Write to learn sye workshop january 15 2013

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Using Writing Effectively in Second-Year Experience Courses

Julie StaggersEd Nagelhout

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Why Use Writing?

What Do We Have Them Write?

How Do We Avoid OVER . . .?

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So,

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So, the first question is . . .

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Why use student writing?

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Some might argue for using writing . . .

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by referring to Bloom’s Taxonomy

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by referring to Bloom’s Taxonomy

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Some might argue for using writing . . .

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to meet the needs of Learning 2.0

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to meet the needs of Learning 2.0

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Ultimately . . .

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you need to use writing to meet your goals as a teacher:

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to promote active learning

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to stimulate participation and discussion

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to discover what students are thinking and learning

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to create opportunities for teacher / student and student / student dialogue

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to give everyone a stake in the class

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to provide both formative (process) and summative (product) assessments

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More importantly . . .

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you need to use writing to help students meet their learning goals:

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to communicate information

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to clarify thinking

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to learn new concepts and information

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to try out new ideas

and alternative strategies

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to reflect on their learning

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to think metacognitively and personally about their learning

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to discover what they know and what they don't know

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• List your teaching goals

• List your course outcomes

• Share

Activity 1

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Next question…

What counts as writing?or maybe…

What do we have them write?

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SYE HallmarksCritical thinking skillsCommunication skills20+ pages writing

Writingto Learn

vs Learningto Write

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think through key concepts

writing to learnshort impromptuinformal

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summarize a textdefine key terms

raise questions

knowledge probe5 minutes beginning of class

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What have they learned from a

lecture, group workor activity?

synthesis1 minutemiddle of class

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summarize, evaluate, or

ask questions about day’s activity

minute paper5 minutes end of class

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1-2 sentences about what they understand

about a topic or question.

Great for starting class discussions!

nutshelling1-2 minutesanytime

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Reflect on steps they used to solve problem or develop a position.

process description5 minutesafter a task/activity

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Explore concepts or problems graphically.

concept maps5 minutesanytime

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Translate specialized information (like a reading) into their

own, more colloquial language.

summarizing5 minutesanytime

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Informally state and develop a thesis that

compares ideas or concepts.

microthemes5-10 minutesanytime

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Reach a decision by developing side-by-

side lists or arguments.

Push past pro-con into the gray areas in

between.

opposing views5-10 minutesanytime

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Exchange notes explaining or

summarizing a concept and raising

questions about it. Respond to each

other.

notes and letters5-10 minutesto clarify a concept

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Apply principles to a real-world

problem.

cases and simulationsvariableto think critically

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Effective write-to-learn assignments... Are short (3-15 minutes) Ask students to write a word, a sentence, question, or a

paragraph or two Are integrated (explicitly) into class content, objectives,

and activity, and, are optimally, utilized in subsequent writing projects

Elicit multiple responses Where appropriate, receive some content-focused

(versus mechanics-focused) response Aren't formally graded, but count toward a portion of

the grade

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The big question

How can you integrate writing in a way that supports your goalsbut is not burdensome?

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Describe Activity Blocks for a 75-minute class• Beginning of Class• Middle of Class• End of Class

• Share

Activity 2-a

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Select writing activities (from list) that seem promising for filling activity blocks effectively.

• Share

Activity 2-b

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Break – 10 minutes

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Connect Activity Blocks, Writing Activities, and Course Outcomes

• Share

Activity 3

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More big questions…

How can informal writing help you meet the 20+ page requirement?

And also help you meet your teaching goals/course outcomes?

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• State your goals for using writing as clearly and concretely as possible.

• Determine what writing products will meet these goals and fit your teaching style/preferences.

• Determine what constitutes 20 Pages

Activity 4

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Managing the workload

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Checklist for managing the workload Scaffold/sequence informal and formal writing Build assignments and rubrics that reduce your workload Separate responding from evaluating Respond in process Don’t get caught in the copy-editing trap Grade efficiently

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Rubric is your best friend

• Reverse-engineer from assignment objectives

• Check off the boxes, leave some brief commentary about strengths, weaknesses, most important thing to focus on in next paper

• Egg-timer: 10 minutes per paper

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Good assignments gone bad…

Instructor For the short paper on a video, I wanted students to make connections among the archeologist’s questions, the methods used to get answers, and principles from their reading.

StudentThis assignment was like writing a high-school movie review. I wanted to give my own personal understanding about the video, so I was going to write a narrative.

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• .

You have to mark ALL grammar and spelling errors

You have to evaluate every piece of writing they do

You have to READ everything they write

Requiring 2 drafts of an essay doubles your work

More response is better Writing intensive

means 3-5 separate, unrelated assignments

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Informal writing:Look for understanding,

not correctness

Strategieso Use warm-up exercise as a

quiz and collect occasionally, comment on grasp of a reading or concept

o Have them share with a couple of partners

o Pick up randomly from 10 students daily

o Have them post to WebCampus discussion board

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Formal writing? Where does it go from here?

Respond to work in process.Evaluate completed product.s.The rubric is your friend.

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• Provide samples (not "models")

• Use peer review

• Require drafting and revision

• Teach use of spell check/grammar check

• Return documents if they’re too difficult to read

Don’t become the Copy Editor

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Plan writing activities that help you achieve your learning objectives AND get you to 20 pages for the semester w/o assigning a 20-page research paper or killing yourself.• Share

Activity 5

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Questions/Discussion

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Resources/Handouts OnlineCourse and workload management• Addressing Writing in Your Syllabus• Tips: First Day, Writing Assignments, Feedback• Handling the Paper Load

Supporting critical thinking• Writing Activities for Thinking and Learning• Helping Students Make Connections• Getting Students to Think• More Writing to Learn Assignment Ideas

Assignment Development• Effective Assignments• Examples of Course Assignment Sequences in Various Disciplines

Research Papers• Writing and Research• The Successful Research Assignment