Dr. Crews, I begin by reminding the students about the importance of effective written and oral communication skills.
The next thing I do is to point the students at the writing resource that are available as part of the online course. An APA guide is available, and there are several writing labs available through the online University.
The last thing I do for the online students is I offer to proofread drafts of their work, during one of my live sessions each week, so that they can then go back and improve their final version, taking into consideration the formative feedback I provided.
Mike Crowley
To be honest I haven't thought much about this until now. I have referred students to the Writing Lab or Tutoring Service avaiable through the school's Learning Center. I now realize I need to be more proactive and provide additional information that will help the student improve in these areas. I will being to offer additional information and support that will help the student improve in their reading, writing and communication skills.
My courses tend to focus explicitly on critical reading and reasoning skills. A majority of our assignments concern the ability to communicate ideas clearly and employ concepts from reading in an appropriate manner while offering reasoned elaborations of their own views of the issues being confronted.
I work in my feedback to students to raise questions as respectfully as possible regarding issues where their communication may be unclear, their work conveys a lack of reading comprehension, or their writing is in need of revision. I will point to these issues and attempt to suggest where the student may need to look to address the concerns.
In general, I find it helpful to remind students to elaborate their reasons and put the time and care into their posts to make sure that they maintain a respectful and professional tone, while considering any questions that might immediately come to mind when reading their draft. Considering such questions a student may ask what assumptions are at work in their writing, whether these follow correctly from the readings and whether they need to be fleshed out for the audience of their peers.
I provide students with a writing expectations guide at the beginning of each class identifying both the importance of clarity and precision as well as a compendium of tips to assist them. I also provide rubrics identifying how their compositions will be evaluated. Additionally I direct them to online writing resources, including our university online library.
This is definitely one of the more challenging aspects of teaching. I have found that an effective way of improving each of the skills is to have the student think about alternatives. I other words, to ask how else could you communicate the same idea or message. I always begin with a few examples. In terms of their own work in class assignments, I have found that it not only helps them form their own thoughts and ideas into more concrete answers, but helps them to understand and accept how others may answer the same question in an equally valid way. Perhaps it is simply a validation of their own point of view, but what it comes down to whether they are writing, reading, or speaking their own thoughts, they begin to become aware how their words as well as those of their colleagues are best understood when they are communicated in a CPA (clear, professional and appropriate) manner.
Alan,
We do not let our grand-children venture alone on the web, and her mom pre-approves their readings.
I was thinking about the reading materials we have at our on line school. Thanks for the information.
That's pretty direct and to the point Jack. I bought my grandson a Kindle because he loves to read. I have him on my Amazon Prime account so he has access to all the books I have purchased, a number of free classic books from Amazon, and access to a lending library where he can read Harry Potter books.
That sounds like a plan Melissa! It's interesting that you are also teaching gifted high school students and that you provide enriched/bonus content.
For one I try to be a good model for my students in summarizing their assignments in announcements, and in discussion their assignments in online chats. I break down complex assignments to a couple of key points that should be included.
I also encourage my students in the grading feedback that I give, It might include admonishments to break their material into topics, include an attention step, explain why the material is important, put the material in their own words, use an active voice, use transistions, have a theme, tell a story rather tahn just answer questions, use APA format, include personal experience where possible, and perhaps to write as if they were explaining the topic to a novice.
I encourage my students to read and absorb the material from multiple outside sources beyond teh textboo so they will be exposed to the topic from multiple angles and perspectives. Then when they fully understand the material it will be that much easier for them to write from the heart.
Alana,
The question is will they read?
And the answer is as little as possible OR, they read some parts, and not other parts. And I am talking of mature adults.
We have reading materials
We have materials for the visual learner
We have materials for those who prefer to listen
I help students improve their reading, writing, and communication skills by providing templates and examples of good writing. I give detailed feedback that explains how they can improve and also often provide examples of their own work rewritten with corrections so they can understand my critiques.
Jennifer Humphries
In my experience, students benefit from detailed rubrics, specific instructions, and models or examples of what's expected from their communication efforts. From online discussion boards, to written assignments, to even email correspondence, it's helpful to students when they can see and practice solid communication skills.
For their written assignments, I provide rubrics in addition to detailed instructions. I also discuss the assignments throughout the week that they are due. For students that feel they need additional support, I will review their drafts and recommend additional resources at the online writing lab.
With discussions, I also provide rubrics and like to direct their attention to posts that successfully model the responses that I'm looking for. I also like to congratulate students who have engaged in a dynamic dialogue.
Finally, with email communication, I like to emphasize my role as a supporter and will try to facilitate constructive communication in order to defuse tension. This last one is tricky, but it's important that students know that constructive communication is not only limited to the classroom.
Dr. Crews,
I have to be honest with you and tell you that I never thought such skills are necessary for Science/Math majors. I always thought that those skills are important for humanities majors. But now that I am participating in this online course and thinking about it, I guess those skills will also be beneficial to students in STEM fields. Perhaps some of my students fail to solve a math problem because they do not have the proper reading skill; they fail to ask me questions because they do not have the writing skill. So, I am thinking of sending them individualized email, asking them to provide feedback to me, read certain PPT files or chapters or telling me how I can be of assistance to you. I will start from there and see I can incorporate what others are discussing here and whatever I am learning.
Thank You,
Dr. Dutta
Erin,
Interesting technique! I do some of that myself. I do have the five and your out rule; when students become so dependent on my proofing that they don't proofread on their own; I quit grading at 5 mistakes and give them a zero. They have 24 hours to fix it!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jeanette,
Interesting, I think that the online environment will provide you with many opportunities to improve their writing. Good luck!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Carol,
So, are you talking about resources that are tied to your institution?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Lakithia,
You have two great techniques. Have you tried to "talk" to a student about their paper through an audio file?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Roshawna,
Great technique! I think you have to begin with corrections and monitor their growth. I do make sure they don't continue to make the same mistakes.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Ramonica,
I think you are right. You have to provide both good and bad examples. That does really help.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
