Students as WAC Scholars: A Shared Emphasis on Students’ Learning Processes

by Bethany Usher, Associate Director, Center for Teaching Excellence, and Anthropology

As I sit gazing at my pile of student portfolios to grade, wishing that the completed pile was larger than the to-do stack, I have been thinking about the difference between evaluating product versus process. In these portfolios, students have selected recent news stories about health and diseases and have written a one-page critique of each article using an evolutionary and/or anthropological perspective. I enjoy reading these critiques because they demonstrate that students are able to identify and analyze the scholarly process involved in the reporting of the stories. However, what I find myself looking forward to reading are the self-reflective essays, the final element of the portfolio. In these personal statements, I get a glimpse into what value they found in the process of working through the assignment.

One of the (many) ways that Writing Across the Curriculum and the Students as Scholars QEP Initiative intersect is our focus on process as well as product. When we talk about the undergraduate research process, we are interested in having our students learn about the process of inquiry. Students need to see themselves as participants in the process of the scholarly endeavor, rather than just recipients of knowledge. In all forms of research and creative activity, including writing, the quality of the product is the end result of a complicated, iterative process.

Teaching this process is difficult, as we struggle along with our students in grappling with the unknown. Many of them were excellent students in high school, as seen by the improving profile of Mason’s incoming classes. Yet they may still be unprepared for the challenges we place in front of them when it comes to writing and construction of knowledge at Mason. Many are excited about the challenge, and others are frightened by it. It will be our challenge, both through WAC and through the Students as Scholars initiative, to increase our efforts to support our students through the inquiry process so that they are able to produce excellent products. As faculty, we too can learn to take pleasure in supporting our students through the learning and writing process that leads to the final product.

Some suggestions for incorporating an inquiry process into your classes:

• Elucidate for your students that they are taking on the role of “student as scholar.” This will help engage them in the process and take responsibility for their work.
• Talk about your own research and writing process, including what excites you and what frustrates you.
• Have students keep research logs (or blogs) that are checked regularly.
• Encourage students to write on wikis that track versions of documents.
• Break large assignments into parts that emphasize process, and make evidence of the process part of the overall grade.
• Ask students to discuss the writing or research being presented in class from a process perspective, e.g. “What did it take for the author to move from an idea or question to this result?”
• Ask students to write a reflective essay talking about what they have learned and why it matters. Not only is this valuable to the student, it is also helpful to you.