Synopsis – November 2009: Director Annotations > Susan Coller Carlson

Our newsletter kicks off this month with an article from Drew Ross, Dean of the School of Graduate Education, who asks us to consider our graduate students and their unique challenges when it comes to writing and research (Resolving Readiness Issues at the Graduate Level). Telling a student who has already earned a degree (perhaps several degrees) that his or her writing skills are lacking can be challenging—especially if the word “remedial” creeps into the conversation. How can we help students come to the realization (on their own accord) that their writing needs improvement?

Rachael Hanel, a Curriculum Manager for Teacher Education in the School of Graduate Studies, gives us a crash course in how to strengthen writing by more closely editing in her article, Improving Writing Through Editing. She provides some great tips we can pass along to our students (and yes, use ourselves).

Next, Kella Hammond, our Resource Specialist at the Writing Center, walks us through the steps of subscribing to our blog, so if you would like to receive an automated alert when new content is added, be sure to read How to be a WAC Groupie.

Kurtis Clements, who is helping to pilot the new Writing Coach program through the Writing Center, explains why we decided to implement the program and how it works in The Writing Coach Program: An Overview. Please be sure to contact Kurtis if you are interested in this cooperative effort to provide our students with the tools needed to improve their writing.

In the coming months, you’ll be hearing more about how we plan to implement the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual released in July. We are in the process of updating our resources at the Writing Center, and when we move to our new portal in the spring, these updated materials will be available for students and faculty. For the sake of consistency across KU and to minimize confusion for our students, we are asking everyone to avoid enforcing or incorporating 6th edition APA rules or guidelines into KU courses until the Writing Center has completely updated all of its materials, including online documents and a new Writer’s Handbook. As I’m sure you are aware, this is a major undertaking, and we anticipate a launch/publication date in the early part of 2010. Pushing back the implementation of the new edition will not have a negative impact on our students because the changes in the 6th edition are not contrary to what they are already learning by using the 5th edition.

Since the purpose of following a standardized method of citation is to give credit where credit is due and avoid plagiarizing the work of another, how do we instill within our students the ethics of citation as opposed to simply its mechanics? Erica Ellsworth, a professor in the School of Criminal Justice, gives us some tips on how to explain why APA matters in her article, Why APA?

In Writing Strategies for Diverse Learners, Lissette Ramos, a professor in the School of Educational Studies, discusses how we can best help ESL students with their writing skills by providing a supportive environment that encourages student-centered learning. Truly connecting with our students is key. Patricia Silva, a professor in the School of Arts and Sciences, adds to this conversation by discussing ways instructors can open the lines of communication with their students and foster a more open and meaningful learning environment in Self-Developing Your Class. Also from the School of Arts and Sciences, Susan Erdakos focuses on the concept of compassion in the classroom in Where Does Compassion Fit?

Our final article this month comes from Diane Martinez, our Writing Specialist at the Writing Center and editor of our WAC Newsletter. Diane digs into the necessity of revision and how we, as educators, can find a healthy medium in Developing a Meaningful Revision Policy. We have to help students look past revision as a way to simply improve a grade and see that the process of revision helps them become stronger writers and ultimately, stronger communicators.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Best,

Susan is the Director of the Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum

Resolving Student Readiness Issues at the Graduate Level >Drew Ross

When we admit graduate students, we take on the responsibility to continue the academic journey that another academic institution—sometimes more than one—has already begun. Our new degree candidates come to us from literally hundreds of different institutions: state universities, private liberal arts colleges, proprietary colleges, foreign universities. Most often, at least two of these categories are represented on the same transcript. While this diversity of experience is not a problem, it makes it difficult for us to diagnose our biggest problem: student readiness for graduate-level writing and research.

As an open-enrollment institution, this is a challenge we face across the board, in every school and degree plan, so in some ways, graduate-level readiness concerns are not unique. At the same time, as the second, third, sometimes sixth or seventh postsecondary institution along a student’s learning trajectory, we are in an awkward position when we encounter a student who struggles to write a clear, focused sentence or paragraph. How do you tell someone with an accredited bachelor’s degree that he or she cannot write well enough? Quite frankly, it is impossible to do this directly, without indicting the candidate’s prior education in the process.

