Why Writing Activities Belong in your Dynamic Classrooms UW-Madison Teaching Academy Summer Institute 2013 Brad Hughes Director, Writing Across the Curriculum

Why Writing Activities Belong in your Dynamic Classrooms

Why Writing Activities Belong in your Dynamic Classrooms

UW-Madison Teaching Academy

Summer Institute 2013

Brad HughesDirector, Writing Across the CurriculumDirector, Writing Center

Stephanie WhiteAssistant Director, Writing Across the Curriculum

UW-Madison Teaching Academy

Summer Institute 2013

Brad HughesDirector, Writing Across the CurriculumDirector, Writing Center

Stephanie WhiteAssistant Director, Writing Across the Curriculum

Our main pointsOur main points

Writing helps students learn course content and helps engage students.

At its best, writing is an ongoing activity within the culture of a course, rather than a one-time event.

You can choose from an infinite variety of writing activities.

Writing helps students learn course content and helps engage students.

At its best, writing is an ongoing activity within the culture of a course, rather than a one-time event.

You can choose from an infinite variety of writing activities.

Some quick thinkingSome quick thinking

Why is writing a particularly valuable method for learning?

Why is writing a particularly valuable method for learning?

Why writing engages learnersWhy writing engages learners Writing is inherently an active cognitive

process. It requires us to organize and synthesize ideas.

Writing provides opportunities for reflection and metacognition. It slows down our thinking and demands explicitness.

Writing provides an opportunity to discover what we think and know (as well as to discover what we don’t know).

Writing makes our ephemeral thoughts more permanent and available to share with others.

Writing is inherently an active cognitive process. It requires us to organize and synthesize ideas.

Writing provides opportunities for reflection and metacognition. It slows down our thinking and demands explicitness.

Writing provides an opportunity to discover what we think and know (as well as to discover what we don’t know).

Writing makes our ephemeral thoughts more permanent and available to share with others.

What matters in writing activitiesWhat matters in writing activities To engage learners, writing assignments

and activities must be substantial, meaning-construction tasks

They must have clear instructions

They must include an interactive writing process

To engage learners, writing assignments and activities must be substantial, meaning-construction tasks

They must have clear instructions

They must include an interactive writing process

Robert Gonyea, Indiana University (2010)

Writing and learning in all disciplines at UW–MadisonWriting and learning in all disciplines at UW–Madison

50-word assignments in history (Chuck Cohen)

reflection journals in a service-learning Afro-American studies course (Mike Thornton)

wikipedia entries in Byzantine history (Leonora Neville)

article summaries; reflections; research proposals in engineering physics (Wendy Crone)

summaries and critiques; lab-bench-to-breakfast-table papers; in biology and gender (Caitilyn Allen)

digital video story for a technology entrepeneurship concept, school of business (Phil Kim)

podcasts in an information-studies course (Greg Downey)






































Continuing the conversationContinuing the conversation During this week:

• The Writing Across the Curriculum Sourcebook

• Concurrent sessions

• Consultations about using writing activities to engage students as you design or redesign your course

• Discussions about developing evaluation criteria and responding effectively and efficiently to student writing in your courses

During the summer and beyond:

• One-on-one consultations, co-teaching, workshops, undergraduate writing fellows, the Writing Center . . .

Come talk with us to find out how we can help you!

During this week:

• The Writing Across the Curriculum Sourcebook

• Concurrent sessions

• Consultations about using writing activities to engage students as you design or redesign your course

• Discussions about developing evaluation criteria and responding effectively and efficiently to student writing in your courses

During the summer and beyond:

• One-on-one consultations, co-teaching, workshops, undergraduate writing fellows, the Writing Center . . .

Come talk with us to find out how we can help you!

Documents

Why Writing Activities Belong in your Dynamic Classrooms UW-Madison Teaching Academy Summer Institute 2013 Brad Hughes Director, Writing Across the Curriculum