Student Writing in the Quantitative Disciplines E-Book

Patrick Bahls

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 342

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Designing interesting problems and writing assignments is one of the chief tasks of all teachers, but it can be especially challenging to translate and apply learning theory, good teaching techniques, and writing assignments into STEM and other quantitative disciplines. Student Writing in the Quantitative Disciplines offers instructors in math-based disciplines meaningful approaches to making their coursework richer and more relevant for their students, as well as satisfying institutional imperatives for writing curricula. This important resource provides instructors with the hands-on skills needed to guide their students in writing well in quantitative courses at all levels of the college curriculum and to promote students' general cognitive and intellectual growth. Comprehensive in scope, the book includes: * Ideas for using writing as a means of learning mathematical concepts * Illustrative examples of effective writing activities and assignments in a number of different genres * Assessment criteria and effective strategies for responding to students' writing * Examples of ways to help students engage in peer review, revision, and resubmission of their written work "Those of us who spend our lives urging faculty in all disciplines to integrate more writing into their courses have wished for the day when someone like Patrick Bahls would step forward with a book like this one."--Chris M. Anson, University Distinguished Professor and director, Campus Writing and Speaking Program, North Carolina State University "Written by a mathematician, this readable, theoretically sound book describes practical strategies for teachers in the quantitative sciences to assign and respond to students' writing. It also describes numerous approaches to writing that engage students in disciplinary learning, collaborative discovery, and effective communication."--Art Young, Campbell Professor of English emeritus, Clemson University "Loaded with practical advice, this timely, important, and engaging book will be an invaluable resource for instructors wishing to bring the benefits of writing-to-learn to the quantitative disciplines. As a mathematician thoroughly grounded in writing-across-the-curriculum scholarship, Bahls brings humor, classroom experience, and pedagogical savvy to a mission he clearly loves--improving the quality of student learning in math and science."--John C. Bean, professor, Seattle University, and author, Engaging Ideas

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Chapter One: Understanding the Role of Writing

Basic Definitions

A Brief History of Writing across the Curriculum

Writing in the Disciplines and Writing-to-Learn in Quantitative Fields

Challenges to Implementing Wac in Quantitative Fields

Readings and Resources

Chapter Two: Writing as a Process

The Process at Work in a Mathematical Proof

The Writing Process

Structuring Writing Assignments

Sequencing Assignments throughout a Course

Sequencing Writing from Course to Course

Chapter Three: Assessing and Responding to Student Writing

Recognizing Good Writing

Giving Guidance in Revision

Peer Review

Chapter Four: Low-Stakes Writing and Writing-to-Learn

Examples of Low-Stakes Writing Activities

Notes on Responding to Low-Stakes Writing

Readings and Resources

Chapter Five: Formal Writing Projects

Writing on Writing

Learning Logs

Student-Authored Exam Questions

“Great Debates”

Writing for Lay Audiences

Student-Authored Textbooks

Grant Writing

Wikis and Other Websites

Creative Writing Projects

A Word on Technical Typesetting

Chapter Six: Shaping the Future of Writing in the Quantitative Disciplines

Pushing Writing Forward

Teachers, Scholars, Champions

Recommended Reading and Resources

References

Index

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bahls, Patrick, 1975-

Student writing in the quantitative disciplines : a guide for college faculty / Patrick Bahls. — 1st ed.

p. cm. — (The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-95212-2 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-20580-8 (ebk.)

ISBN 978-1-118-20581-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-20582-2 (ebk.)

1. Mathematics—Authorship. 2. Mathematics—Study and teaching (Higher) I. Title.

QA20.M38B34 2012

808.06’651—dc23

2011046150

To Maggie

PREFACE

“I got into math because I don’t like to write!”

Do your students say this whenever you ask them to write more than a few simple lines of computation? Do they revolt when you encourage them to contextualize their computations or to justify them or explain them in qualitative terms? Do they insist that it doesn’t really matter how they got to the right answer, as long as they got there in the end, so it makes no difference that they can’t explain their reasoning once they are done?

I write this book for college faculty in mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, economics, chemistry, computer science . . . in any subject, really, in which quantitative reasoning is central and in which writing has traditionally played a secondary role. I write this book to help faculty in these quantitative disciplines see how writing figures prominently in the learning process and to learn how to more meaningfully incorporate writing into even the most purely mathematical of college courses. I write this book to help these faculty enable their students not only to become better writers in their disciplines but also to use writing as a tool for learning and for examining and analyzing new ideas.

I write as an instructor who deals daily with students’ resistance to writing. Not a semester goes by without a handful of the first-year college students in my calculus classes declaring their distaste for writing, generally midway through the course’s first major writing assignment. They say it honestly, and without malice or guilt. They say it like I should take pity on them and knowing how they feel excuse them from writing for the rest of the semester. Students enter their math classes expecting to write very little, if at all. For most of them, math courses focus on formulas and computations. Math to them is numbers, a smattering of symbols, some assorted “thuses” and “therefores,” and that’s exactly how students like it. Few students have ever been asked to write in complete sentences in their math classes, and from their perspective this is a good thing. As a consequence, students don’t recognize what writing in mathematics looks like, in part because many of us have a hard time describing it, let alone explaining why it is important.

Nevertheless, writing has a place in every course, even in courses with quantitative content, in which numbers typically take center stage. Even in math, well-structured writing assignments help students learn how to communicate clearly what they have learned. Even in disciplines like math, statistics, physics, engineering, economics, chemistry, and computer science, reflective writing helps students focus on the learning experience itself. Writing helps students in these areas organize and clarify their thoughts. It helps them discover others’ ideas and develop their own. It helps them gain a sense of authorship and take charge of their own learning.