L I N C O L N
MAY 2009
U N I V E R S I T Y
WRITING
NEWSLETTER
volume 1, edition 2
WAC FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Ms. Lois Jaegers & Ms. Ann McSwain
by Margaret Muse
UPCOMING EVENTS
AUGUST 13-14 2009
• Faculty/Staff Institute
WAC Orientation
WORKSHOPS
Fall 2009
• Facing Digital Frontiers
in the Writing Classroom
Date to be announced
Spring 2010
• Watch your mail for
notices of upcoming
workshops
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Faculty Spotlight.............................1-2
Tips & Tools for Teaching
Writing..................................3
From the Writing Tutor’s Desk........4
Future Objectives in the WAC
Revitalization.......................5
This semester, the faculty spotlight turns to Ms. Lois Jaegers and Ms. Ann McSwain in
the Department of Nursing Science. Both teach in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Program (B.S.N.) at Lincoln, a program which gives registered nurses an opportunity
to complete the bachelor’s degree. All of the nursing courses in the BSN program are
taught online and include substantial written activities. Recently, Concepts of Professional Nursing (NUR 310) has been approved as writing intensive, and both faculty
members believe that writing well is essential to professional development in nursing.
Ms. Jaegers has been part of the nursing program at Lincoln for thirty years, having
completed the B.S.N. degree at Central Missouri State and the M.S.N at Clarkson
College. Ms. McSwain, who completed the A.A.S. and B.S.N. at Lincoln, and the M.S.N.
at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has been teaching in the nursing program for
three years. She is currently working on a Ph.D. at the University of Phoenix.
Their responses to the questions below will illustrate their commitment to writing as a
way to both learn and communicate.
WAC: Writing intensive courses involve both formal and informal writing assignments. How have you incorporated
informal writing into your online
course?
Informal writing assignments
have been incorporated
into all nursing courses as
discussion board questions,
case studies, and formal papers.
These writing activities allow the
instructor to get a general
sense of the student’s
continued on page 2...
Spring WAC Workshops................6-7
Notes from the VPAA........................8
Lois Jaegers and Ann McSwain
2
WRITING across the curriculum
WAC FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
...continued from front cover
grasp of the assigned readings. The above writings help the
student develop insightful, critical, and hopefully creative
thinking. These activities also allow the students to reflect
on the course content and forge connections with evidencebased practice.
WAC: You ask the students to respond “as if you were in the
classroom.” What have you noticed about the quality of the
postings online compared to classroom responses?
Initially we found some students [new to online learning]
using abbreviated text messaging (such as AFAIUI - As Far as
I Understand It or FWIW - For What It’s Worth). This behavior
and the lack of formality in postings warranted a discussion
board rubric. We have found that lively online discussions
can be facilitated by requiring students to not only post their
own work, but also to comment and respond to each other’s
submissions. As a result, the discussions become more than
just an assignment; students learn from each other and
become more engaged in the learning process.
WAC: Students are submitting responses frequently
throughout the modules. How do you manage the volume
of postings or completed assignments?
Nursing courses at Lincoln University accommodate 20-25
students, depending on the type of course. It is difficult
to manage the evaluation of large volumes of postings
and completed assignments. A course with 20 students,
answering three to four questions, and responding to two
other students’ postings, add up to 100-120 postings per
week. This does not include responses to questions asking
for clarification, case studies, or formal papers. We handle the
volume by grading as assignments are submitted. This means
we are constantly grading assignments [formal or informal]
to keep ahead. We do use “Learning Teams” in larger courses
and peer review in the graduating course, NUR 480.
WAC: You emphasize a student’s ability to evaluate critically throughout your syllabus. How do you help students
understand what it means to do that? In other words, how
do you instruct online?
Because many students fail to assess the reliability of information to which they are exposed in everyday life, our nursing
assignments focus on information literacy and the application
of scholarly literature via discussion questions, case studies,
and formal papers. These are based on current practice and
current issues. The intention of these assignments is to assist
students to move from novice decision making to more
sophisticated levels of thinking.
