Integrating writing into (even large) economics classes All handouts available at Jennifer Imazeki San 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 in (mostly large) classes Writing to learn assignments Peer review Rubrics

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 at Jennifer Imazeki San Diego State University jenniferimazeki.com

Blogs, Discussion Boards

Blogs: can see all posts together

BB: attach rubric, grade easily

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

Participation summary

Individual contributions

Wikis Collaborative content (groups vs. individuals) – Can ‘jigsaw’ assignments so individuals responsible for parts but group responsible for whole Form of peer review

Examples (more summative) Write test questions – Requires synthesis of material – Peer review: Students share and answer each other’s questions Give an example… (handout #2) – Requires application of material – Peer review: Students rate classmates’ responses