Teachers often hesitate to assign writing because they think that all writing has to be evaluated. However, the very act of writing can foster student learning by allowing them to focus their attention at the beginning of class or to discover what they may not understand. In addition, a quick reading of this informal writing can help a teacher see how well students are understanding course material and/or what concepts are giving them trouble.
Writing-to-learn exercises and assignments can be done in-class or as homework. They can require very little time or involve regular, ongoing work by students. A list of such activities follows:
Journals and Logs:
For more information on writing-to-learn assignments, we recommend The Journal Book by Toby Fulwiler (Heinemann, 1987) and Chapter Two of The Harcourt Brace Guide to Writing Across the Curriculum by Christopher Thaiss (Harcourt Brace, 1998).
The following article originally appeared in our Writing @ Center newsletter.