Welcome to WID Online for Adjuncts. You will be creating a WID portfolio for your urban studies or capstone course, hopefully by the end of this semester. Please review two documents under course documents:
- How to WID a Course
- Criteria for a Writing Intensive Course
I will be posting a new blog every week to ten days. Three Writing Fellows, Meredith Benjamin, Antoinette Williams-Tutt, Brett Bauchner and I will be responding to your posts and answering any questions you may have. We will proceed from low stakes activities to larger staged writing assignments. We hope you are excited about trying out new approaches to writing in your classes. Please feel free to contact me through email if anything is not clear (vanph@lagcc.cuny.edu). We do have to begin to set deadlines for assignments so please try to complete the readings and compose journal entries for Blog's #1 and #2 by mid-October! Thanks.
Blog #1 Please read Chapter 7 of John
Bean’s Engaging Ideas:“Informal, Exploratory
Writing Assignments”& Peter
Elbow, “High Stakes and Low Stakes” from Writing to Learn (see readings tab on blog
After reading please post a low stakes writing to learn activity for your course here and then follow it with a journal reflection: how did it go? what did you like about it? did your students respond well? how would you refine it next time?
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteSo I tried out 2 low stake assignments in my class last week. The first assignment that I gave them was worth 2 extra credit points on exam #1. At first, I was not 100% sure if this was informal enough or if this was truly considered a "low-stakes". However, after thinking about it and reading about the definition of what this assignment entails, I decided that it was!
We were speaking about some health statistics in the 5 boroughs of NYC and about how the Bronx has the highest rate of asthma. Now in the previous class (a week before) we had discussed some major causes of asthma. They were multiple correct answers to this question and I had my students write a paragraph on what the cause was and why it had occurred in the Bronx. The most common answer that I received (which was correct) was that so many highways pass through the Bronx, which means an increased number of cars, which leads to increased air pollution, which leads to higher cases of asthma.
The other assignment that I gave was based on a video that we watched at the end of the class. It was a video about the World Health Organization (WHO) and how urban communities can improve healthier lifestyles. At the end of the video I told them to pick one strategy from the video that they thought was most important and effective in helping urban communities get healthier. I made them submit the papers to me and told them that it would NOT be graded and that they would not be getting them back.
I think that these assignments went really well. I just had one question about these low stake assignments. Are we supposed to preface the assignment by letting students know that it won't be graded? Or do we have them complete it first and then tell them not to worry about it being graded? I told them before-hand for that last assignment.
Thanks,
James Campo
Hi James--thanks for getting the blog started--both these assignments sound really interesting and relevant to your class--when you asked them to pick an important and effective strategy, were they to explain why they thought it was or would be effective?
ReplyDeleteAs for grading, faculty do a range of things. I do a lot of my low stakes on blogs and I have a simple scoring mechanism of check, check plus, check minus --then in my syllabus I make the blogs 15-20% of the grade. Others may have some suggestions as well...the only reason not to say it won't be graded is that it might lower motivation! Alternately you could say that it won't be graded but that the content is important for future work--essays or exams...
Hi all- as I have discussed in our Thursday meeting- I teach many Introductory neuropsychology courses at Hunter College.
ReplyDeleteOne low stakes assignment that I have given in the past (when teaching about learning/memory) is for the students to think back to 9/11/01 and write down everything that they are able to remember from that day.
I then ask them to write down everything they remember, in as much detail as possible, about their most recent birthday.
I then ask them to write down everything they remember, in as much detail as possible, about June 19, 2013 (for example).
The vast majority of my students can remember exactly where they were, what they were doing on Sept. 11, 2001 (depending on their age). Approximately 90% of my students give tremendous detail about their whereabouts on their most recent birthday. A very small percentage of the class can remember June 19th, unless that random date happened to be their own birthday (which is usually 2 or 3 students in a large enough lecture).
This shows how we remember events much easier when there is a significant, emotional event that is connected to the date. It reinforces that long term memory is affected most by the emotional connection and highlights how we often remember events that happened many years ago, better than we remember events from a few weeks ago, for this very reason.
This gets the students involved in the lecture (personal accounts of information), gets them to start writing, and sets the stage for my lecture on the neurobiology of memory.
This is a low stakes in-class assignment because there is no credit being awarded, yet they are motivated to write because these events happened to THEM and there is no right or wrong answer. Sets the stage for the big picture question of how neurobiology affects behavior/memories.