At the same time, when students come to us with clear career goals and an enthusiasm to begin work, we cannot ignore a lack of readiness and pretend it does not exist. It is a problem that rarely resolves itself, and worse, it often creates enormous frustration and anxiety in some of our most motivated and eager students. So we find ourselves looking for a solution that both helps the student and does not point a shaky, accusatory finger at his or her undergraduate institution. When this does happen, we repeat our readiness mantra, "Blameless and beneficial. Blameless and beneficial." as we look for ways to help.

What we have found with new graduate students is that, even when they want to improve their writing skills, they often resist taking advantage of affordances that are successful at the undergraduate level, and most especially, anything that feels too much like remedial assistance. So we balance and temper what we do as well as how we do it. Sure, we send students to the Writing Center in epic numbers, but we do it in a way that focuses on research skills—and particularly, use of APA style—a skill that students seem to have an easier time admitting they don’t have. Students go to tutors for help learning how to cite references, but they stick around when they discover how much better their assignments are when they spend time revising them. Call it sneaking the pill into the peanut butter, but the bottom line is that it works.

As we move into a new year when we anticipate enrolling dozens of students with similar readiness issues, we are thinking about better ways to prepare them—gently, perhaps sneakily, and above all, blamelessly. We are discussing creating a two-course ‘bridging term’ for students who struggle with writing and research during their first term, as well as expanding pilot programs that pair dedicated writing tutors with students in a particular course—making the intervention feel focused on course content and less on general writing or research weaknesses. For graduate students in particular, this method seems to be very successful.

We are also expanding our Resource Center alongside pilot programs, so that when graduate students bristle at being paired with a Writing Center tutor, we can give them options to bolster their skills on their own, using the static and interactive tools that our Resource Center provides. Sometimes this is all a student needs, and sometimes—in the best cases—a few rounds tooling around (and crashing) in the Research Race environment is enough to prompt a student to think seriously about seeking more assistance. From our perspective, this is the ultimate best case scenario, when our graduates can feel empowered to ask for what they need without feeling insulted. Nobody has asked, "Who taught you how to write?" only, "How can we help you do it better?"

Drew Ross is the Dean in the School of Graduate Education.

Did you know...

Drew is a food writer in his spare time? The biggest shock here is that Drew has spare time!

Improving Writing Through Editing >Rachael Hanel

Stephen King: A successful writer, we can all agree. But pick up any one of his 1,000-page+ books and a question arises: "Is he a good editor?" The difference is distinct. Good writers are not necessarily good editors.

We like to think that graduate students arrive in our programs with an already decent grasp of writing. I realize this isn’t always the case, but I’m sure you’ve all come across students who write exceptionally well. What kind of lasting writing advice can we give them when they already understand organization, grammar, finding credible sources, and so on?

So this is when I like to emphasize editing over writing. No matter how strong a writer is, he or she can always become a better editor.

Often the differences between an original draft and an edited version are subtle, but important. Editing results in writing that is tighter, cleaner, and easier to read and comprehend.

The following is a list of editing techniques you can pass along to those strong writers in your classes. I learned most of these as a journalism student and relied upon them in my former job as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. But in academia, the emphasis on editing often gets lost. The truth is all academic writers can benefit from a crash course in how to improve their work through editing.

Cut 10 Percent
When I’ve taught journalism classes, one exercise I liked to incorporate was the 10-percent exercise. Reporters are bound by strict space limitations, so this exercise helps writers trim words and short phrases that don’t add to a story’s overall meaning. I spent many evenings on the copy desk cutting a story word-by-word in an attempt to make it fit a space.

You can challenge students to reduce their drafts by 10 percent. This forces them to take a careful look at each sentence. Is every word working? Is every word contributing to a greater understanding? I’ve found that it’s fairly easy to cut at least one word from each sentence.
In all fairness to Stephen King, one of his mantras in his book On Writing is "2nd draft = 1st draft-10%." I would hate to lift one of his books where he doesn’t incorporate this rule!

Adjectives and Adverbs
A world without adjectives and adverbs would be a bleak one indeed. But some writers use these parts of speech as a crutch. When they’re not used well, they become just fillers. Words such as "really" or "basically" or "very" or "extremely" are wishy-washy and vague.

Watch for Key Passive Words
Have students do a search for words such as "were" "was" "had" and "been." Look for sentences that start with "it" or "there." These words signal passive voice, which is usually wordier than active voice.

