Jordan
Clayton
GTP
Departmental workshop
11/06/02
I.
Comments from panel & group discussion
A. good
research leads to good writing
1. stress:
diverse sources
a.
journals & books
b. dissertations
c.
sources from different countries, etc.
2.
may want to take students to library or invite Suzanne Larson for
demo on the library’s internet resources (facilitate research process)
B. assign
multiple iterations of an assignment (e.g. outline, multiple drafts)
1.
allows instructor to identify where problems are
a.
insist that you will read drafts to encourage students
2.
forces students to get an earlier start
C. encourage
students to critique (constructively) each others’ work/papers
1.
comments on style, objectives, etc.
2.
use in-class workshops for peer reviewing
a.
students evaluate outlines, drafts
b. assign
credit for peer evaluation
c.
also helps students learn about each others’ topics
D. use
a grading metric/rubric
1.
e.g. organization (5 pts), grammar (5), presentation (3), originality
(3), follows assignment (5), content (10), etc. (varies/assignment)
2.
provides consistency
a.
for own grading
b. for
multiple graders
3.
provides specific feedback for students
4.
may lower overall mean grade (if grade inflation is of concern)
E. encourage
advanced thinking, synthesis of ideas, and evaluation
1.
tell students to write from a problem-based perspective, and not
just a book/topic review
2.
students should choose own paper topics
3.
give ideas as example papers
F. students
should write often
1.
more shorter papers = better than 1 long paper
a.
additional practice for students
b. more
opportunities for feedback
2. instructor
may want to weigh later papers more heavily
G. be
explicit about writing expectations from the beginning
1.
grading scheme
2.
be explicit if there will be an emphasis on writing
3.
provide suggestions/examples
4.
reinforce plagiarism standards/repercussions
H. important
to follow through on guidelines in assignment when grading
1.
reinforce high writing standards (may be only chance for student
to get some real constructive criticism of their writing)
2.
beware of grade inflation
I. give positive
feedback
1.
vocalize improvements/semester
2.
students will respond more readily to encouragement than critique
3.
should never be condescending/belittling when reviewing others’
work
II.
For example handouts that give suggestions on how to promote good
writing and provide examples of paper assignments used in the past that stress
writing, see Graduate Teacher Resource Files (3-ring binder in Gugg. copy
room).
III.
CU Writing Center: http://www.colorado.edu/PWR/wctext.html