Brett Bauchner
Hey Brett
ReplyDeleteI like that assignment a lot! I wonder how I can use it/make it relevant for my community health class? Anyone have any thoughts to help me???
Really interesting assignment Brett and James I can imagine the intersection between community health and the kind of "moment" Brett chose to get students to see how memory works--you would need to share one or more key aspects of your syllabus where a student might be able to connect a personal/family health moment to a community setting...that might be too vague--I need to create a space for faculty to post syllabi...working on it!
ReplyDeleteHi all - I'm Meredith Benjamin-- a Writing Fellow here at LAGCC, and a doctoral student in English at the Grad Center. I also teach Writing at Baruch.
ReplyDeleteA low stakes assignment I have used this semester is part of the lead-up to our first essay, a close reading of a text we have read. In class, we model the process with an image. For the next class, they come with one page of writing which explains what text they have chosen to write about & why, makes note of aspects they found particularly interesting, surprising, or confusing, and perhaps begins to notice patterns among these observations. My goal is to have students work through the steps of analysis, rather than simply jumping to an "explanation" of the text--forcing them to stop, in this assignment, at the observation stage.
The assignment worked well for some students, and not so well for others--although I had been very happy with the results when we worked through the same process together in class. In the fellows meeting, where we workshopped such assignments, my colleagues suggested that it might help to more clearly break down the various steps I was asking the students to go through.
(I have 15% of the course grade devoted to this type of informal writing assignments. Receiving credit requires completing the assignments; they are not graded.)
Hi Meredith--I'm curious about the part of the activity where you model the process with an image.Do you mean you walk through steps of close reading an image with them and from that they see patterns they can apply to reading a text? I'm asking because (sort of a reverse activity) I am about to take a class to an art exhibit at the Brooklyn museum and we are trying to develop useful questions for "reading" an image--if you have any suggestions, I am eager. Phyllis
DeleteHi Phyllis--Yep, that's exactly what I meant! I think it works well because we can all look at it together projected on screen, and it doesn't take as long in class as reading something would.
DeleteI do it as a 4-part writing activity in class, with the following steps, but it could obviously be adapted:
1) Experience
What are your feelings when you look at the image?
Give your reaction to the image considering any of your own experiences that you can relate to the print.
2) Literal
Describe exactly what you see in the image.
3) Interpretation
Draw a conclusion about what is happening in the print and why it is happening. What meaning does the imagery convey about the subject of the image?
4) Evaluation
What worldview is conveyed in the image? In other words, what kind of judgment does the print make about society or reality?
By making them spend 5 minutes on each step (and they don't know the steps ahead of time), even if they overlap, I think it helps them to see that we respond to texts or images on more than one level, and how these levels are different.
(Of course, I stole and adapted this from someone else--seems like that's how most good writing assignments come about!)
Thanks so much! I'm borrowing this for my Saturday museum visit--we can do just as you did--practice in class first :)
DeleteHello! This is Antoinette Williams-Tutt. I'm a Writing Fellow at LGACC this year and a doctoral student in French at the CUNY Graduate Center. I also teach and tutor French at Hunter College.
ReplyDeleteHere is one low stakes (or no stakes, really, because I don't grade it) writing assignment that I use with my lower-level French students at the beginning of the semester, which they read and answer in English:
What French words or phrases do you already know? In what contexts and situations do we usually use these words? Why do you think there are so many French words used in English?
I've found this exercise to be really useful getting students to think about the French language in terms of their native language (at least for native English speakers). I also always have a brief discussion in class about this topic, writing useful words and phrases on the board as we go, to get them a bit more involved. Even with more advanced French speakers, we do similar exercises when learning more advanced vocabulary and talking about cognates. And this they can usually write and talk about in French, at least in a limited capacity.
Why W.I. D?
ReplyDeleteWriting-in-the-disciplines (WID) is often associated with “learning to write”, particularly writing within the discipline-specific genres and the students’ style is a major factor. (Bain, 2011). WID is being used in many colleges.
However, I believe WID is an essential tool for educators/students because I believe writing is a vital vehicle for learning to take place. Writing enables the writer to think but most importantly: “To unveil what they know or thought they knew.” There is the saying “If you don’t harvest the grapes when they are ripe they will wither and dry.” I think writing pushes the individual to another level of understanding!
Low Stakes Assignments
On the first day of class I introduced myself with a mini background of my nursing journey; then I allowed each of the students to introduce themselves. We discussed culture, and what made led them to nursing etc. At that moment I found out some interesting things about them. I was also able to pick up on their weaknesses/strengths… Low stakes assignments (LSA) gives the educator an opportunity to find out about the student’s knowledge or prior knowledge, and skills coming into the course.
