I began to consider using writing as the primary learning means. I thought doing lots of writing would serve two purposes: it would be a more active way for students to encounter the material, plus it would give Psychology students a chance to improve their writing skills, an area that our department believes needs more attention.
| ImplementationEach class period was broken up into three segments: first, a short lecture by me; second, a period of in-class writing in response to a writing prompt; and third, a discussion of the written ideas of the students. Every two weeks students wrote an out-of-class paper that synthesized our classroom work. The final paper built upon the unit papers with an additional layer of synthesis.
| Student PerformanceHowever, the lack of empirical evidence to support the learning that I saw bothers me. I wonder if I will ever find a way to accurately assess the learning that occurs through this type of intense work. Yet, I am sure enough of the benefits that I am going to continue teaching this course primarily through writing instead of lecturing.
| ReflectionsI believe that writing combined with discussion provides students with a second chance to deepen their learning of a subject matter. Because discussion has the effect of expanding and broadening student thinking, it is important to provide enough time for meaningful discussion of written ideas.
| Summary