Post by WIDboard on Oct 12, 2011 7:28:04 GMT -5
Prof. Carol Hayes uses several in-class activities as workshop opportunities for student drafts. While class time is obviously limited and must therefore be used carefully, the following activities can be quite useful:
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In Class Draft Workshops and Activities
If you have some class time to spend on preparing students for a paper, you might consider using some of the following strategies for full-class workshops that don’t require any outside reading/commenting for you, but that do provide students with tips on how to improve their papers. The stronger their final papers are, the less time they’ll take to grade and comment on.
• X-Ray Scans: If you want the class to focus on how to structure their papers more effectively, teach them to do “x-ray scans.” See the relevant WIDboard post for the the assignment details at widboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=assignments&action=display&thread=40
• Introductions: Have students bring drafts of their papers to class. Get everyone to sit in a circle (including you). Tell everyone to pass their paper to the person on their right. They’ll then have 30 seconds to read the first paragraph. You’ll read the first paragraphs as well, while also keeping an eye on the time. After 30 seconds, call time and have everyone pass the papers to the right again. Continue until the papers have circled the full class and are back with the original writers. If it’s a 20-person class, expect the exercise to take approximately 12 minutes (the exchanges take a little bit of time, adding to the 10 minutes of reading time). Then ask the class to describe the introductions they found most effective--and why. Use the conversation to compile a list of qualities that should be included in a strong introduction.
• Scissors/Puzzle Exercise: To test both whether the logical structure of a draft is effective, as well as to test how well the transitions between the paragraphs are articulated, have students either cut their papers, paragraph by paragraph or (preferably) bring a draft of their paper to class where each paragraph has been printed on a separate page (not double-sided or numbered). They should then shuffle the paragraphs and exchange drafts with a partner. After the partners have put the paragraphs in the order they believe they go in, have the pair discuss how hard/easy it was to reconstruct the paper, as well as any “errors” they made in piecing it together. (NOTE: This exercise works best on relatively short papers--ideally 5 pages or less).
__________________________________________________________________
In Class Draft Workshops and Activities
If you have some class time to spend on preparing students for a paper, you might consider using some of the following strategies for full-class workshops that don’t require any outside reading/commenting for you, but that do provide students with tips on how to improve their papers. The stronger their final papers are, the less time they’ll take to grade and comment on.
• X-Ray Scans: If you want the class to focus on how to structure their papers more effectively, teach them to do “x-ray scans.” See the relevant WIDboard post for the the assignment details at widboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=assignments&action=display&thread=40
• Introductions: Have students bring drafts of their papers to class. Get everyone to sit in a circle (including you). Tell everyone to pass their paper to the person on their right. They’ll then have 30 seconds to read the first paragraph. You’ll read the first paragraphs as well, while also keeping an eye on the time. After 30 seconds, call time and have everyone pass the papers to the right again. Continue until the papers have circled the full class and are back with the original writers. If it’s a 20-person class, expect the exercise to take approximately 12 minutes (the exchanges take a little bit of time, adding to the 10 minutes of reading time). Then ask the class to describe the introductions they found most effective--and why. Use the conversation to compile a list of qualities that should be included in a strong introduction.
• Scissors/Puzzle Exercise: To test both whether the logical structure of a draft is effective, as well as to test how well the transitions between the paragraphs are articulated, have students either cut their papers, paragraph by paragraph or (preferably) bring a draft of their paper to class where each paragraph has been printed on a separate page (not double-sided or numbered). They should then shuffle the paragraphs and exchange drafts with a partner. After the partners have put the paragraphs in the order they believe they go in, have the pair discuss how hard/easy it was to reconstruct the paper, as well as any “errors” they made in piecing it together. (NOTE: This exercise works best on relatively short papers--ideally 5 pages or less).
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