The body of literature on a Writing-to-Learn (WTL) approach in math courses offers up a variety of assignment types from which to choose. However, few of these articles provide empirical evidence on the ways these writing assignments contribute to students' learning. This mixed-methods study, conducted at the University of New Mexico, a…

Presents a writing assignment from a class in general semantics in which students write about a personal application of general semantics. Presents a paper submitted by one student. (SR)

Describes an assignment in which students must integrate writing and negotiation skills with proposal development. Notes that many students have been able to share their problem-solving skills by implementing their proposal at their workplace. Notes students liked the opportunity to select a topic of interest to them. (SG)

Describes a freshman composition course which employs problem-solving exercises as a writing improvement technique. Notes that sharing ideas while solving problems builds new writers' openness and trust, whereas thinking aloud prepares students to benefit from other writers' thinking protocol methods. Suggests that brainstorming can help students…

Describes a class project/case study where students draft a proposal and present it to a board for deliberation. Details how students analyze the current problem and the cause, brainstorm for a preferred and alternative solutions, and discuss advantages and disadvantages. (PRA)

Social Studies teachers need to emphasize reading instruction across the curriculum; they can consider 11 selected methods to assist pupil progress in reading social studies content. Recommendations include introducing new words from the reading; initiating peer reading and tutoring; having an aid read orally; tape recording the selection to be…

This book is designed to provide teachers with numerous ideas about how to infuse mathematics and writing into their classroom in creative and challenging ways and to encourage students to visualize, speak, and write about math. The activities described here can help students communicate mathematically and realize that there is more to math than…

Two critical thinking activities (information transfer and problem solving) have been used effectively in the writing classroom with level 4 students in a four-level intensive English program. In the information transfer activity, students move from graphic stimuli to written texts. Student writers practice critical thinking by discussing data,…

Describes the design and implementation of a major collaborative assignment in which students investigate and produce written and oral solutions to a problem with a national perspective experienced by a community corporation, business, governmental, or not-for-profit organization. (KEH)

There are many kinds of writing activities for pupils. Pupils need to develop proficiency for a variety of types of writing, such as creative writing and poetry, writing in journals, writing about personal experiences, writing an outline, writing an opinion, writing on how something should be done, writing and problem solving, writing to inform,…

Outlines exercises for high school and college students that use student-written poems, published adult poems, and synectics (a game-like forced comparison between dissimilar objects) to help students understand the writer's most powerful comparison device: metaphor. (SR)

Integrating up-to-date composition theory with pedagogical research in critical thinking and inquiry, this book presents a flexible organizational structure to accommodate a range of freshman composition course designs and to engage students intellectually in problem-centered writing activities to prepare them for academic tasks across the…

Describes a method of teaching geology and scientific writing to nonscience students that combines active integration of lecture, reading, and laboratory materials with field observations into a writing assignment on a real scientific problem. The writing assignment is completed in stages: a prospectus, a detailed report outline, a bibliography, a…

Four techniques used to incorporate writing and active learning into mathematics classrooms are described. They include summary sheets, short focused writing, medium length writing, and student presentations. Examples of how each technique can be used are included. (KR)

Research has shown that although university instructors of English as a Second Language are aware of the benefits that active learning can bring the student, teacher-centered, traditional lecture method classes are still the norm. Resistance to change is due in part to large class sizes, limited instruction hours, and the perception that proactive…