It seems that we are all on board
with the idea that speaking and writing across the curriculum is
important. There are, of course, obstacles that we have to overcome if
we are to succeed in integrating speaking/writing into the curriculum,
however. Here are a just a few of the commonly listed complaints about
using writing and speaking assignments in the classroom (credited to
Chris Anson at North Carolina State University, Director of the Campus
Writing and Speaking Program)
- Avoidance: “It’s not my job—I’m not a writing/speaking person”
- Anxiety: “I’m not a great speaker/writer myself”
- Blame: “It’s the fault of the high schools” “Our university doesn’t provide the right resources”
- Additional layer: “Writing/speaking intrudes on my course coverage.” “I already have so much to teach, I can’t add another thing.”
- Pedagogical apathy: “My teaching is pretty good as is.”
- Misconception: “My discipline is about _____, not writing/speaking.”
- Irritation: “Too many students, not enough time.”
- Extrinsic needs: “There’s no reward for this extra work.”
Choose the 3 obstacles that you think are most applicable to your situation and then reflect on ways that the assumption is wrong or suggest possible solutions to the problem.
8 comments:
1. Irritation: While I wouldn't necessarily call it "irritation", extremely large classes make it difficult for me to envision incorporation of speaking assignments. At this point, I don't have a good solution to this problem--maybe our group discussion this week will help me how it can be accomplished. I did appreciate the idea from Speaking Across the Curriculum of making speaking assignments more informal, such as Pairing and Sharing.
2. Misconception: In my courses with graduate students, I feel this is less of a problem for me. In training school psychologists, we go through explicit training on how to speak to parents and teachers, as well as give support to students giving research presentations. My difficulty is more specific to the undergraduate level--it has been difficult for me to make a clear link between the need for speaking and courses such as an undergraduate Intro course. Instead, undergraduate students should be viewed through a more general lens, as the ability to articulately present ideas is of equal value to graduate students with a clear career goal as undergraduate students who my not pursue a career in psychology.
3. Additional layer: As previously stated, large courses make it difficult to envision adding another element--not only is it difficult to work in speaking assignments for all of the students, it also takes away from a curriculum already packed full of material. Informal assignments, such as the Question and Answer technique presented in the readings, could be expected and serve as reviews for material covered--allowing the lecturer to introduce speaking but still cover all the required material.
Additional layer: Yes, there is a lot to cover in my classes, however, I like the idea of including a short assisgnment periodically for discussion, not necessarily for grading.
Misconception: My discipline is about nutrition, not writing and speaking. Although that is not my perspective, it is the perspective of many students. What they don't understand is the amount of explaining we have to do for clients/patients as well as nutrition education for groups. However, it could be explained to the students that because this is a science-based discipline, learning how to decipher the research (in an oral/writing assignment) will help them as future professionals translate the science to their patients/clients.
Irritation: This is always the case with so many students - trying to fit in even a 5 minute informal oral assignment could take several days. I suppose one way to overcome, is to have only some give the speech?? Or like Keith suggested, having the students give their presentation to each other and peer review. Students do tend to grade each other easier though.
In foreign languages our pedagogical mantra is to focus on a Four-skill + culture approach to learning and teaching. The four skills are reading, writing, speaking, and listening. So I am dedicated to including speaking and writing in all of my courses. I think the greatest challenge is in grading the writing assignments in a productive way that encourages student learning. Rather than correct mistakes, I might circle them and then have students correct their own work and turn it in again. But I don't always do this. So I sometimes wonder whether my writing assignments are just throw-aways? Or is it always good to have students write something, even if they will never look at it again?
I agree with the first two comments on the three obstacles to incorporating writing and speaking into teaching in my field- Business, Finance and Economics in particular. These three points are coincident with the first three misbelieves about “Using Writing to Promote Thinking” in Bean (2001).
1. Additional layer: time constraint. If we can use writing and speaking as tools to enhance learning and thinking, it may solve part of the problem. Of course, designing these tools or assignments may need a lot of work- that’s what we are working on starting with this seminar. Informal writing (summaries) or speaking (discussions) may be easier to start with.
2. Misconception: If we really treat writing and speaking as ways to enhance critical thinking, then it is important for any field.
3. Irritation: managing work load. Ungraded, informal writing and speaking (discussions) assignments can be good ways to start with to enhance thinking and learning. For formal ones, peer evaluation or selective grading can be ways to control workload.
I have the same three obstacles as most of the rest have identified.
"Too many students, not enough time"
I've struggled to involve writing (and speaking) in large classes.In particular, the process of providing meaningful feedback for students as they edit towards a final draft is often unwieldy. A possible solution is peer review.
“My discipline is about math, not writing/speaking.”
While this is an initial misconception by students, I think that with enough examples, the benefit of the writing/speaking process in clarifying their thinking and explanations will be apparent.
“Writing/speaking intrudes on my course coverage.”
I think a good solution for this is to have reasonable expectations about what kind of writing/speaking is done in the class. As mentioned by others, the writing and speaking can be done at a more informal level for lower level courses.
Anxiety: I have only been teaching for a little over four years. I find sometimes that I exhibit "word finding" difficulties. My anxiety decreases as my teaching opportunities increase.
Additional Layer: I have so much information to teach in a semester. Sometimes I feel like I am rushing through important concepts. I don't like having the attitude that "I don't have time for anything else." I am hoping this course will teach me a beneficial way to incorporate speaking and writing.
Irritation: Again, I feel like some of these skills should already be present. I hope this course will help me eliminate this bias thinking.
Additional layer: The schedule is already extremely busy in my classes. Students often complain about the workload. Squeezing in another assignment, may be difficult. There is one speaking assignment/presentation already in the course that requires all students to speak. Doesn't always turn out that well however, particularly for students with speaking anxiety.
Irritation: Current demands from research, service, and work-family keep me extremely busy already, where can I find the time to incorporate something else.
Extrinsic needs: Writing and speaking assignments require subjective grading, even with a rubrics. They tend to take a very long time to grade particularly if you do feedback rounds like I do. This extra work is on the professor. While students appreciate the feedback, no one seems to appreciate the time spent giving it.
All good points. And it's interesting to see how much of the same arguments were repeated. The good news is that many of the problems listed may not be of concern to you. We'll talk about some strategies to deal with these obstacles today. I think the main thing is to design really meaningful assignments that will enhance the learning experience.
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