Writing Focused

Using Twitter to Enhance Learning in Engineering

Submitted by Michelle Breaux on

I assign a Career Exploration Project (attached) for my engineering students to learn about engineering disciplines, careers, and professional societies. They do research, write a report, and present their findings to the class.  They capture the basics of the field and information about the professional societies, but I feel there is room for improvement, especially with professional societies and their benefits.

Assessing Students' Mastery of Types of Writing in Linked ENG101 and ENG102 classes

Submitted by Susan Malmo on

Using unobtrusive and obtrusive assessment throughout linked ENG101/102 courses, I hope to learn whether an emphasis on learning about types of writing (analysis, cause and effect, etc.) in the ENG101 course will carry over to help students as they work on more complex papers in ENG102.

Modeling Elements of Communication Online

Submitted by Cheri Hebert on

One learning objective for Com 100 is to have students explain the essential elements of communication using representative communication models. In a F2F setting this can be demonstrated easily by putting the essential elements of a model on the whiteboard and  having students stand by the elements such as the “sender” and “receiver” element. They next model the  elements in an interactive process.  This semester, I assigned students the same assignment,  to diagram a recent conversation they had using a model of communication.

Dictation- Reflection

Submitted by Cecilia Rosales on

5 -7 minutes

Maria Cecilia Rosales

I use what I call Dictation- Reflection to assess gramatical concepts, listening comprehension and writing skills.

I dictate ten conjugated verb forms from the active vocabulary list for the chapter in question (bailamos, trabajan, etc). Students are asked to:

1-      Write down the conjugated verb form I dictate (bailamos)

2-      Identify the infinitive form of that verb (bailar)

See, Think, Wonder: Using Art to Inspire Critical Thinking

Submitted by Michael Boring on

In order to help students explore their prior knowledge and initiate creative and critical thinking about a new topic, students are shown a work of art at the begining of a new unit. The subject matter of the work of art is related to the general topic of the new unit. Students then write on 3 prompts reflecting on the work of art:

1) What do I see?

2) What do I think?

3) I wonder ...

I explain in more detail how these prompts are used to initiate critical thinking in the attached document.

ENG101 Common Assignment Assessment -- 2012/2013

Submitted by Susan Malmo on

In order to compare the performance of those students who had placed directly into ENG101 (placers) with students who had completed ENG091 in order to get into ENG101 (completers), we completed an ENG101 common assignment and assessed an equal number of each group.  We used most of the EMCC Writing Rubric (Focus, Support, Organization, Language Use, and Mechanics--scale of 1 - 4.)  All nine residential ENG faculty took part in the assessment on January 7, 2013 -- we particiapted in norming and then scored papers.

So you think you know about gender? the journal entry- Week 1 and Week 16

Submitted by Olga Tsoudis on

During Week 1, students complete a journal entry in which they discuss their thoughts on current gender inequalities and what they think the course will include. The majority of students do not have the details of contemporary gender issues. Most of them state that gender inequalities are part of the past and/or that there are a few gender inequalities due to progress. During Week 16, students complete a journal entry asking them what they will walk away, what surprised them in the course, and how will they promote social change.

Improving Writing Efficacy with Mandated Student Guides

Submitted by Peter Turner on

The Social, Civic, and Global Responsibility assignment was given to my EDU222 hybrid course, with disappointing results. The average score was a 10.6 out of 15 (71%). Knowing that I would be giving the same assignment to my EDU230 hybrid course, I consulted with others who had better results. This led to the creation of the following guides that students were mandated to use and attach to their final paper:

SCGR The Debate Over Inclusion

Submitted by Rachel Holmes on

Students were asked to research, analyze, and explain the role of inclusion in today’s K-12 setting.  A detailed guide was provided to students in addition to the SCGR rubric.

Steps:  1. Online EDU222 were given a PP to build background and a number of related articles to review. F2F students participated in whole-class, interactive lesson on various SpecialEd programs 2. F2F rubric and assignment guide discussed in detail  3.  Student research- 1 day in-class 4. Submit to Writing Center 4. Implement feedback and submit to BB

Active Reading Method for Engaged Student Learning

Submitted by Michael Boring on

One of the keys to success in college is becoming a better reader. One challenge facing the college student in her or his forst two years is making the shift from passive reading for pleasure to active reading for learning. Further, many students do not realize that they need to improve their reading technique, especially if they have not place into a developmental reading class. My experience is that even my best students could benefit from a new perspective on how to read better. The method is familiar:SPQ3R.

Information Literacy Assessment

Submitted by Terry Meyer on

Using SAAC’s EMCC General Education Abilities Matrix the residential librarians assessed 4 key Information Literacy competencies; Framing the Research Question, Accessing Sources, Evaluation of Information Resources and Create Original Work.

The librarians created a rubric  which defined each of the 4 Information Literacy competencies and rated each on a clearly defined 3 level scale. Data was collected from 13 courses for a total of  24 sections.  346 students took part in the study.