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Integrating writing into (even large) economics classes
All handouts available athttp://goo.gl/goGgdE
Jennifer ImazekiSan Diego State University
jenniferimazeki.com
Writing in (mostly large) classes
• My courses:– Principles of Microeconomics (500 students)• Multiple short (one paragraph to one page) writing
assignments
– Economics for Teachers (50 future teachers)• Three lesson plans; multiple reading reflection writing
assignments
– Data Analysis (75 econ majors, taught with TBL)• Two written data projects, 3-5 pages
– Economic Literacy (W course, 40 econ majors)• Multiple short papers, 3-5 pages
Writing to learn
“Writing is more than communication, it is a means of learning, thinking, discovering, and seeing.” --John C. Bean
Writing to learn
• Formative assessment vs. summative• Low-stakes – credit for completion, not
necessarily graded• Enhances higher-order critical thinking skills
(application, integration, evaluation)
Examples
• One-minute papers at close of class–Many variations: ‘Muddiest point’, most important
points, connect to previous material
• Lecture/class summaries– Assigned end of class, turned in next day– Peer review: Students compare in small groups
• Reading reflections (handout #1)– Identify key points, connect to other readings or
own experience
Examples
• Give an example… (handout #2)– Requires application of material– Peer review: Students rate classmates’ responses
Peer review
• Benefits:– Students learn from each other – Opinions of peers can be a stronger incentive than
grades– Reduces instructor workload
• Challenge: Feedback might be ‘wrong’, inappropriate, useless
• Solution: Instructions must be super-clear, explicit
Rubrics are your friend
• Rubric = a scoring or evaluation tool
More importantly:• Rubric = a means of describing student
performance at various levels
Why rubrics?
• Benefits for instructors– Focus on student learning (as opposed to focusing
on tasks students complete)– Help ensure consistency in evaluating student
work– Save time
Why rubrics?
• Benefits for students:– Clarify what they are being asked to achieve– Help students to self-assess their work– Facilitate peer-review– Engage students in their own learning• Consider having students create the rubric!
Types of rubrics
• Analytic: categorize levels by traits/parts
• Holistic: Categorize ‘the whole’
• Generic: Describes a general performance (e.g., reading responses, class participation)
• Task-specific: Describes performance on a specific, single task (e.g., essay on chapter X in book Y)
Examples
• Handout #1: Analytic, Generic• Handout #2: Holistic, Generic• Handout #3: Analytic, Task-specific– Note weighted categories
• Handout #4 (instructions for peer review): Analytic, mixed
Making a rubric
• Describe the task or performance that you want students to undertake
• Reflect on the learning outcomes that have led you to ask students to complete the task
• Decide which of those learning outcomes are most important and if they are best expressed as a group (holistic) or individually (analytic)
• Describe different levels of performance for those outcomes (consider starting with 3 levels)
More details…
• Types of rating scales– Points– Letter grades– Criteria defined for each level of achievement– Criteria defined for excellence paired with “step down”
language
• Language for describing performance levels– Always/usually/some of the time/rarely– Fully/adequately/partially/minimally– High/adequate/limited/very limited– Meets most criteria/meets some criteria/meets few criteria
Pitfalls
• Confusing outcomes with tasks – Assignment describes task– Rubric focuses on learning outcome(s) the task
asks the student to demonstrate
• Using only an evaluative scale (grades, points, ratings) without a descriptive scale—at least for the highest level of performance
Integrating writing into (even large) economics classes
All handouts available athttp://goo.gl/goGgdE
Jennifer ImazekiSan Diego State University
jenniferimazeki.com
Blogs vs. Discussion Boards
• Both allow ‘conversation’, peer ratings, attaching rubrics, easy grading
• Different interfaces– Blogs: can see all posts together– D-Boards: have to open each thread
• Blogs: class or individual
Wikis
• Collaborative content (groups vs. individuals)– Can ‘jigsaw’ assignments so individuals
responsible for parts but group responsible for whole
• Form of peer review