Learning and Teaching Center (Old)

presentation by Martha Townsend, April 10, 2000

by Amanda Mahnke, Writing Program Tutor, Carleton College

Martha Townsend, Director of the Campus Writing Program at University of Missouri, Columbia, gave a talk titled "Defining Ourselves as 'Writing Teachers"' during lunch on Monday, April 10. Her presentation, supported by a grant from the Bush Foundation and cosponsored by the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching and the Carleton College Writing Program, focused on her work in teaching writing and writing assessment.

In describing her experiences as Director of the Campus Writing Program, Townsend emphasized the advantages of "writing to learn" as an approach to "learning to write." Learning to write, she argued, is "rarely thought of as a pleasing act for anyone involved" and often becomes a source of frustration for teachers as well as students. Writing to learn, on the other hand, encourages "informality, experimentation, and risk-taking, . . helps create interactive learning environments," and allows students to "practice with complex ideas."

Sharing the experiences of her colleagues at the University of Missouri in implementing "writing to learn" ideas, Ms. Townsend explained how developments in teaching theory can be put into practice. By giving multiple short assignments and frequent feedback, teachers at the University found that students became more engaged in both the writing process and the subject material being taught. The more students write, Ms. Townsend asserted, the more excited they become about what they are learning.

Some University of Missouri faculty have experimented with "writing to learn" ideas by adding non-graded writing exercises to the curriculum. One professor has met with great success in assigning frequent I minute in-class papers. A student from his class commented, "writing reinforces the information and makes us think clearly." Ms. Townsend encouraged teachers to "suspend final evaluation of writing until thinking is more solidified. "

One University of Missouri science professor found that by staggering deadlines for sections of a final written project throughout the term and by giving students frequent feedback from the professor and through peer review, students produced higher quality work. Ms. Townsend explained that this more structured approach to assigning class work helps solve a common teaching problem: the gap between the teacher's expectations for an assignment and the student's lack of knowledge about what specific steps are necessary for completion. This example highlights one of Ms. Townsend's main points: the importance of communication.

"Making what we want very, very, clear," Ms. Townsend asserted, is essential to successful teaching. "As a teacher, your assignment, to be clear, may be longer than the writing you get back." She encouraged teachers to give students a specific reason for the assignment, tell them what they are expected to learn, what audience they are writing for, and what criteria the assignment will be graded on.

In addition to addressing practical ways of teaching writing more effectively, Ms. Townsend also touched on the issue of writing assessment at Carleton. She stressed the importance of developing strategies for each college and university on a case-by-case basis, but also suggested the potential advantages of implementing a portfolio assessment system.

Ms. Townsend concluded her presentation by facilitating discussion on practical teaching approaches using a series of hypothetical scenarios. "In writing across the curriculum," she concluded, "writing to learn principles do not provide a formula, but rather a host of easily accessible ideas." Ms. Townsend recommended the book, Engaging Ideas,* by John Bean (Jossey-Bass 1996) for further reading.

*available in the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching, Laird 115