Supporting Student Writing

Supporting Student Writing

Dr. Íde O’Sullivan, Patricia Herron, and Lawrence Cleary, Research Officers with

the Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre, UL

04/21/23 Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

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Game Plan

• Friday: – End-goal: The in-class assignment– Organizing the pedagogical frame and tying writing

types and purposes to learning goals

• Saturday:– Questioning writing assignments– An Academic Literacies approach: Whose values?– Formative feedback– In-class assignment (40 minutes)


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Knowledge and Experience

• How does your experience with the Writer’s Retreat inform how you support student writers?

• How does your pedagogical experience and knowledge inform how you support student writing?

• How does your experience and knowledge of your students, individually and as a group, inform how you support student writing?


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Experience and Knowledge

• How does your experience and knowledge of the writing process inform how you support student writing?

• How does your experience and knowledge of writing and learning strategies inform how you support student writing?

• How does your experience of peer support inform how you support student writers?


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Free-writing Exercise

• For the next five minutes write without stopping. • Do not remove your pen from the paper. Write

without stopping. If you have nothing to say, say “I have nothing to say” until you can think of something to say.

• Write in sentences, but do not pay attention to the perfection of the form.

• Do not edit or sensor your writing.• Writing Prompt: Given what you already know,

what can you do to support student writing?


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Logical Order and Memory

• Memory is one of the five canons of Rhetoric– Invention– Arrangement– Style– Memory– Delivery

“These categories have served both analytical and generative

purposes…they provide a template for the criticism of

discourse (and orations in particular), and they give a pattern

for rhetorical education” (“Canons of Rhetoric” Par. 2.).


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Memory, Logical Order and the Arrangement of Ideas

• Logical arrangement of ideas– Chronological/temporal

– Spatial/geographical

– Topical/categorical• General to specific• Global to local• Increasing order of importance

• Methods of Development

Analysis Cause / Effect Classification

Process Description Comparison / Contrast

Narration Examples Definition


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Generating Ideas through Order

• What are some of the characteristics of academic writing?

• Can you think of a person, thing or activity with which it shares some or, even better, many of these characteristics?

• Can you think of a metaphor or simile for writing or for some aspect of writing? – Academic writing is an X– Academic writing is like an X


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Logical Order and Memory

• When we give students ways of organizing ideas like this, we give them a point of departure for analyses, generation, application and regeneration. We give them the tools that they need in order to assess how they will proceed.– Writing Process: Prewriting, Drafting, Revision, Editing

and Proofreading.– Assessing the Rhetorical Situation: Occasion, Topic,

Writer, Audience, Purpose.– Assessing Writing/Learning Strategies: Cognitive,

Metacognitive, Affective, Social.


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The Writing Process

• Prewriting: Planning and Gathering Information

• Drafting: Giving Thoughts Shape and Order

• Revision: “Re-seeing” (Re-thinking) the Means and the Ends—the Global Issues

• Editing and Proofreading: the local issues


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Assessing the Rhetorical Situation

• Occasion (Kairos)

• Topic (Topoi)

• Writer

• Audience

• Purpose


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Strategies for learning

• Cognitive

• Metacognitive

• Affective

• Social


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Giving Students a Framework

• So one way to support student writing is by organising the tools that they need so that when an occasion for writing presents itself… – they have a way of identifying and assessing their

procedural options– they will have an organised way of assessing the

context into which they write– They are able to choose arrangements that make for

easier conceptualisation and retention. – They are able to respond to feedback by prioritising their

learning goals, scaffolding their learning so that progress can be monitored.


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Other kinds of support

• Writing assignments that students understand; helping students to understand what is written.

• Providing good resources: Web-sites, handbooks (both discipline-specific and writing-specific), guidelines.

• Providing students with services: Teaching and Learning Centres, Writing Centres, WAC and WID programmes, peer-learning programmes and Writing Fellows programmes.

• Providing formative feedback• Providing more space for dialogue on writing and learning

strategies and on transferable skills develoment and application

• Providing more—both high- and low-impact—in- and out-of-class writing opportunities

• Involving students in the assessment process (peer-response)


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Assessment

• Teacher collects, assesses in accordance to either visible or invisible grading criteria and returns work to student with an assigned grade and with comments.

• Teacher collects a sampling of the work done and gives individual oral feedback in conference.

• Teacher spot-checks and makes a few suggestions on how student might better achieve a particular learning outcome—no assessment at this time.

• Students might be given criteria for evaluating their own work and/or the work of their peers.


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Providing Formative Feedback

• The power of formative assessment lies in its double-barreled approach, addressing both cognitive and motivational factors. Good formative assessment gives students information they need to understand where they are in their learning (the cognitive factor) and feedback develops students' feelings of control over their learning (the motivational factor).

• Timing?• How much?• What mode? Written, Oral, Demonstrative

(Modelling)?


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Approaches to Teaching Writing

• Ad-hoc approaches—many different teachers giving instruction that is tailored to what are viewed as connected to module or disciplinary needs.

