Julia Willis, Assistant Director of SASC, is an advocate for student writing—across all disciplines. In a recent Monday Workshop, Willis discussed ways to maximize student writing without overwhelming you with grading.
As graduate teachers, we know how painful the writing process can be. Just getting students to engage with their writing can be tough. This can be a huge drawback, especially if your field is not writing intensive. Willis’ big take-away? Regardless of discipline, writing can help you reach your teaching goals and help your students reach their learning goals.
Writing is practice. It gives students an authentic way to engage with the course material. And the more students write, the better they will write and think. So whether you teach Physics or Spanish, writing can be a critical tool for your class. Willis shared some suggestions for high-impact writing assignments (with low-impact teacher time commitments) that are applicable across disciplines:
- The One-Minute Paper: At the end of every class have your students write down one thing they have learned from class and one thing they were confused by. These ungraded “papers” are great writing practice for your students. They also allow you to regularly check in with your students.
- Freewrite: At the start of class have your students write a brief response to topic of the day. The freewrite is an excellent way to get the chatter down and focus your students.
- Response Paper: Have students write a short paper in response to a reading.
- Round-Robin Writing: A variation on the freewrite. Have students respond to a prompt and then have them switch papers and respond to what a classmate has written.
Then there’s the grading, which can both disheartening and time-consuming. However, there are ways to make it easier on you. When grading student writing, Willis recommends focusing on a single area of concern. When crafting and grading assignments keep HOC, MOC, and LOC in mind:
- HOC - higher order concerns (ideas)
- MOC - middle order concerns (organization)
- LOC - lower order concerns (grammar, citation, etc.)
Is your assignment idea focused (HOC), or are you looking to see them practice a particular kind, or style, of writing? If you are looking primarily at content, you do not have to spend a lot of energy marking up their grammar. Another tip from Willis is to make your rubric visible. If you are grading for HOC, tell your students! If LOC are critical for a final paper, make this clear to them ahead of time. This will help set expectations and make grading easier for you.
Keep in mind that excessive comments can overwhelm students. Try to keep your in-line markups to a minimal; you do not have to police their punctuation. Instead, note in the end comments that LOC impeded their arguments/writing, and offer to assist them or refer them to the PWR.
Willis stresses that when assigning and grading writing projects, it is important to have compassion for your students. Respect their ideas and provide them with the practice and feedback they need to become stronger writers. They are beginners and, remember, this is hard work.
Resources:
sasc@colorado.edu or 303-492-1416
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