Take a look at this passive sentence:

"It was at the store where the grapes were bought by me." (12 words)

And now this active one:
"I bought grapes at the store." (6 words)

That’s an exaggerated example, but even cutting one word or two in each sentence will help the paper flow.

Trim Wordy Phrases
In the academic world, it’s not uncommon to find bloated phrasing. I think students (and professionals) hold on to the myth that academic writing must be lofty and words must be multisyllabic. We’re in a position to bust that myth.

Never use two or more words when one word will do. Here are examples of phrases that can be trimmed:

A lot = many (or much)

All of a sudden = suddenly

Give consideration to = consider

As a consequence of = because

Watch Those Helping Verbs
"Helping" verbs don’t help us to write tighter. Can we cut an "is" or "be" and rewrite the sentence? Can the active verb stand on its own?

Example:
"He is hopeful that he passes the class."

Can be changed to:
"He hopes he passes the class."

Get to the Point
In newspaper jargon, putting important information further down in the story is called "burying the lead." The same concept applies to academic papers. Students who spend a page or two getting to the main point are just "warming up." What’s the paper about? Who’s the audience? What do they need to know? Is that information included right away?

Vary Sentence Structure
Of course, a paper full of simple sentences would read like a grade-school picture book. But a paper filled with a series of compound/complex sentences becomes difficult for a reader to digest and comprehend. A better approach is to vary sentence structure. Mix a few short sentences in with the long ones.

Incorporating these techniques will help your students improve and tighten their writing. Perhaps you can use them in your own professional writing. If Stephen King’s next novel is only 500 words, then we’ll know he used the tips, too!

Rachael Hanel is the curriculum manager for teacher education in the School of Graduate Education.

Did you know...

Rachael is writing a memoir about growing up as a gravedigger's daughter.

How to Be A WAC Groupie, Or Three Easy Steps to Following this Blog >Kella Hammond

Click on the tutorial below for a video of the directions in this post.

1. Subscribe to an online content aggregator (Really Simple Syndication [RSS] reader) such as Google Reader, Bloglines, Netvibes, Newsgator, My Yahoo, or Atom. These free and fairly simple feed readers check your favorite blogs, web sites, or other routinely updated online content daily and place all of the information you choose to receive in one easy-to-use, accessible, and private place. I love Google Reader because I don’t have to spend time visiting each and every web site I’m interested in; the information comes to me. Remember when news services (you know, like newspapers... poor old dinosaurs… a student of mine last semester laughed at me when I told him I had majored in journalism as an undergraduate [true story]) subscribed to syndication services such as United Press International, Reuters, or the Associated Press? The RSS feed reader follows the same premise—you subscribe to the information you want to follow by adding URLs to your feed reader and then the reader brings that information to you in one centralized place.

Additional resources you may find handy if the idea of an RSS reader is new to you:

• “How to Use Google Reader” by Andy Wibbels: http://andywibbels.com/flash/google_reader.htm
  
• Common Craft’s “RSS in Plain English" by Lee LeFever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

2. Follow the Writing Across the Curriculum blog by clicking on the “Follow” button on the right hand side of the site. By following our blog, you’ll not only join a diverse community of scholars, professors, writers, and thinkers, you’ll also get a chance to show public support of the Writing Across the Curriculum initiative and the ideas on this blog. Lastly, when you follow the WAC Newsletter blog, you also automatically import your blog subscription into Google Reader, one of the RSS readers I mentioned above.

3. Simply enter your e-mail address in the “Subscribe Via Email” form on the Writing Across the Curriculum blog and you’ll receive an email from us whenever we update our content. As they say at FeedBurner, “No new content, no email for you.” Period.

STEP 1: Enter your email address into the appropriate form [found on our blog].

STEP 2: Check your email to see if you received the subscription request.

STEP 3: Click on the URL link in the subscription email request from FeedBurner to activate your subscription.

Hello there,

You recently requested an email subscription to Writing Across the Curriculum Newsletter. We can't wait to send the updates you want via email, so please click the following link to activate your subscription immediately:

(If the link above does not appear clickable or does not open a browser window when you click it, copy it and paste it into your web browser's Location bar.)

STEP 4: Bask in your confirmation glory! [And then our updated content comes to you.]

And as always, if you have questions about how to get the most out of your Writing Across the Curriculum blogging experience, don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re happy to help!

Kella Hammond is a resource specialist in the Writing Center.

