WAC E-Thoughts

Mid-SP08 Writing Across the Curriculum Tip: Grading Student Writing

Filed under: WAC Tip, Evaluating Student Writing, Activity News — at 11:17 am

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Do you have difficulty explaining to a student why s/he earned a particular grade? Are you frustrated by what seems to be a subjective and time-consuming process? How can you grade more efficiently and fairly?компютри

Grading student writing can be a challenging process that may initially appear subjective. However, there are certain strategies that you can implement to make grading writing a more objective and transparent process for both you and your students. Furthermore, you can make grading become as much a form of feedback to students as it is an evaluation of them. Consider the following strategies:

Written by Chris Manion

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Writing Across the Curriculum Tip SP08: Citing Sources

Filed under: WAC Tip, Activity News — at 2:57 pm

Do your students struggle with citing sources in their writing?

Although we, as teachers and scholars, often think of citation as a straight-forward process that only requires students to mimic a form in a handbook, citing sources can be a daunting task for students.

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Written by Chris Manion

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WAC Research: Fishman and McCarthy, Unplayed Tapes, Chapters 1 & 2

Filed under: WAC Theory and Research — at 9:50 am

The other book we’re framing our research with this year is Stephen Fishman and Lucille McCarthy’s Unplayed Tapes: A Personal History of Collaborative Teacher Research (NCTE, 2000). (more…)

Written by Chris Manion

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Motivating Students to Write II: Writing in the Community and the University

Filed under: Humanities, Sponsored Workshops, Creating Writing Assignments, Podcasts, Ethics, Citation and Plagiarism, Service/Community Learning — at 3:27 pm

“Writing in the Community and the University” was the second in a series of workshops designed to address ways teachers can motivate their students to write through unique and non-traditional methods. Drawing on Activity Theory which points out the disconnect for students between writing in classrooms and writing in the “real world,” our goals for this workshop were

1) to highlight programs and teaching practices across the university that connect OSU students with their communities in ways that motivate them to write for and/or about their communities, and

2) to provide interested teachers with the knowledge and resources to participate in these programs or employ these teaching practices in their own classes.

Though Ohio State connects students to the community through writing in a variety of ways, we chose to feature the following programs and practices: The Service Learning Initiative, the Professional Writing Program, and individual writing assignments.

We were able to record the event and publish it as a podcast. The podcast can be accessed at the end of this post.

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Written by Kelly

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WAC Research: Thaiss and Zawacki, Engaged Writers and Dynamic Disciplines, Chap. 1 & 2

Filed under: WAC Theory and Research — at 4:34 pm

The WAC staff is going to begin writing about the WAC research that informs the work we do, particularly as it is informing the research we’re beginning at Ohio State.

We’re beginning with Chris Thaiss and Terry Myers Zawacki’s recent book Engaged Writers and Dynamic Disciplines: Research on the Academic Writing Life (Boynton/Cook, 2006).
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Written by Chris Manion

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FTAD Book Group: John Bean’s Engaging Ideas, Week IV

Filed under: Group Workshops, WAC Theory and Research — at 2:30 pm

In our final week of the reading group, we are completing Bean’s book, chapters 13-15.

Consider the following questions as you finish the book:

Looking through Bean’s suggestions on reducing the amount of time spent coaching student writing, are there strategies you can see yourself putting into practice?

What kinds of feedback to you find most helpful from mentors, colleagues, and reviewers? What are some unhelpful comments you’ve received about your writing over the years?

Of the methods for grading student writing that Bean mentions, which approach would you be most comfortable with? If you wanted to move toward standardizing the assessment of writing among your colleagues, what approach might you take?

Now that you have read through Bean’s book, play the “believing and doubting game” (pp. 156-157). What did you find most persuasive and useful about the book? What nagging doubts or gaps still remain?

Written by Chris Manion

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May 2, 2008

Mid-SP08 Writing Across the Curriculum Tip: Grading Student Writing

April 1, 2008

Writing Across the Curriculum Tip SP08: Citing Sources

March 27, 2008

WAC Research: Fishman and McCarthy, Unplayed Tapes, Chapters 1 & 2

March 10, 2008

Motivating Students to Write II: Writing in the Community and the University

March 4, 2008

WAC Research: Thaiss and Zawacki, Engaged Writers and Dynamic Disciplines, Chap. 1 & 2

February 26, 2008

FTAD Book Group: John Bean’s Engaging Ideas, Week IV