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Writing to Learn
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Writing to Learn vs. Writing to PerformPaul Hagood
LBCC English Dept.
(Return to Tips and Techniques)
Do you want to maximize student learning while minimizing your time spent grading and correcting papers? Give your students informal writing assignments to help them learn, and just check them off or skim them quickly.
Compare these two scenarios:
"Class, please read p. xxx-xxx for our next class meeting." Yeah, right. How many times have you given a reading assignment like this, and then tried to have a class discussion based on the reading? How many have read it? A few, if you're lucky. Yawn.
Try this version:
"Class, please read p. xxx-xxx for our next class meeting, and write a 1 page informal summary and response to it. Your summary should include an explanation of the main concepts in your own words. In your response, please explain what you see as significant or useful about these concepts, and how they affected your thinking about our topic. I won't be looking for great writing (spelling, punctuation, grammar, organization, etc. - I'll be looking to see that you understood the reading and thought about it carefully. I'll read them quickly and give you 10 points for an excellent job, 8-9 points for an acceptable job, and 7 or fewer points for a weak job."
After about 18 years of using the second kind of assignment, I can guarantee that you'll have 90% or more of the class ready for a good discussion or a lecture that builds on the assigned reading. As they say, it just works. And I can grade the whole set of responses in 15 minutes or so. It's a worthwhile investment.
As you can see from the second assignment, writing to learn puts the burden on the students to begin mastering the material before they come to class, rather than waiting for you to lecture while they listen passively. It also requires active thinking on their part, which lectures may not do.
Here are some guidelines for creating "writing-to-learn" exercises:
1. Use Bloom's taxonomy of critical thinking skills to guide you as you create assignments. Most teachers who use informal, write-to-learn assignments will have them begin with the basics - knowledge and comprehension - and then move on to higher-level skills such as application, analysis, evaluation.
Here are a couple of links to more information about Bloom's Taxonomy:
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/blooms.htm
http://faculty.washington.edu/krumme/guides/bloom1.html
2. Think up specific questions for both basic and higher-level thinking tasks. Ask them to summarize or explain specific concepts you want them to learn, and to respond to critical-thinking questions that you want to discuss or base your in-class lecture on. Here's a sample from my Asian Lit class:
EN 207 Week 1 Reading Assignments and Journal Options
Please remember to follow the guidelines in the Reading and Thinking Journal handout
Due Wednesday: "The Rig Veda" p. 5-14
" How would you summarize or explain "The Creation" on p. 10-11? What was there before the creation? How did creation happen?
" How is this similar to or different from your past encounter with ideas about creation? Why does thinking about creation really matter? Is it more interesting/valuable to have a "maybe" rather than a definite answer? Why or why not?
We had a very interesting discussion about this piece, and they were really ready for my short lecture on the Vedantic philosophical/religious ideas present in this poem. It was a lively class - I think the students enjoyed it, and I had a good time leading the discussion.
3. Explore creative questions or assignments that engage students in the topic. For the above assignment, I invited them to write their own creation poem (after they had completed the required assignment above). This gave them the opportunity to explore their own ideas and beliefs, and to articulate them. You could invite your students to do this kind of synthesis assignment (in Bloom's terms) in any academic field. It engages students in a form of creative thinking blended with problem-solving and other critical thinking skills.
4. Have them due on the day you want to discuss the concept in class - having them turn them in later defeats the purpose to some degree. I will let them turn them in later for a maximum of 80%, and I find that this keeps most of them on track while not penalizing them too much on the days they can't get it done.
For further reading, assignment ideas, and information in general, check out the sites below, which will turn you into an expert on writing-to-learn very quickly:
http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop2d.cfm
http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/writing.htm
http://wac.gmu.edu/teaching/wtl.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/WAC/
Our educational partner, OSU, has a very effective Writing Intensive Curriculum program in place that helps faculty across the curriculum use writing in their classes. For more information about writing to learn and any other writing topic, please visit their site:
http://wic.oregonstate.edu/
Consulting Service Available: if you'd like help implementing any of these tips or techniques, Paul Hagood is available by phone (917-4570) and email ( hagoodp@ml.linnbenton.edu ) for consultation. You might even get email assistance at night or on weekends!
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