Writing-Intensive Teaching

Writing-Intensive Teaching & Learning
Learning objectives
Teaching techniques
Assignment design
Assessment strategies

Syllabus Design
Topic Content Skills
By the end of this course, students should know and be able to do the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Sample Course Objective Statement
Literature in History course
This course teaches students toexamineproblems in the interpretationof literature through historical contexts. Intended for students with backgrounds in History and Literature, the course expects students to teacheach other about their own disciplinary training and assumptions. The class will enable students todevelop critical reading, oral and visual arguments, discussion skills, and critical thinking in order to writeabout art and its role in history.

Related Communication Assignment
In a team with 2 “history” experts and 2 “literature” experts,
explore a set time period and at least two pieces of literature related to it.
individually, prepare a 10-15 page research paper explaining how knowledge of the historical period enriches interpretation of the literature and vise versa.
as a team, prepare a 10-minute video documentary to teach classmates about your project, both the history and the literature.

Sample Course Objective Statement
3000-level Ecology course
Develop quantitative skills necessary for ecological data analysis.
Learn field and laboratory techniques commonly used in ecological studies.
Develop an appreciation of a current ecological problem.
Learn to prepare a scientific poster and present it at a class forum.

Resources for crafting student learning outcomes built on Bloom’s taxonomy

Requirements for C-I Course, Writing Emphasis
≥5 informal writing tasks
formal writing assignments that result in ≥ 10 double-spaced pages that have been through the draft-feedback-revision process
instruction on the conventions of discipline-specific writing

Informal and Formal Uses of Writing
Writing to learn
informal writing
writing to see if students understand the lectures, discussions, or other materials or have done the readings
exploratory or reflective in nature
non-graded or +, , or –
Learning to write
formal writing
writing to have students demonstrate knowledge of disciplinary content in a professional style and genre appropriate to the discipline
requires multiple drafts over an extended period
graded

Kinds of Informal Writing
Journals
Reading responses
Blogs
Discussion groups
In-class responses
Collaborative responses
Glossary entries
Class notes
Reflections
Summaries

What makes a good prompt for informal writing?
Ask students to
identify terms, concepts, or processes that are difficult to understand
pose a problem that requires use of new knowledge to solve it
give a preliminary answer to a problem or issue to be discussed in class. At the end of class, have them revise their responses and explain how and why their ideas may have changed.

Sample Informal Writing Prompt
Psychology course
Every morning, when Prof. Felina opens a can of cat food, her 6 cats run into the kitchen meowing and rubbing against her legs. What examples, if any, of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning are at work in this scene? Note: both the cats and the professor may be exhibiting conditioned behavior here.

Sample Informal Writing Prompt
Study the following table. What data surprises you? Explain why you thought that the statistic would be different.

When should I use informal writing?
At the beginning of class,
write about materials from the previous class
answer an open-ended question about the day’s reading or homework
explain what wasn’t clear about the reading or work
solve a problem to prime the pump for the day’s discussion

During class,
reconsider responses to an earlier prompt
write a question based on the discussion so far and see if a neighbor can answer it; discuss any discrepancies
summarize what’s been covered
explain how the knowledge presented applies in a real-world situation
When should I use informal writing?

Should I / How should I respond to informal writing?
+  – (Use writing to take attendance.)
Use it to get feedback on students’ understanding
Use it to give feedback at the beginning of the next class
Have students respond to each other’s writing
In a large class, read a random sample of responses
Save efforts to teach discipline-specific writing for formal assignments

Writing to learn. . .
Motivates students to prepare for class
Increases the academic rigor of a course
Helps students learn and retain knowledge
Checks student comprehension before the exam
Makes learning more active

To design effective formal writing assignments, think
FREEDOM WITHIN
A FRAMEWORK

Heuristic for Designing Writing Assignments (Lindemann)
What do I want students to do? Why?
How do I want them to do the assignment?
To whom are my students writing?
When and how will students do the assignment?
What will students do with the assignment?

Checklist for Effective Writing Assignments
Appropriate
Stimulating
Instructive (process and product)
Purposeful
Assessable
Well written

cxc.lsu.edu

Formal Writing Rubric

Lightning Round with C-I Writing Faculty
Carol O’Neil, HUEC
Bob Mann, MC
Gary King, BIOL

Writing-Intensive Teaching & Learning
Learning objectives
Teaching techniques
Assignment design
Assessment strategies

Writing-Intensive Teaching

by lsucxc

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

1 Embed 35

Statistics

Writing-Intensive Teaching Presentation Transcript