Did you know...

Kella walked a half marathon [13.1 miles] on a sprained ankle in October 2008 for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco, California? She doesn’t recommend this practice, but she did think the buffalo at the Golden Gate Park were totally worth the price of admission and the ice bath she took afterwards. Seriously, buffalo rock.

The Writing Coach Program: An Overview >Kurtis Clements

Many writing centers are mistakenly branded by students and instructors as a paper review service, and the Kaplan University Writing Center is no different. As the numbers of papers submitted for review continually increase, Writing Center staff decided to dig a little deeper into the reasons for this trend. Obviously, as the number of students at Kaplan increase, so do the number of paper review submissions, but are there any other angles to consider? As a proactive step towards challenging and subsequently changing the image of the Writing Center from being a paper review mill to a full-service support center for students and faculty, a pilot writing coach program was instituted to educate both students and instructors about services within the writing center. The writing coach pilot is now in its fourth term and on its way to moving beyond the pilot phase and becoming an ongoing Kaplan University Writing Center program.

One goal of the writing coach program is to provide students with a personalized introduction to or experience with a Writing Center coach. Many times students are just not sure where to turn for help, and when they do turn to the Writing Center, it is by submitting a paper for review. With a known writing coach in the classroom, students can turn to that person for help, and in addition to receiving one-on-one assistance, students will also be referred to other services and content available through the Writing Center, which over time will increase students’ awareness of the many resources available in the Writing Center other than paper review.

A second goal is to help instructors understand better the Writing Center’s services and resources. To this end, the collaborative relationship between the instructor and coach will help the instructor become more familiar with what the Writing Center has to offer so that instructors can refer individual students to a particular service and/or resource rather than suggest the student submit a paper for review or, worse, mandate a whole class submit papers for review. For example, some instructors may not be aware of the many live workshops or recordings to live workshops the Writing Center offers. If a student needs help with editing, the instructor may suggest the student use the paper review service, but since the paper review service provides a holistic review of a paper and not editorial comments, the student would probably be better served viewing a workshop on editing – and the Writing Center has several workshops on this one topic, not to mention other related content. With a writing coach involved in a class, the instructor and coach will have an ongoing dialogue that should ensure students use the most appropriate resources possible.

So how does the program work? The Writing Coach program puts trained Writing Center tutors into classrooms across the KU campus to help students with their writing and let them know about the array of writing center services available. Often students come to the Writing Center by way of the paper review service and at a point in their process when deep-seeded flaws may already exist in the writing. The coach, with the help of the instructor, tries to work with students early in the process, perhaps at the beginning stages of a piece of writing before the student even begins to draft. The coach can then work with the student throughout the writing process, providing feedback and direction along the way. Coaches conference with students either via AOL’s instant messaging service or the telephone and discuss, once a representative writing sample is seen, what the student needs to work on to improve upon his/her writing. In many cases, the coach works one-on-one with a student over the life of the term so many opportunities to help the student exist.

The writing coach will have a strong presence within the class. To this end, coaches will engage students with weekly assignment-specific emails that explain ways in which the coach can help on a given project or discussion board directive. Coaches will also upload writing resources and other information to Doc Sharing as well as post regular announcements as a way to impart information and to connect with students. The writing coach has a dedicated discussion board area for student questions and/or interaction. In a course with a witting coach, students will have direct access to the writing coach, but they will also have access to information and resources that the coach makes available within the course that will help students with their writing whether they work directly with the writing coach or not.

Currently coaches are working in nine schools and twenty-nine sections, and the program is growing. If you would like more information about this exciting program or have questions, please contact me, Kurtis Clements at kclements@kaplan.edu, and I will be happy to provide you with the information that you need.

Kurtis is a full-time staff person in the Writing Center.

Did you know...

Did you know that Kurtis Clements heats his farmhouse in Maine entirely with wood that he and his wife cut, spilt, and haul from the woods?

Why APA? >Erica Ellsworth

Two questions I hear quite often in my writing classes are "Why do I have to learn APA?" and "When will I ever use APA again?" These are valid questions and ones I often struggle with myself because, honestly, when will students use APA again outside academia? The simplest and most honest answer I can give is that no, you probably will not use APA ever again. Of course, this leads to the question of "Why do I have to learn APA then?" and this is where I have to show that APA is important.

