writing

(Feminist) Dreams Really Do Come True

by Anastasia Kayiatos, Slavic
As the students of the introductory course (many of them first-years) sift through these dense texts (for many, their first brushes with theory), it is easy for them to feel alienated by the language….My job is to make sure they know that feminist theory’s difficult lexicon is not an exercise in esotericism designed to disempower them. On the contrary, I strive to demonstrate throughout the semester, feminist scholars invent new vocabulary with a deliberate political aim of empowerment.

Grading Essays

Connecting grading to specific learning objectives, and developing a clear system for commenting, can make grading an easier and more strategic process.

A People’s History of the English Language: Dialect Communities

by Matthew Sergi, English
Composition students tend to approach punctuation, grammar, usage, and spelling standards through unquestioning (and usually futile) rote memorization…In my R1B section, I combined Howard Zinn’s People’s History techniques with a traditional History of the English Language syllabus, demonstrating to my students that the rules of good English have always been, and are still, changing and subject to conflict, politics, and urgent debate.

Using Prediction, Competition, and Reflection to Make Connections in Calculus II

by Danielle Champney, Education, SESAME
I view Calculus II as more than just a solution-finding mission or strategy game. Students will learn little or resort to untested pattern-matching if I simply tell them what method to use each time they encounter a new problem! Learning how concepts in class are reflected in procedures used to solve problems is, to me, a core principle of the course.

Working with Student Writing: Additional Resources

The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style (2005). Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin. In cases where you do want to correct grammatical usage in a student’s writing, this is a useful guide. You may also want to quote or direct the student to specific pages so that they Continue Reading >>

Improving Biology Papers through Peer Review

by Christopher Clark, Integrative Biology
We had the students perform a double-blind peer review of each others’ papers during the final lab session. This is similar to the way scientific papers submitted to a journal are reviewed by peer scientists… By seeing (or overhearing) mistakes their peers were making, students became aware of ways they could improve their own papers. They also received nearly instantaneous, in-depth constructive criticism of their reports.