WAC: Some of your assignments are completed and
submitted by “learning teams.” What is your impression of
the quality of the writing submitted by a team?
Team assignments help drive students beyond their current
level of thinking and move students along the continuum
of intellectual development, one of the strengths of groups.
A team charter is created by the team with all the ground
rules. Online team folders are visible to the instructor which
allows for monitoring of assignment progress. An evaluation
is submitted by each team member upon completion of the
assignment(s) and is considered when determining the individual grade(s) for the team assignment. The quality of the
writing submitted by a team varies depending on the leader.
We have received very obvious “copied and pieced together”
assignments as well as high-quality assignments.
WAC: Your students submit written assignments
throughout the course that take many different forms. Do
you believe that the frequency and type of writing contributes to their learning the material?
Yes, the writing assignments help students reflect on the
course content and help develop insightful critical thinking.
Their writing assists us with the evaluation of the unit/course
objectives. With on-line learning each student is required
to respond to each entry; whereas, in a classroom setting,
students do not typically have to participate as actively.
WAC: Apparently, the course is not only writing intensive
for the student, but for the instructor as well. Can you
comment on teaching primarily through written responses?
NUR 310 is the transition course for the Diploma or Associate Degree nurse. These adult learners have between 1
and 20-plus years of nursing experience. Using open-ended
questions to draw out students’ knowledge and experiences
and providing opportunities for dialogue among students
encourages learning through written responses. It is also a
challenge for us to communicate only through writing. We
have to be extremely clear in our directions and our evaluation of their products.
Thank you to Ms. McSwain and Ms. Jaegers for contributing.
WRITING across the curriculum
3
Tips and Tools for Teaching Writing:
Designing Rubrics for Writing Assignments
Rubrics, or organized lists of evaluating criteria, are useful not just as tools for evaluation but also as a
method of explaining to students exactly how their papers will be graded.
You can use a rubric at several stages of the writing process:
• when first introducing a formal paper assignment to students
• when guiding them through the initial stages of writing
• when asking students to help each other as peer editors
• when evaluating final drafts
• when sending students to the writing center for help (good reason to attach a rubric to the assignment sheet)
In general, a rubric will include some variation on the following criteria:
Focus
Clear contolling idea (thesis)
Sense of direction
Organization
Logical progression of ideas connected to main idea
Coherence within and between paragraphs
Development
Supporting material for main and sub-topic
Attention to
Language Issues
Syntax
Word choice
Usage/Mechanics
The categories will vary depending on what is important to you in a particular assignment and can often include very specific criteria only relevant to one assignment. However, your rubrics should have a
consistent core so that your students’ abilities to fulfill the criteria will develop.
Developing a Rubric for Writing Assignments
As you know, it is important to explain how an assignment will be evaluated when you give the assignment. Developing a rubric will help you with the explanation.
1
Think about the context of the assignment. What precedes and follows it? Does it grow
out of or lead toward another part of your course? Is it part of a developing sequence?
2
What are you looking for in this particular assignment? If, for example, you want
students to evaluate an article, what does that mean to you? Can you break it down for
yourself and therefore the student?
3
List what you’re looking for in order of importance to you. If the paper lacks an
obvious thesis, where does that fall in your scale of values?
4
Assign a weight to each of your criteria. Will the absence of clear support doom the paper
to failure, or is it more important that the paper be organized clearly?
5
Attach this list of criteria (the rubric) to the assignment when you give it and review it with
the students.
4
WRITING across the curriculum
From the CAE Writing Tutor’s Desk
by Pat Pollock
As writing across the curriculum offerings increase, so does the
number of students visiting the Writing Center. This semester alone,
the tutors have seen 375 students with writing assignments for
courses other than English composition, which represents 50% of all
writing tutorials. The total number of WAC tutoring sessions for the
fall 2008 semester was 534 out of a total of 1079, 49%. The numbers
are steadily increasing as are the students’ writing skills. While this is
encouraging, we would like to see still more students. This can best
be accomplished when teachers promote our services.