One thing that is hard to teach or even prove to students is the value of their writing. How do we show students that their writing is valuable and part of a larger body of written work? First, we need to define the "larger body of written work." What is this? How do the projects we assign in our courses add to this nebulas body of work? Each time we write (instructor and student), we share ideas, which is the basis of writing in the first place. Students come to college to learn, which involves understanding what others have written on a subject; but, they are also encouraged to be original thinkers, to share their ideas. It is this originality in thinking and writing where we can encourage students to see that what they produce for their classes is really part of the larger body of knowledge on a subject.

This also relates to how we show students the value of their own writing. The first step in this process is to embrace and accept the experiences that we all bring to the classroom. Writing is a very personal task, even when it is academic and in APA format. Giving experience validity allows students to see that what they have experienced in life is a vital part of their education and writing. Experience becomes the rich details and examples that explain students’ ideas. Details and examples are fundamental to writing, and we have to explain our ideas clearly to be understood.

The second step toward helping students value their writing involves source material. In academic writing, we have to validate our explanations and details with outside sources. Linking ideas and source material shows critical thinking and takes writing from personal, expository writing, to academic, research writing. By showing students how they are becoming researchers and writers in their fields, we show them that their writing is valuable. To become part of this club of writers, however, you have to know the secret handshake – APA. Using source material in writing shows students how to support and substantiate their experiences in a format that is common to an entire learning community. This is a critical link in the writing process, especially academic writing. This step is also the hardest sell in writing – you have to know APA to cite source material properly. Source material is what sets academic and personal writing apart. Showing students how they can link their experiences and ideas to outside sources and write their papers in such a way that is acceptable within a larger learning community reinforces that they are indeed writers and researchers. Furthermore, when we use and cite sources correctly, we are showing other writers that our writing has integrity. Perhaps more importantly, we show that we are aware of the body of knowledge that has been established already and we are contributing to them.

In criminal justice composition, I like to remind students that they bring a wealth of experience from their lives and their work to the classroom. When they choose a topic, I ask them to think about what experience they have with the topic. We spend time prewriting (brainstorming, free writing, field notes, etc.) to link the course topic with their experience. Once students see that they have experience with the topic, I introduce the idea of using outside sources. I ask students to find at least one source that supports their ideas on a topic. I ask them to link their idea to one example. An example would be "juvenile justice + drug rehab." We then talk about how this becomes a key word string, and they use this as their first attempt in researching. When students see that there is a link between their ideas and published material, they start to see the link between their writing and academic writing. Slowly, the idea that they are writers and researchers becomes a reality.

Sometimes, I feel like my students hear "eat your brussel sprouts because they are good for you" when I say it is important to know and use APA. Perhaps APA is a bit like those brussel sprouts. Teaching students to tolerate and even accept APA is one of the steps we have to take to help them become effective writers and communicators. As writers and researchers, this is our legacy to our students.

Erica Ellsworth is and adjunct professor in criminal justice.

Did you know...

Erica taught on Navy ships for four and a half years? While teaching for Navy College, she had to clip a gas mask to her belt and carry an epi pen (they were in the Persian Gulf). She's also been to the Kingdom of Bahrain over twelve times.

Writing Strategies for Diverse Learners > Lissette Ramos

At Kaplan University, we are privileged to have a culturally diverse student body, which includes many who are English Language Learners (ELL). These students have an incredible challenge in front of them as they must, like all college students, learn the content in their courses, but they also have the additional burden of learning how to communicate in writing in a language to which they are not accustomed. Writing skills are extremely important in an online setting because writing is the primary way our students are heard. My approach to assisting our learners in developing their written communication skills is to provide examples, model the process for them, and allow time to discuss and explore their ideas by giving them the opportunity to resubmit written projects as deemed necessary.

Providing examples and modeling what is expected is essential so that our ELL students can focus on the organization, tone, and voice in their writing. Modeling in an online environment means providing sample papers and posting them in doc sharing so that students can see what is expected of them. Many students require a visual clue in order to properly interpret project guidelines, and by providing sample papers students may feel more comfortable about the assignment expectations. The sample paper can even have certain aspects of the assignment highlighted in colors, such as the topic sentence or introduction in yellow, the closing in purple, and so on. A visual organizer such as a paragraph frame showing how different paragraphs are formed pertaining to the different details to be discussed is a good idea as well.