• Systematic approaches—the result of a writing culture: – Rhetoric and Composition (US)– New Literacies (UK/Commonwealth)


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Academic Literacies

• Mary Lea and Brian Street (2006: 369) conceptualise approaches to student writing as falling into one of three overlapping models:– A study skills model— “…sees writing and literacy as

primarily an individual and cognitive skill”; – An academic socialisation model— “…is concerned with

students’ acculturation into disciplinary and subject-based discourses and genres”; and

– An academic literacies model— “…is concerned with meaning making, identity, power and authority, and foregrounds the institutional nature of what counts as knowledge in any particular academic context”.


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Learning to Write by Writing

• We learn by doing.• What do we do? What kind of writing should we

promote? • What do we learn? What kinds of learning does

writing promote?• But how can I promote writing without committing

myself to massive amounts of reading and to countless hours of feedback and assessment?


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Different kinds of writing…

• Genres – Essays

• Essay in sociology• Essay in comparative literature

– Reports– Lab report (biology)– Lab report (chemistry)– Technical background report (engineers)

• Text-types or functions

Writing introductions

Generalising Arguing

Describing functions

Writing critically Expressing reasons


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Different kinds of learning

• Subject-specific knowledge (stuff)• Discipline-specific knowledge (ways of thinking/ways of

processing stuff/ways of interacting)• Visual, aural, kinaesthetic, inductive, inductive, intuitive

learning, etc.• Cognitive, social, affective—basic literacies: reading,

writing, IT skills, interpersonal /instrumental communication and negotiation skills

• High-order thinking skills—categorizing, classifying, analysing, synthesising, measuring, evaluating, theorising.


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Skill Sets

• Literacy, numeracy, IT literacy• Communication skills, teamwork, leadership skills• High order cognitive skills

• Bloom’s taxonomy: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluate


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Exercise: Compare and Contrast

• Work in small groups to extract salient information from a table of data in order to make a recommendation.

• What skills were tested in the completion of this exercise?– Creating qualitative measuring criteria– Logically organising information– Categorizing and classifying information– Negotiating and compromising– Logical reasoning– Basing logically reasoned conclusions on retrievable,

defendable supporting evidence


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Learning to Write; Writing to Learn

• Learning, • Writing, • Writing to Learn, • Writing to Learn How to Write in the

Discipline


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Writing to prompts (Murray, 2005; 2006)

• What writing have you done with your students in/outside of class?

• What writing would you like to do with your students in/outside of class?

• Keep writing non-stop for 5 minutes.• Write in sentences.• Do not edit or censor your writing.• Discuss what you have written in pairs.


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Reflection and discussion 1

• What was the impact of the previous exercise?


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Lesson plan 1

• Think about a recent lesson you delivered where you had difficulty engaging the students’ interest. Would they have benefited from engaging in this type of activity from the beginning of the class?

• Design a writing prompt that engages them in the topic of the lesson you are about to commence.


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• Why integrate writing into my classroom?


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Writing activity 2

Summarise in writing the main points of the previous discussion.

• Did this writing exercise help focus/organise the main points of the discussion for you?

• Did the writing exercise help clarify the main points/outcomes of the discussion?

• How do you think this could be applied in your classroom?


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Lesson plan 2

• Think about a recent lesson you delivered where students may have benefited from summarising in writing the main points of a discussion/reading in order to focus that discussion.

• Design a similar “summarising” exercise and consider how you might infuse it into this lesson plan.


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Why integrate writing into the classroom

• Nurturing good writing skills enhances students’ ability to think in complex and coherent ways (Bean, 2001).

• Writing promotes learning and active problem-solving abilities.

• Encouraging students to practice the conventions of their academic discipline will familiarise them with these same conventions.


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Writing is unique

• “The process of learning to write is largely a process of learning to think more clearly” (Arapoff, 1967:33-4).

• “Writing serves learning uniquely because writing as process-and-product possesses a cluster of attributes that correspond uniquely to certain powerful learning strategies” (Emig, 1977:122).


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• Writing is important in all disciplines.• Non-systematic approach to writing support and

development is evident in the audit and analysis. • It is often presumed that students will be acculturated

or somehow induced into academic writing simply by being immersed in the culture, in this instance the academy (Lea and Street, 1998:158).

• It is the responsibility of faculty in all disciplines to cultivate students’ writing (Mitchell and Evison, 2006:72).


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• Reflection

What other kinds of writing can I include in my classroom?

How could I include these activities in my classroom?

• Discussion and writing activity

Discuss and make a list of the types of activates you could engage in.


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Writing-to-learn activities (WAC Clearinghouse)

• Keeping reading, project, and / or writing journals and / or learning logs

• Writing summaries• Annotating a text• Writing responses to texts,

lecture points or problem statements

• Synthesising information

• Starting discussions• Focusing a discussion• Analysing a process, an

event or an argument• Solving problems, preferably

real ones• Writing to explain the

implications of a case • Writing letters• Writing definitions


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Writing-to-learn activities

• Writing exercise

Define a writing-to-learn activity.

