Why write in the PBL classroom?

1. Using PBL to Improve Student Communication SkillsSteve Bernhardtsab@udel.eduTipsheets:http://www.english.udel.edu/wc/staff/ Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

2. Imagine a particular class… --one that you recently taught with PBL or --one you are planning to teach Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

3. Why write in the PBL classroom? • Put ideas toward a purpose • Active learning, • Evaluation • Formal genres—professional discourse • Writing is thinking • Visible ideas—tangible • Map schemas and concept relations • Reflection • Written discussions • Idea space--memory Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

4. A Lesson From WAC(Writing Across the Curriculum) We want students to become good writers, but we also want students to be good learners. Faculty don’t necessarily need to be writing teachers—they can use writing to promote learning. Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

5. Communicating and Thinking • We don’t know what we think until we see what we say. • We don’t own information until we put it in our own words. • If you can’t write it or speak it clearly, you probably don’t understand it. • Writing is thinking, discovery, problem-solving. Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

6. Professionals-in-Training Students consistently had difficulty, across all disciplines: • gathering sufficient specific information • constructing the audience and the self • stating a position • using appropriate discipline-based methods • managing complexity & organizing information Walvoord & McCarthy: Thinking and Writing in College Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

7. What Do Students Say? • Writing is the one skill students most want to improve—mentioned >3X as often as any other skill. • Students are most engaged with courses that assign writing. • Writing increases the time students spend on the course, the extent to which they feel intellectually challenged, and their level of interest. • Writing instruction is best during junior and senior years—organized around a substantive discipline. Light, Richard J. Making the Most of College Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

8. Think of a situation where you produced really good writing or spoke really well.What helped you be a good communicator? Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

9. The Problem Is the Situation Communicators need a sense of situation: • An exigency—a real problem • A strong sense of purpose • A sense of audience • An understanding of constraints PBL defines the problem space. Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

10. Lab reports Lesson plans Mind maps Self assessment Brochures Care plans Reflective journals Letters-dictations Emails Ppt Sms-chat Feedback applications What kinds of writing? Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

11. PBL: A space for communication • PBL creates dialogic space • Process-oriented • Shared vision • Space for reflection • Shared uncertainty • Shared presentation space Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

12. Presentation Chit chat Online discussion boards Debate Simulation Gap analysis Feedback Reflection Consolidating discussion Reporting out progress Emotional outbursts Humor Persuasion argument Asking answering Wondering Negotiation Testimony Validation Story telling What kinds of speaking? Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

13. Abstract Dialog Position Journal entry Letter Case study Critique Report Proposal or grant Memoir Strategic plan Prospectus Progress report Lab report/paper Article journalism Book review Curriculum Performance review Memo Brochure Budget + narrative portfolio of work Ad Biography Want ads Questionnaire Editorial Fictional account Poem Research paper Website Email Chat Discussion post Poster Blog Speech Presentation Minutes Debate What Kinds of Writing? Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

14. Briefing Problem definition Rehearsal Trial solution Team discussion Expert interview Structured problem solving Recommendation Problem/solution Test results Dyads Reflective Progress report Peer evaluation Impact assessment What Kinds of Speaking? Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

15. Integrating Communication Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

16. What makes a good assignment? • Clarity with specific objectives • Standards for evaluation • Challenge/degree of difficulty stretches students • Interesting/controversial • Relevant to learning objectives • Models • Sense of completion—closure--reflection Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

17. Alternative assignments Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

18. Sequenced Assignments Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

19. What makes a good assignment? • Relates to course goals and learning objectives. • Defines clear situation, purpose, audience. • Defines task demands: time, resources, deliverable • Defines process • Sets instructional goal—informal, formal • Sets standards for evaluation: rubrics, criteria, models Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

20. By-product or End-product? Exploratory questioning tentative Polished published delivered Free writes, learning issues, notes, questions and confusions, brainstorming, clustering Progress reports, planning documents, task maps, mini-themes, learning logs, discussion, Q/A, reporting out Written exams, response papers, solutions, team oral exams Reports, presentations, posters, publications Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006

21. Engaging scenarios Staged assignments Prewriting Brainstorming Clustering Reflective writing Think/write/talk Structured problem solving Re-purposing Modeling Peer reviewing Using technology Providing rubrics Short, frequent writing How Do We Integrate Communication? Writing, Communication, and PBL Lima 2006