Writing to learn: Instructional Strategy of the Month
Building skills in Science
As mentioned, writing techniques shall be used in all courses. Click on button above for more information on science and writing.
1. Low Stakes Writing can serve as prewriting for high stakes writing assignments. In- class brainstorming activities might lead to brief paper proposals which might lead to a formal paper. In short, low stakes writing is not a substitute for high stakes writing, but research seems to indicate that it improves student performance on high stakes writing assignments. Strategies include, but are not limited to:
2. Middle Stakes Writing occupies a middle ground. Assignments are more demanding than low stakes assignments and they take more time to complete. Students usually write them as homework and they may be asked for a more polished final product. A good middle stakes assignment often calls on students to exercise creativity, or offers an element of choice. The goal of middle stakes assignments is to help students make a transition to more formal writing by encouraging them to focus their thinking and to take care in presentation. These assignments work very well when they lead to more formal, high stakes assignments, though they need not function in this way. Strategies include:
3. High Stakes Writing is usually formal, structured writing that is assigned a grade. The writing might be take-home or timed, and the grade is usually a significant part of the course grade. In general, high-stakes writing is supposed to demonstrate what students have learned; follow the conventions of formal academic prose (as well as discipline specific conventions); and be relatively error free (when written outside of class). Things to consider when developing a high stakes writing assignment:
4. Who does what? (Teacher/Student Responsibilities)
Teachers will
As mentioned, writing techniques shall be used in all courses. Click on button above for more information on science and writing.
1. Low Stakes Writing can serve as prewriting for high stakes writing assignments. In- class brainstorming activities might lead to brief paper proposals which might lead to a formal paper. In short, low stakes writing is not a substitute for high stakes writing, but research seems to indicate that it improves student performance on high stakes writing assignments. Strategies include, but are not limited to:
- Entrance/admit slips: Entrance slips, taking only a couple of minutes at the beginning of class or completed before class, are ways to focus students. They may be collected and read anonymously as a way to begin class.
- Exit slips: These are done at the end of class and they give teachers a quick way of assessing what students know about a topic. They also give students an opportunity to process new ideas, identify trouble spots, and review.
- Written conversations: Students write for five minutes about a topic to be discussed in class that day. This gives them time to think about a topic before being called on to contribute to the discussion.
- Written conversations II: Teachers ask students to share their initial ideas with a partner, and then write a collaborative response to the question before moving into a whole-class conversation (classroom talk and collaborative group work).
- Written conversations III: Teachers use these five-minute writing prompts to model prewriting for students, helping them get started on papers by writing in short increments about related topics.
- Self-assessments: Students briefly comment on a project they are currently working on or are about to turn in: What was the most difficult part of this assignment? Why? What part are you most satisfied with? What will this project show me that you have learned?
- Journals and learning logs: Probably the best-known of the WTL strategies, journals and learning logs ask students to explore course content in writing. An ongoing collection of writing that can be designed to achieve multiple purposes, journals are often used to summarize newly-learned information, dialogue with peers or teacher about areas of confusion, and generate questions for further investigation. A common use of learning logs in math and science classrooms is to have students explain problem-solving processes in writing.
- Double entry journals: Like learning logs, double-entry journals are typically used to help students better understand course readings. On one side of the page, students copy or summarize important passages from the text. In an adjacent column, they may explain the significance of the passage, draw connections to other readings or experiences, or discuss how the idea might be applied in real life.
- “Blogs,” chats, and online discussion forums: students may use web-based learning platforms to post comments to online discussions, brainstorm ideas for group projects, generate and exchange review questions for tests, or provide one another with written feedback on drafts of assignments.
2. Middle Stakes Writing occupies a middle ground. Assignments are more demanding than low stakes assignments and they take more time to complete. Students usually write them as homework and they may be asked for a more polished final product. A good middle stakes assignment often calls on students to exercise creativity, or offers an element of choice. The goal of middle stakes assignments is to help students make a transition to more formal writing by encouraging them to focus their thinking and to take care in presentation. These assignments work very well when they lead to more formal, high stakes assignments, though they need not function in this way. Strategies include:
- Write full-sentence responses to structured reading questions.
- Short essays, summaries, critical responses.
- Summarize a reading or key portion of a reading.
- Choose a particularly striking passage from a reading, quote it exactly (with quotation marks), and write a paragraph explaining what the passage means and why it was chosen.
- Relate ideas in two or more readings.
3. High Stakes Writing is usually formal, structured writing that is assigned a grade. The writing might be take-home or timed, and the grade is usually a significant part of the course grade. In general, high-stakes writing is supposed to demonstrate what students have learned; follow the conventions of formal academic prose (as well as discipline specific conventions); and be relatively error free (when written outside of class). Things to consider when developing a high stakes writing assignment:
- Provide a written explanation of the assignment that includes: the topic or question; the due date and penalty for lateness; the required length; the documentation style; and formatting requirements. Use a rubric!
- Be specific: test the clarity of your assignment by drafting a response and / or reflecting on what "successful" work looks like.
- Use low stakes exercises to build student competency towards the expectations of the formal assignment.
- If possible, show students examples of an "A" paper from a prior semester.
- Revise your assignments if you are dissatisfied with the quality of the work you received.
4. Who does what? (Teacher/Student Responsibilities)
Teachers will
- use writing to engage students in the subject area.
- emphasize the importance of writing to learn as integral to strengthening students ability their thoughts, as well as reflect.
- embed writing to learn in lesson plans and in collaborative work.
- use writing to learn as a formative assessment tool.
- engage in writing to learn activities across the curriculum.
- write in a thoughtful manner, focusing more on content and less on spelling and grammar.
- become familiar with a variety of writing to learn activities and protocols.
- use skills developed in writing to learn activities for all levels of stakes writing.
- develop mathematical thinking skills through writing activities.