Some departments have already discovered the opportunities available in the Writing Center. The greatest number of WAC visitors have
assignments in history, nursing, or sociology. Their teachers have
emphasized the value of writing and the benefit of tutoring. Once
students start coming to the Writing Center, they usually return again
and again. They enjoy talking about their writing one-on-one with
a specialist who is genuinely interested, and they likely earn higher
grades as well.
How are students introduced to tutoring services?
Tutors visit classes when requested by a faculty member. During the
visit, tutors provide a brief overview of the tutoring process which
includes...
Pre-writing Brainstorming
Draft revising
Editing a draft
Citing sources
Should students be required to visit a tutor?
Required visits are not a good idea. Students are visibly less engaged when visiting with a tutor against their will, and requiring
students to visit a tutor would result in an overwhelming student
load for tutors. Instead, faculty should repeatedly explain the
benefit of tutoring services.
Students seeking help should
come into the Writing Center
in 318 MLK and sign up for an
appointment.
The hours of operation are
7:30 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
Monday through Thursday and
7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
on Fridays.
Debra Grebing
[email protected]
681-5244
Pat Pollock
[email protected]
681-6134
Penny Wiegers
[email protected]
681-5245
WRITING across the curriculum
5
Future Objectives in the WAC Revitalization
by Heather Fester
Composition researchers Neill Thew and Magnus Gustafsson
(2007) suggest that WAC scholarship has reached a “mid-life
stasis” in which older programs are in a state of decline as
directors retire and newer programs are not getting traction.
However, as part of a Conference on College Composition and
Communication panel that challenges this pessimistic view,
I will be presenting on the process of WAC reinvigoration at
Lincoln University. The panelists will analyze programmatic
changes taking place in cross-curricular writing programs at
four different types of institutions, ranging from liberal arts to
research institutions, and will explore the historical and political reasons for declining WAC programs along with practices
that work to re-invigorate writing initiatives.
My particular exploration as part of this panel will be entitled
“Using Dynamic Criteria Mapping and Inquiry-Based Reading
to Reinvigorate WAC.” I will report on the activities of the WAC
Advisory Council at Lincoln University this semester and the
other efforts made to re-enliven our twenty-year-old WAC program, addressing the challenges of our minimal institutional
writing requirements beyond entry level. The first part of the
project conducted this academic year involved using inquirybased reading practices throughout the process of approving
the writing-intensive courses at Lincoln. The WAC Advisory
Council sought gaps between program goals, students’ needs,
and current practices.
The next step in the reinvigoration process
will be making changes based on this data. This will involve
using Bob Broad’s “dynamic criteria mapping” in the 2009-2010
school year to launch initiatives and sequence the program’s
writing objectives. Dynamic criteria mapping involves taking
existing, tacit, institutional curricular objectives and designing
an assessment instrument that is specific to Lincoln’s actual
program and writing values, while sequencing writing outcomes across a broader, longitudinal view of undergraduate
writing. Drawing from other WAC program models at schools
where WAC is being revisited, Lincoln WAC hopes to change
the writing-intensive course proposal process from a “satisfies
minimal standards” approach to a more heuristic model that
suggests an enriched program with an emphasis on the value
of writing for learning, thinking, and career preparation. In the
WAC program here at Lincoln, we are also working to make
explicit the value of writing as a tool for thinking and learning,
writing instruction methods, and methods of assessment have
shifted in the undergraduate curriculum and university culture
over the twenty years since the program’s inception.
Therefore, as part of the reinvigoration,
we will continue with the process of offering faculty workshops
and may sponsor a WAC Institute for the 2009-2010 school
year. Also, during the orientation week in the fall of 2009, I’ll
be presenting a WAC/WIC overview and will be distributing
some manuals with sample materials to model best practices
of implementing writing in courses for any new or interested
faculty who wish to attend.
A limited number of these manuals will be available for distribution through the WAC Resource Center (MLK 117), and there will
also be a growing library of books and sample materials that
faculty can access. I’m happy to meet with faculty at any time to
work through kinks and frustrations or integrate improvements
in their writing curricula, both within and beyond the writingintensive courses offered here at Lincoln.