I usually give the students assigned readings/scenarios on the given topic of the week and asked them to respond to the readings. At first the students seemed somewhat resistant in writing a response based on an assigned reading or lecture. I guess this was ‘new’ to them. But surprisingly I get different reactions/responses from students that was unexpected… and it actually stimulated their thinking. They actually look forward to their discussions and assigned responses now.
The students wrote an essay on “Philosophy of life” and this was truly an eye-opener for me because at that moment I was able to assess each student and recognize their level of knowledge and how culture plays such a vital role in learning.
Low stakes writing to learn activities: True/False
1. During the middle Ages, the majority of health care outside the home was provided by the Catholic Church.
2. During World War II, Florence Nightingale became appalled at conditions on the battlefield and introduced sweeping changes to the profession of nursing.
3. Currently, there are four major national organizations that represent the interests of practical and vocational nurses.
4. The primary role of the National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Service (NAPNES) is to increase awareness of the history of practical nursing.
5. The International Red Cross was instrumental in establishing fair practices for the treatment of wounded people during wartime.
Group Assignment
Watch an episode of a nurse or medical program on television. Observe the role that nurses play in these programs.
1. Discuss in class how nurses are stereotyped and what effect these stereotypes have on the public’s perception of nursing, as well as the health of the public.
2. What can be done differently to transform the role of nursing back to the ‘Florence Nightingale era?
The students enjoyed the mini quizzes which I incorporate in the power-points and the discussions. I saw how the students enjoyed the experience. Some of them told me: “Professor I am getting it now” and these assignments are rewarding because it gives me a ‘feel’ of where their focus is and where they might need further assistance. However I also see learning taking place which is awesome!
Hi Faith--
DeleteIt is great to hear that you've already included so much writing in your course and have found it to be valuable and productive.
I wasn't clear about the "Philosophy of Life" assignment--was that a formal/high-stakes writing assignment or another low-stakes one?
Your true/false writing activities seem geared toward testing the knowledge students have gained from the reading. I'm wondering what type of responses you get? If student responses to these prompts are shorter than you would like, I might suggest asking students to provide evidence for their claim in their answer, and perhaps even specifying that you would like the answer in a full paragraph (if that's what you're looking for).
Regarding the group assignment, do students come to class with something written on the role they saw nurses playing? It seems like all part of this exercise could work either as writing students do informally and bring to class, or even as in-class writing, to then spur discussion. The first question could also be broken down into its 3 separate parts, as short writing prompts for discussion.
Its great to hear that evaluating student writing helps you to see where students stand, and what concepts they are picking up on or having trouble with--that is the goal!
- Meredith
Hi Meredith:
DeleteI’m sorry, the “Philosophy of Life” was a high-stakes writing assignment. It was one of the students first graded paper.
The true/false writing activities is actually effective and I explored on one of your suggestions with the students this week. I asked them to provide evidence for their answers and they truly enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for your input. I am learning so much!
Faith
Hello all - I am Roxanne Reid an Assistant Professor of Nursing here at LaGuardia Community College.
ReplyDeleteA low stake assignment I have used in the classroom is in part of the first assignment due Philosophy of Life. The assignment asks the students to free write for 15 minutes to introduce themselves, where they are from, why they chose nursing and cultural background. The students wrote about their knowledge and individual experience with the healthcare system here in the United States and birth country.
The students were hesitant at first, most are recent immigrants here and felt that the writing skills was not sufficient. Most wanted to take the assignment home and submit it the following week. As the facilitator I compared free writing (exploratory writing) to face-book and twitter. That we are sharing information about each other to have cultural awareness.
No grading was associated with this assignment and the students embraced the assignment what an experience!
Hi Roxanne!
DeleteYour Philosophy of Life free-write sounds like an approachable and fun writing activity for your students. Is this something that they do on the first day or week of class? This is a great idea to get your students writing; talking about themselves and their personal experience seems to allow students a really low-stakes field where there is no right answer. You mentioned that some students were hesitant about even writing a response to a prompt like the "Philosophy of Life" - did you talk them through the exercise in class (like mentioning that what they're writing can mimic how they write status updates on Facebook and Twitter)? That seems like a nice way to ease them in to writing down their ideas, especially if they seem nervous about the structure and grammar of writing in general.
Thank you for your post!