Physics Final Presentation in Cooperation with the Writing Center

Submitted by Angela McClure on
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Abstract

Since 2013, students in my Phy 101 have been creating video presentations relating physics concepts to real life situations. For several semesters I have had Kelly Loucy visit my classes and discuss citing sources and plagiarism. As a part of the final presentation score, students must submit a work cited page but they must have verification that their work cited page has been checked by the EMCC Writing Center. After many semesters of doing this I have found about 90% of the students submit a correct work cited page. Unintentionally, in the fall of 2015, I didn't schedule Kelly to speak to my classes. Students still did the work cited pages but less students verified their work through the writing center. Also, I noticed many students didn't ask many questions about work cited pages. It didn't seem to occur naturally in conversations as in semesters past. As a result, I made certain to invite Kelly back into my classes for the Spring 2016 semester.

Division/Department
Mathematics
Completed Full Cycle
Yes
Course Number
Physics 101
Rating
Average: 3.8 (5 votes)

Comments

Becky Baranowski Wed, 04/13/2016 - 12:41pm

This may be a good set up for a learning community.   =)  This is a great collaboration with another faculty member across divisions and helps students see how we work with others on campus. 

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Heather Muns Sat, 04/16/2016 - 9:54pm

We love Kelly Loucy.  We know from out Gen Ed. Assessments that works cited and documenting references are consistently a struggle for our students.  This partnership with the writing center is so important.  What was the data from the group that didn't see Kelly? You said that 90% submitted correctly when they saw someone from the writing center.  What did the percentage drop to when they didn't?

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Olga Tsoudis Sun, 04/17/2016 - 3:44pm

Angela,

This is a great process to help students learn. Do you have percentages between the classes

so we can see the difference?

thanks

Olga

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Peter Turner Mon, 04/18/2016 - 2:27pm

I love that you are putting emphasis on a skill are students typically are weaker in, and I love the collaborative effort. Both good reasons to keep this practice going. My only questions is, where is the data that influenced you to go back to bringing Kelly into your class?

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