• Writing-to-learn activities are short, impromptu, informal writing tasks which focus students on the ideas being presented in class (WAC Clearinghouse, 2008).


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Writing activity 3

• Think about a difficult concept in your field/discipline, especially one that you know but have difficulty explaining to others. Explain this concept in writing to a group of first-year students.

• What does this do for your understanding of this concept?

• Now think about how you might test if your students have understood this concept?


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Exercise: Problem-solving

• After you introduce a new concept in your course, ask students to write out a theoretical or practical problem that the concept might help to solve.

• Students can exchange these problems and write out solutions, thus ensuring that they understand the concept clearly and fully.

(WAC Clearinghouse, 2008)


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• What are the benefits of engaging students in writing-to-learn activities?


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Benefits of engaging in writing-to-learn activities

• Focuses the mind on ideas/key concepts being discussed in class – even before they are addressed – thus engaging the students’ minds.

• Concentrates the students’ attention on content and discipline-specific writing simultaneously

• Helps them to clarify their thoughts, to learn and to ultimately develop their critical thinking.

• Ensures that they are engaging regularly in writing, thus keeping their writing skills sharp.


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• In many cases, the only writing assigned to students is for assessment.

• Consequently, writing becomes associated with stress and anxiety.

• Informal writing activities and activities which encourage students to write regularly help alleviate some of the anxiety associated with writing.

• Students realise that writing can actually be a fun experience.

• Students develop confidence and fluency in their writing.

• It helps them make the transition to formal academic writing with greater ease.


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Writing activity 4

• Write a Limerick commencing with the following line:

There are students that never can learn

…………


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• Do you have any objections to using writing-to-learn activities in your classroom?

• Have you any worries or concerns about integrating writing-to-learn activities into your curriculum?


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Worries and fears

• Bean (2001:9-11) recognises the following worries amongst staff: Integrating writing and critical thinking into their courses – will take time away from content;– will not be suitable for certain disciplines;– will lead to an excess burden of marking or

grading; – will confront them with their lack of writing

expertise.


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Writing activity 5

• Annotation• Identify the key ideas in this reading (Carter

et al., 2007:279).• Explain in writing the subtle differences

between the concepts of writing to learn and learning to write.


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Lesson planning

• Design a writing-to-learn activity with a specific learning outcome in mind that could be easily integrated into a class you are planning for the coming academic year.

• Present this activity to the group.


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Writing-to-learn activities (WAC Clearinghouse)

• Keeping reading, project, and / or writing journals and / or learning logs

• Writing summaries• Annotating a text• Writing responses to texts,

lecture points or problem statements

• Synthesising information

• Starting discussions• Focusing a discussion• Analysing a process, an

event or an argument• Solving problems,

preferably real ones• Writing to explain the

implications of a case • Writing letters• Writing definitions


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Conclusions

• Could you see yourself incorporating Writing to Learn into your curriculum?


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Works Cited

• “An Introduction to Writing Across the Curriculum.” The WAC Clearinghouse, 1997-2008 University of Colorado. 29 April 2008 <http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/index.cfm>.

• Arapoff, N. (1967) “Writing: A Thinking Process”, TESOL Quarterly 1.2 (1967): 33-39.

• Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. San

Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2001.• Berlin, James A. “Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical

Theories.” College English 44.8 (1982): 765-77.• Burton, Gideon O. “Cannons of Rhetoric.” Silva Rhetoricæ. 26 Feb.

2007. Brigham Young University. 18 Nov. 2008 <http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm>.

• Brookhart, Susan M. “Feedback that Fits.” Educational Leadership, December 2007/January 2008 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 16 Nov. 2008 <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/dec07/vol6 5/num04/Feedback_That_Fits.aspx>.

• Carter, Michael, Miriam Ferzli and Eric N. Wiebe. “Writing to Learn by Learning to Write in the Disciplines.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication 21.3 (2007): 278-302.


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Works Cited

• Ebest, Sally Barr, Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu, eds. Writing from A to Z: The Easy-to-Use Reference Handbook, 5th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005.

• Elbow, Peter. Writing Without Teachers, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.

• Emig, J. (1977) ‘Writing as a Mode of Learning’, College Composition and Communication, 28.2 (1977):122-128.

• Lea, Mary R. and Brian V. Street. “The ‘Academic Literacies’ Model: Theory and Applications.” Theory into Practice 45.4 (2006):

368- 77.• Mitchell, Sally and Alan Evison. “Exploiting the Potential of Writing for

Educational Change at Queen Mary, University of London.” Teaching Academic Writing in UK Higher Education: Theories, Practices and Models. Ed. Lisa Ganobcsik-Williams.

Houndmills, Basingstoke:Palgrave/Macmillan, 2006.• Murray, Rowena. How to Write a Thesis, 2nd ed. Maidenhead,

Berkshire: Open UP, 2006.

Supporting Student Writing

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Transcript of Supporting Student Writing