Although I use this differentiated instruction method, I slowly decrease the modeling and examples as the term goes on. For instance, instead of an entire paper, sometimes a good sentence starter will do the trick as it provides a sense of direction and purpose for the content to be discussed, such as helping them turn the project questions into telling sentences.

A final thought for assisting our diverse learners in writing is to ensure cooperative and collaborative discussions amongst faculty so that we are united in our assessment and instructional techniques. Although we will not all share the same teaching strategies, we should still have a clear focus and goal to reach as a whole. In our department, we strive to work as a team and have continuous dialogue about how to best assess and instruct our students to maximize their potential. If students are exposed to continuous and consistent modeling, scaffolding of ideas, organizational tools, tips, paragraph frames, and more in all of their classes, they will begin to develop these skills on their own. By the time students have taken at least two to three classes at Kaplan they will feel more successful and comfortable with what is expected of them in writing.

Writing as a form of communication is essential in all adult learning educational programs especially in the online setting. It is difficult for students who come from diverse backgrounds and have limited English skills to feel comfortable with their writing. They need differentiated instruction and guidance along the way. By providing a supportive environment with collaborative staff involvement, modeling, and opportunities to revise they can excel.

Lissette Ramos is an adjunct professor in educational studies in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Did you know...

Lissette is also known as the energizer bunny for her incredible enthusiasm and activity?

Self Developing Your Class >Patricia Silva

How many times have you stressed to your class the importance of communication? Although, you may think that you are the easiest person to talk to, this may not be the same way your students see you. Using my own personal experience, the following are some ideas that can help you self-develop your class through communication.

Show students that you are human. Encourage students to come to you about any concerns they have without wondering if you will intimidate or look down on them or their situation. Students can be intimidated by the position you hold or the idea of talking amongst their peers. Some people are simply shy, so don’t be afraid to bring a little bit of your personality into your classroom to help bring students in. Let students see your humorous side, which can break the ice for many. 

Be clear at all times. When it comes to writing and orally communicating to your students, make sure that you are as detailed as possible, and when applicable, explain Kaplan policies to students. 

Be honest. It’s okay for you to simply say that you do not know the answers to every question, but tell students that you will try to find the answer and do just that! Students like to see that you keep your word. This will prove that you are an instructor that they can truly count on. 

Encourage students. Instead of always pointing out what your students may be doing wrong, give them suggestions that will boost their confidence and put them on the right track. You can start every week with encouraging quotes or poems that give them something to ponder during the week. For example, Richard Bach (2006), an American writer once said, “There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they’re necessary to reach the places we’ve chosen to go.” 

Set an example. Students will learn what they can and cannot get away with by the way they see their instructors act in certain situations. With this in mind, it is important to always be respectful and tactful when responding to students. When students see their instructors acting positively and professionally, they will respond the same way.

Show integrity. Remember that all students have chosen to attend Kaplan University to receive an equal opportunity to receive the best education possible regardless of their culture, ethnicity, or educational background. You, as the instructor, must teach them as such. Never treat any of your students differently from the others.

Strive to understand. We all know, especially when it comes to computers (netiquette), that messages can easily become misunderstood. Before jumping to any conclusions, ask questions to make sure you completely understand what is being said in the discussion between two or more parties.

Teach students a little extra. If there is more information that you can teach, which will add to your students’ growth and keep them on target, then share it! 

Teach students to accept themselves for who they are. No, I am not saying that you should baby your students, but remember that many of them may have very low self esteem. When people are capable of loving themselves, they are capable of giving their best to the class. 

Learn from previous mistakes. "While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior" (Links, 2007).

I hope that these ideas will provide you with ways to enhance your communication skills in your own classes. If we all strive to encourage one another towards achieving a common vision then we will have the ability to make Kaplan University the best organization possible.

References
Bach, Richard, (2006), The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story,
     1st Ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishing

Links, Henry C. (2007), Mistakes, Retrieved on October 22, 2009
     from The Quote Garden, http://www.quotegarden.com/mistakes.html

Patricia Silva teaches career development strategies as an adjunct professor in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Did you know...
Patricia served in the US Army?

