Writing-to-Learn, or low-stakes, activities are widely applicable to WGSS courses. They are easy to integrate into a lesson, and involve minimal assessment processes for instructors. Plus, the benefits of low-stakes activities will be visible when students go on to write high-stakes final papers later in the semester.
Idea #1: Journals
In my Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies class at the University of Wyoming, I assigned journals that were due twice each semester. I had students produce these journals digitally, which saved me from having to lug home bundles of notebooks. My rationale was that journal writing in WGSS classes allows students to process the knowledge they are gaining. The material can often have personal import. Also, some of the readings I assign can be difficult for freshman to grasp– journals can be places for students to ask questions they may feel uncomfortable asking in class. When I ask students to critique readings, I encourage them to offer both praise and criticism of so that they can develop (in private) a balanced view of more provocative ideas. Students can also use this space to make connections without needing to worry about grammar or syntax. The journals also give instructors an opportunity to see whether or not students are actually reading (without needing to assign quizzes, which I dislike). Finally, I have had students share personal things (such as, about their own gender or sexuality), and this opened up space for some productive and meaningful dialogue. I assure them strict confidentiality.
I do think it’s very important that students be given parameters, or they tend to blow this kind of thing off until the last minute. This still happens, but parameters make it harder for students to procrastinate. They may do it once, but when they see how hard it is to write pages and pages the night before and still get a decent grade, students don’t tend to repeat that mistake. In terms of practical terms, I ask them to create three journal entries consisting of four full paragraphs, with a title for each. In the attachment below, you can see the grading rubric I use for this assignment. Students find this to be one of the more enjoyable aspects of my Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies classes.
See prompt here: Journals
Idea #2: Blog posts and Quick Writes
Lindsay Lehman, my fellow WAC specialist at College of Staten Island, uses a low-stakes assignment in her class called “quick write.” The quickwrite is, as Lindsay explains, a pretty standard WAC tool. She asks students to do “minute writes” at the end of a class, or she asks them to write blog posts to explain things that they found challenging or provocative, or to write questions about an assigned text. Attached is Lindsay’s “quick write” assignment, which is more structured, although she recommends condensing the prompt into two or three questions: Quickwrite. In a weekly version of this assignment, Lindsay encourages students to create a continuous narrative about the class: how the lessons fit together, and how the material relates to other subjects and the world beyond the classroom. A blog can be a good place for students to perform these quick writes; however, if many students are uncomfortable admitting when they don’t understand something, instructors might consider setting up a weekly quickwrite via email.
The activity is also available here: http://www.pedagogyunbound.com/tips-index/2015/9/15/the-quickwrite-a-weekly-student-reflection-exercise
Idea #3: Engaging-With-Text Worksheet
Gloria Gianoulis, Deputy Writing Program Director and Deputy WAC Coordinator at CSI, uses the following worksheet to help students identify what they think they already know about a topic and engage with a text. The chart looks like this:
| (In this column, the instructor posts General Statements – usually an option or open ended question. I usually have about 4 statements.) | (Pre-Reading Response)
My Response |
(Post-Reading Response)
The Author’s Response |
(Evaulation/Reflection could take several forms:
|
| Statement 1 |
|
||
| Statement 2 |
|
||
| Statement 3 |
|
As Gloria explains, there is a lot of flexibility with the last column depending on your purposes. General statements can be used to expose stereotypical thinking or prejudices. The statements, Gloria says, can also be used for reading comprehension checks or for fostering critical thinking by asking students how individual people or characters would respond. Thank you, Gloria!
Idea #4: Helpful Video
Jeremy Sawyer, another WAC Specialist at CSI, posted this helpful video illustration of various writing-to-learn activities as used by a successful public middle/high school in Massachusetts. This might help to give WGSS instructors ideas for how to incorporate writing-to-learn (or low stakes) activities into their lessons, and the video also explains some of the benefits of these exercises.
Idea #5: Comprehension Activity
CSI WAC Specialist Talia Shalev uses an activity that checks students on their comprehension, one that would be helpful should you decide to include literature in your WGSS classes. Talia had some concerns about students understanding who the characters were, what their circumstances were, and why there was actually a conflict in the various works that she teaches. In response, Talia designed a handout for students to work on in groups of three during class. In Talia’s class, each student recorded notes on their own copy of the handout. The small groups could interact with one another and compare their responses, or you might choose to discuss responses as a whole class. This is a longer exercise that may take up the entire class, but you can also adapt the handout to make a shorter one.
The handout has two sides. On the first side are basic comprehension questions the work’s central figure. The second side prompts students to answer questions from the perspective of select characters. Talia designed a few different versions of the second-side of the handout so the groups weren’t all working on the same characters. Download the handout here: Comprehension Activity.
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