Teacher Resources: Things That Work

INFORMAL IN-CLASS WRITING
by Carol Bork

Sometimes, the most gratifying classes lead to the most disastrous papers.  We have all had the experience of leaving the classroom thinking, "wow, what a great discussion," only to get a set of papers a few days later than show none of the insight that was so apparent in the discussion.  In order to help student make a stronger bridge between the good discussions they have in class and the solitary experience of writing a paper, I try to encourage lots of informal in-class writing.  This is writing that students do "on-the-fly," in the course of the discussion (rather than the more formal mode of in-class writing with which I often start my classes).  Encouraging informal in-class writing is particularly important for weaker students, who often have not yet developed strong note-taking habits.  Here are some ways to develop informal in-class writing into the class:

1. When small groups are reporting, remind students to jot down important ideas.  It's crucially important for students to leave the classroom—even after a day of discussion—with something concrete to which they can refer as they work on their papers.  Weaker students may not have good note-taking habits, and constant reminders to write down useful ideas that come up in conversation can help them to develop in that area. (For example, "Lee just made an excellent point about ….; can anyone paraphrase what Lee just said?  You might want to jot that idea down, and think about it more while you work on your paper this weekend. . .")

2. Take brief "writing breaks" every 10 or 15 minutes during a discussion.  After a period of strong discussion, I will say, "take a few minutes to write down the most important ideas from the discussion so far."  Near the end of class, I will say, "take a few minutes to jot down the ideas from discussion that you will want to work with in your paper."  Then I will ask the class as a whole if they want anyone to repeat anything.  This question helps students to reflect on the discussion immediately, so that they can add to their notes. 

3. Ask students to write 5 substantive questions about the discussion so far.  After 10 or 15 minutes of discussion, ask students to reflect back on the discussion and write down questions about issues that have been raised in the discussion.  If students find this daunting, you can even provide some patterns for questions, such as "what is the relationship between __ and __ ?" or when ___ writes about ___ does she mean ___ or ___ ?

4. Tell students at the beginning of the discussion that you will call on someone to re-cap the important points later in the class.  This means that everyone has to take notes and be ready to report on the high points of the discussion, including disagreements and ambiguities.  (Make sure to affirm that the student chosen for this task does a good job, so that others will be willing to try in the future.)