May of 1998. That office, now under the title Office of Research, Grants and Contracts, continues to fund Voice Lessons.

In 2002, three voice lessons faculty presented a panel at the Conference on College Composition and Communication held in Chicago in March.

In February 2004 and February 2005, the first two annual student academic writing conferences were held on the UT Martin campus, planned and organized by Voice Lessons faculty.