Writing Workshop: Developing, Assigning, and Assessing Writing-to-Learn Tasks

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Writing Workshop Developing, Assigning, and
Assessing Writing-to-Learn Tasks

• Rich House, Anne Watt, and
• Julia Williams

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Workshop Overview

• Definition Writing-to-Learn, Writing-to-Communic
  ate
• Writing-to-learn tasks and assessment
• Developing writing-to-learn tasks for your
  courses

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Writing-to-Learn

• What do we mean and how will it help our students?

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Two Perspectives on Writing

• Writing to Learn
• Writing to Communicate
• Student writing sample

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Student Writing Sample

• ascertain if some magnetic arrangement might not
  be included with the circuit to wor so that it
  would exactly neutralize the static charge in So
  many knots of Cable if these devices Could be
  put in the Cable their capacity would remain as
  Constant as the Capacity of the Cable it would
  be valuable
• Try two insulated disks of rubber on which is a
  strip of Zinc of Copper Connected together

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Student Writing Sample

• Thomas Edison
• Greenwich Cable Telegraph Pocket Notebook, June
  10, 1873
• Speculations, plans, critiques, rough technical
  drawings, thinking/visualizing on paper

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Writing and Thinking
Discovery Thinking Invention Writer-based Audience
Self Personal Language Teacher as
Mentor Personal Knowledge Forms Journals,
Notes, Rough Drafts
Critical Thinking Revision Reader-based Audience
Distant Formal Language Teacher as
Evaluator Contextual Knowledge Forms Essays,
Reports
Discovery and Critical Understanding
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A World of Difference

• Writing to learn in order to explain the matter
  to oneself
• Writing to communicate in order to explain the
  matter to others
• Impossible to explain the matter to others before
  the student has explained it to herself
• Course assignments generally focus on WTC, rather
  than encouraging WTL

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Benefits for Students

• Improved learning
• Deeper understanding leads to improved written
  communication
• Assessment burden reduced

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Writing-to-Learn Tasks Development and
Assessment

• 1/2 Dozen Possibilities

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1 Journals (Logbooks?)

• A place to write regularly
• Can be assigned topics
• Or open topic, with specified structure
• Or open topic and structure, but specified
  number/frequency of entries and/or amount of
  writing

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Journal Assessment

• Collect periodically
• /- on individual entries, and letter grades for
  the set of entries
• Or small number of points for each entry
• I assign credit, offer readerly response in
  spots, and make a few teacherly comments at end
  of the set.
• No need to mark grammar mistakes except when
  interfere with understanding point

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Journal Advantages

• Student sense of ownership
• Permanent record/ documentation
• Reflection
• Fewer small pieces of paper floating around

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Journal Disadvantages

• Can be bulky for both you and students to carry
  around (consider electronic alternatives?)
• Easy to fall behind in grading

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2 Short Response Papers

• Perhaps due on weekly basis on day of their or
  your choice
• Limit to a page or a few paragraphs
• Can serve similar function to journals, but
  generally writing is more polished and better
  formulated
• Varying degrees of structure vs. openendedness

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Assessment Responding to Response Papers vs.
Journals

• Expect more developed thoughts
• Expect more eloquence and polish
• I do correct grammar and other sentence level
  errors
• Less purely self-oriented a mixture of
  writing-to-learn with writing-to-communicate

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3 In-class Writing

• In-class written response
• Possible topics
• What did you learn in class today?
• What questions and concerns do you still have?
• Explain one of the concepts we discussed in class
  today.
• Answer a specific question
• Assessment collect essays, read quickly before
  next class, respond to students (individual or
  collective)

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4 Writing Notes

• Students write notes back and forth to each other
• Summarize what you understand about the concept
  being studied difficulties and questions (200
  words, 2 copies)
• Pass your note and respond
• Assessment collect copy, assess points based on
  students degree of response to note

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5 Explain a Problem

• Good as accompaniment to homework problems
• Explain in words what you did to solve a
  particular problem from the homework
• Assessment can be done with peer groups
  important that the student makes all work
  explicit, provides justification for doing the
  work in a particular way

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6 Letter

• First letter addressed to partner in class
  problems with concept or topic (200 words)
• Second letter response to partners letter
  offering solutions, clarifications (500 words)
• Assessment collect and read award points based
  on level of analysis and response

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Designing Writing-to-Learn Assignments

• Goals, Guidelines, Questions

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Goals

• Integrate into important course work no
  busywork or add-ons
• Promote active learning, interactive learning
• Improve classroom communication, environment
• Integrate with problem solving, reading, talking,
  listening, visualizing, critical thinking

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Guidelines and Checklist

• Consider purpose of the assignment consider
  audience for the assignment
• Consider the context for assignment in class,
  out of class, lab
• Consider the form of the assignment in-class
  writing, journal, note, letter, problem
  explanation, etc.
• See attached checklist

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Writing Workshop Developing, Assigning, and
Assessing Writing-to-Learn Tasks

• Rich House, Anne Watt, and
• Julia Williams