To move beyond WIC, which has been the focus of
the program this spring with our reapproval of courses, we will
also be working with various departments to foster a Writing in
the Disciplines approach to teaching writing. This may involve
specialized trainings that address concerns for students within a
given major. If you have questions about this initiative or think
that you may want to participate with other members of your
department, please contact me.
As part of their professional training for
future teaching positions, students in my ENG 490
course will be working with the Writing Center and with faculty
teaching writing-intensive courses to assist with tutoring and
peer feedback techniques. This initiative will be a pilot writing
fellows program. As always, the professional Writing Center tutors are available to help your students and make the process of
integrating writing in your courses more rewarding (see “Notes
from the CAE Writing Tutor’s Desk”).
Thanks for submitting your writing intensive course proposals
and for providing additional information where necessary so
we can move towards a program assessment in the 2009-2010
school year.
6
WRITING across the curriculum
Spring WAC Workshops
by Heather Fester
Feb 24 – “Designing Writing Assignments”
This point was explored in the workshop through role playing
by participants. Sample assignment sheets were given, and
faculty role played students being given the assignments and
expressing the gaps in their understanding and explaining
how they would respond to the task. Often, when a professional is accustomed to “insider discourse” in a discipline, he
or she may communicate tasks using “teacher-based prose”
rather than “student-based prose,” which often leads to
use of code words, jargon, or skills sets that have not been
unpacked or modeled. This workshop worked to elucidate
examples of “insider language” or skills that could alienate
beginning students.
Participants in this workshop were introduced to Bloom’s
taxonomy of thinking skills (see the “Bloom’s Taxonomy” chart
below) and asked to re-envision their writing assignments
through the thinking skills or forms of knowledge acquisition they wanted students to gain. One of the key principles
addressed was clarity of the assignment sheet, especially as it
targets desired learning skills. Clear assignment sheets that
communicate steps in the process of the assignment and
the criteria used for evaluation are very important. Too often,
instructors assume that skills are clear to students, but often
students process large cognitive tasks in stages and may not
be able to recall the fine points on an aural presentation of
requirements given in class.
Student success is not guaranteed through more thoughtful
writing assignment design, such as that which unpacks code
words or specifies desired thinking
skills, but planning assignments in
this way does promote clarity of
Terms to use in assignment sheets
objectives, even for the instructor
Be aware of the verbs and other descriptive words you use in your assignments as
him/herself. This workshop also exthese are the clearest way to communicate specific instructions, thinking skills,
plored how clear assignment sheets
evaluation criteria, and learning outcomes. Choose the appropriate term for the task
can make the process of evaluation
you want students to accomplish:
simpler.
ab
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Ranking of Thinking Skills
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
List
Summarize
Solve
Analyze
Design
Evaluation
Evaluate
Name
Explain
Illustrate
Organize
Hypothesize
Choose
Identify
Interpret
Calculate
Deduce
Support
Estimate
Show
Describe
Use
Contrast
Schematize
Judge
Define
Compare
Interpret
Compare
Write
Defend
Recognize
Paraphrase
Relate
Distinguish
Report
Criticize
Recall
Differentiate
Manipulate
Discuss
Justify
Decide
State
Demonstrate
Apply
Plan
Propose
Rate
Visualize
Classify
Modify
Devise
Plan
Justify
Repeat
Express
Select
Examine
Connect
Assess
Sort
Report
Sequence
Classify
Compose
Prioritize
Label
Document
Imitate
Rank
Map
Formulate
Record
Recognize
Dramatize
Characterize
Construct
Match
Locate
Organize
Question
Create
Outline
Identify
Show
Interpret
Invent
Defend
Predict
ab
Re-state
Review
April 14 – “Evaluating
Student Writing”
This recent workshop was attended
by 13 faculty from different departments. The workshop began with a
discussion of a sample student paper
participants critiqued. Then, best
practices and time-saving strategies
were circulated on a handout, and
the participants revisited the student
sample. Among the principles introduced were the following:
a Higher-order versus lower-order
concerns in grading were discussed and constructive responses
to student writing were addressed
WRITING across the curriculum
7
Spring WAC Workshops
..continued
as a tool for teaching writing as a skill rather than merely a
method used to justify a grade given on a final product. A
good comment for teaching students will “praise, question,
and wish.”
writing. This skill can be taught as students are introduced
to effective writing in their major courses to help them
learn disciplinary writing conventions.
a Research has shown that the most learning takes place
a
An overview of various types of rubrics was given (see
the article “Rubric Types and Design” in this newsletter).
