How to Use Writing for Teaching and Learning: (How To Guides)

This interdisciplinary guide encourages faculty to use both formal and informal writing to promote deeper learning and problem solving. Using concentric thinking as a theoretical framework, the text outlines a systematic set of cognitive tasks that guide faculty to create and link writing assignments in ways that promote learning and deepen student understanding. Chapters are designed to be participatory and faculty are guided to apply the concentric thinking framework to a real course they will be teaching. The authors explain how to integrate writing into teaching and learning by scaffolding course readings, assignments and assessments in ways that foster classroom dialogue and create a powerful, student-centered learning experience. Key Features: Examines the relationship between critical thinking and writing Emphasizes cognitive tasks that are inherent to good reading, writing, and thinking Outlines tools and methods to deepen students’ understanding and enhance engagement How to Use Writing for Teaching and Learning is an invaluable resource for faculty across the social sciences, humanities and business and management.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction: reading, writing and concentric thinking 1 Connecting reading and writing through PTA 2 Connecting critical thinking, reading and writing through syllabus design 3 Connecting writing prompts with course SLOs through formative assessment 4 Connecting formative and summative assessment to create student expertise 5 Conclusion: connecting this book with your pedagogy 6 Appendix

About the Author :
Suzanne S. Hudd, Emeritus Professor, Robert A. Smart, Emeritus Professor of English, Andrew Delohery, Associate Vice President, Retention and Academic Success, Quinnipiac University and JT Torres, Director of the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning, Washington and Lee University, USA

Review :
‘How to Use Writing for Teaching and Learning offers a clear, digestible curriculum for the Writing Across the Curriculum or Writing in the Disciplines faculty development seminar. Hudd, Smart, Delohery, and Torres pack a great deal of learning theory and writing studies scholarship into a practical course structure. A core contribution the authors make comes in their PTA - Prioritization, Translation, Analogy - model of cognition and its value for faculty designing courses, scaffolding assignments, and planning classroom activities. This book sits comfortably alongside John Bean's Engaging Ideas or Katherine Gottschalk and Keith Hjortshoj's The Elements of Teaching Writing. What it offers, though, is a bit different. It offers faculty a vehicle for designing a course that uses writing to cultivate thinking by helping them consider the “story” of their course.’ ‘How to Use Writing for Teaching and Learning makes the college writing instructor’s labor anxiety-free. Writing faculty are given guidance in how and why to structure a syllabus and compose writing-to-learn scaffolding prompts to encourage critical thinking. As a writing instructor for nearly forty years, I have shared these methods with colleagues. My experience has been a liberating one for faculty and students. Students felt free to push and pull at readings and compare differing opinions or attitudes on a subject and composed nuanced and well-supported essays, because the thinking involved resonated with them. This book on setting students free to think and write, while encouraging confidence in faculty employing the methods, is excellent.’ ‘This book is for faculty across all disciplines who wish to engage students’ critical thinking through writing. It includes exercises, reflections, and readings, addressing the many aspects of teaching with writing, including using informal writing, developing reading and writing assignments, and designing student learning outcomes and assessments. Overall, the book highlights the value of teaching with writing, the value of teaching for critical thinking, and - of particular importance - the value of reading in higher education.’ ‘More than ever in this post-pandemic era, grappling with the advent of AI, writing — no matter the discipline — is the essential tool for deep learning. New and experienced teachers alike will find strategies and exercises to dramatically enhance thinking and learning.’