Title: Bridging the Gap: Possibilities for Writing Across the Curriculum WAC Presentation to the Curriculum
1Bridging the Gap Possibilities for Writing
Across the Curriculum (WAC)Presentation to the
Curriculum Review Steering Group
- Dr Mary Pryor Dr Christine Laennec
- Student Learning Service
- Centre for Learning Teaching
- 28 February 2008
2Guiding principles
- In our previous presentation, we focused on
- The importance of contextualising writing
- By discipline
- By level of study
- The need to take into account the shorthand
culture many students live in - The need to communicate expectations and offer
reasonable guidance, i.e. - Bridging the gap with stepping stones rather than
by a giant leap!
3Possibility 1Multi-disciplinary foundation
course (not labelled as a writing course but
with explicit emphasis on writing)
- By studying different disciplines, students
experience different approaches, modes of thought
and discourses - Writing is contextualised the student is writing
on a topic related to the field of study - Written articulation of thought can be reinforced
by verbal articulation of thought in discussion
groups - Inclusive of all staff, including those who do
not see themselves as writing teachers
4Possibilities 1a 1b
- 1a Student takes one core course which runs
alongside others - Several discrete core courses could be offered,
e.g. - Arts
- Social Sciences
- Sciences
- 1b All Level 1 courses across the university are
redesigned to emphasise writing
5Possibility 2Stand-alone generic writing course
at Level 1
- WAC is standard practice in USA where lecturers
have themselves been through this system and
expect to teach writing, as well as
discipline-specific content, at all levels - Would all teaching staff at Aberdeen want to
contribute to a writing course? - What about levels 2 - 4 and beyond?
- Risk that teaching staff assume that writing has
been taken care of - One size does not fit all different discipline
expectations
6A few examples of different writing aims in the
disciplines
- test a hypothesis
- fully demonstrate a knowledge of theories
- reflective writing
- test a thesis
- close reading
- give an interpretation of a cultural phenomenon
- compare and contrast
7Possibility 3Practice in writing little and
often across all courses
- Students are led step by step 500 words, 1000
words analyse primary source, incorporate
secondary sources, etc. - Disciplines define what is important at each
level - Must consider what status formative / shorter
pieces will have
8Possibility 4 Feedback on writing is given in
all courses, at all levels
- Current practice is widely varied some markers
give feedback on writing, some do not - This causes confusion for students
- Examples at University of Aberdeen
- Not just at Aberdeen
- One of my third-year dissertation students
looked at the corrections Id made to her draft
thesis with absolute disgust and said to me I
dont understand why youre so picky about my
spelling and punctuation. Nobodys ever told me
theres a problem before. - Anonymous university lecturer, The kids
arent all write functionally illiterate and
frankly not bothered, Times Higher Education 21
Feb. 2008, p. 27
9Possibility 5 Every level counts
- Incentive to perform from the start
- If marks at Level 1 and 2 counted, students
would be more motivated to do well
10Current good practice
- Some courses give full guidance as to
expectations - Many staff give full feedback on writing (as well
as thinking) - Some courses are incorporating formative writing
assignments, with good results - In-course workshops in collaboration with Student
Learning Service contextualise expectations of
writing skills at different levels and across
disciplines