Methods for designing rubrics were also introduced to the
participants, and attendees worked to create or revise a
rubric for a writing assignment they brought with them.
a The idea of planning criteria for grading was addressed.
A consistent set of criteria, such as appear on a rubric,
can be used consistently throughout the writing process:
introduced in the language of the assignment sheet, modeled through feedback in class to sample topics/thesis
statements/drafts in progress, and used in the feedback
given and rubric used. The selection and application of
appropriate criteria is an advanced critical reasoning skill,
and students are not automatically able to apply it to their
through marginal feedback, positive and holistic end
comments, and prioritized patterns of grammar errors.
Students learn most from writing feedback and evaluation
when they are encouraged to think inductively about reasons for choices made in effective writing and when they
apply recommended changes in their drafts to practice the
skill. Building this awareness of process into the assignment itself is useful.
a Strategies for intervening in the student writing process
were introduced. For example, the process of feedback
is also simplified if writing assignments are broken into
smaller steps that are distributed throughout the semester,
allowing the instructor to intervene at key phases of the
writing process.
“[T]he mission of rhetoric/composition is transformative.
The rhetoric/composition teacher faces the task of ‘preparing’
students for the challenging work that lies ahead. Like any other type
of housekeeping, this job
remains always to do,
by definition it cannot be done.”
Jasper Neel
8
WRITING across the curriculum
WAC
Advisory Council
2008-2009
Laurence Rohrer, chair
Marshall Crossnoe
Kurt DeBord
Notes from the VPAA
At Lincoln University we are proud of the culture of writing that has been
created and progressively enhanced over the past several years. As
noted in the Lincoln University 2008-2012 Strategic Plan, the institution
will continue to “expand interdisciplinary programs, Writing and Reading
Across the Curriculum initiatives; learning communities, and other collaborative educational ventures” (Strategy 2.4.3). Faculty, staff, and administrators share a mutual commitment to writing across the curriculum
initiatives that prepare LU graduates, regardless of their degree program,
for success in the workplace.
Don Govang
Thomas Gubbels
Robin Harris
Cheryl Hibbett
Jerry Nelson
Pat Pollock
Bernadette Turner
Ty Westergaard
Aimee Wurst
Annette Digby (ex officio)
Heather Fester (ex offico)
Margaret Muse (ex officio)
WAC
Newsletter Staff
Article Contributors:
Heather Fester
Pat Pollock
Margaret Muse
Layout & Design:
Kandy Campbell
A review of research indicates that students who write frequently are more
creative, think more critically, are more engaged in the learning process,
and are better able to transfer knowledge and skills from one context to
another. We also know that communication skills, both written and oral,
are essential for professional success and career advancement. Employers look for graduates who demonstrate such proficiency. Even before
graduation, many students apply for internships or cooperative education
experiences. If their applications, including letters of interest and resumés,
are poorly written, the students have almost no chance of being selected.
To ensure the success of our students, Lincoln faculty and staff provide
multiple and frequent opportunities for development of communication
skills, including writing. Key initiatives include writing-intensive courses;
professional development workshops for faculty and staff ; the WAC newsletter with listings of current resources for faculty and students, answers to
frequently asked questions, and practical strategies for teaching and learning via writing; opportunities for collaboration; and assessment support.
As we come to the end of the 2008-2009 academic year, I want to express
appreciation to everyone who has been involved with WAC initiatives,
including Heather Fester, WAC Coordinator; the WAC Advisory Council
under the leadership of Dr. Laurence Rohrer; and the faculty and staff who
taught WIC.
As we plan for 2009-2010, we do so with continued commitment to and
emphasis upon providing appropriate opportunities for our students to
enhance their communication skills through WAC.
Dr. Annette D. Digby
VPAA/Provost