Where Does Compassion Fit? >Susan Erdakos

"I always consider compassion as the key, not only for achieving and maintaining our own mental calmness, stability and happiness, but also as something extraordinarily useful for creating a healthy human society. By that I mean a happier and less harmful human society. Therefore--whether it be in individual cases, on a family level, a national level, or an international level--altruism, love, and compassion are the basis for success, for happiness, and for a happy environment." [Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection by the Dalai Lama]

In online environments, we have to consider the connection we make with students. The Internet has the potential to make us less connected as human beings, when in fact, we live in a time when connecting is so important. Connection, true connection, we must admit, includes compassion. And even though we have only an electronic connection with students, that connection can include compassion and empathy, which can further student commitment to their education and to the online community to which they belong – Kaplan University.

This past year I have heard much about the need to work with students on developing meaningful social and emotional skills. Childhood play, a main avenue to developing these skills, is less visible today. Neighborhood play has largely been replaced by individual and organized group activities. Most kindergarten classrooms, where school districts struggle to meet state learning goals, no longer include play. This lack of early play affects the ability of children to develop the empathy and compassion needed to maintain a unified, caring community.

To address this critical issue, schools and educators must recognize the classroom as a community of learners, see it as a microcosm where students feel and believe they have a stake in each other’s well being. We must understand that regardless of student academic achievement, the risks of poor peer relationships include later problems with employment, parenting, and other important aspects of adult life. "Indeed, the single best childhood predictor of adult adaptation is not IQ, not school grades, and not classroom behavior, but rather the adequacy with which the child gets along with other children" (Hartup, 1992, p. 1).

For Kaplan instructors, exploring ways to bring compassion, tolerance, peace, and happiness into the online classroom will improve teacher effectiveness, student learning, and affect our future as a society. Developing a compassionate classroom will allow for a more productive world and understanding of one another. Ways that we can create compassion in an online environment include the following.

Encourage more participation on the Discussion Board, especially when students share their personal experiences and knowledge. As the instructor, when appropriate, enter a post at the beginning that encourages a more personal approach to the discussion.

For example in EP220 Unit 1, the first discussion question states: What insightful information did you learn about effective reading methods and the reading process from your text?

By entering the following first posting before students participate, the instructor can encourage more thoughtful reflections:

Dear Class,

As we begin our exploration of the reading and writing process, you will find that like all knowledge, this process is a step approach. You will discover that to help students who are struggling with their reading and writing skills, educators must look back to the beginning stages of phonemic awareness. Educators must also look to their own personal experience with becoming readers and writers and what enabled them to succeed. You will also find that reading and writing support each other, and when taught in connection to each other, the results are measurable.

All in all, our journey together will be an exciting one and will prepare you to better help children become efficient and effective readers and writers.

Instructor name~

Create a positive feeling of community by making sure that the part of the response made by the instructor, the part that shows when students pull up the unit discussion, includes both the student’s name and a positive word. Some examples include:

Kudos Jane! Your ideas for….
Creative idea, Joe! Thanks for bringing up the fact that…
Thoughtful response, Nancy! It is so important to…

In another unit you might begin each posting with a word of appreciation. For example:

Thanks for sharing, Jane! It makes a difference when…
Thanks for your input, Joe! I’m impressed that you…
Nancy, thank you for reminding us that …
Merci Melinda! I’m glad you...
Grazie Jennifer! I agree that…
Danke Susan! Awesome reflection…
Gracias Susan! Sharing your thoughts helps us…

Saying thank you in other languages also indicates recognition and respect for our cultural/ global community.

Address your individual department’s plan for retention and success in a timely manner. In this process be sure to include an early phone call when a student has not participated by day five of the first week. The weekend is over by then and with Monday being the first day of the work week, it is a likely bet that students who have not yet participated need some encouragement or motivation.

No email will replace the sense of caring or community that a phone call provides. With this simple phone call you will establish a relationship with your students that makes the online environment a more secure and comfortable place, a place where they can safely participate, and a place where they are responsible members of a community.

Note: When engaging in personal discussions you need to consider what is or is not appropriate. You want to be understanding and supportive while remaining in the role of a Kaplan instructor.

Craft your course home page into a place where students come to find useful information regarding the course aside from the unit links. Make your announcements, doc sharing postings, and Webliographies useful and appealing.

Begin each term by encouraging students to participate in seminar. Hearing the instructor’s voice automatically introduces the human side of the student-instructor relationship. Be sure each student is recognized and valued by using students’ names and referring to their contributions to the discussions. Try to engage students who do not participate.

Remember that students frequently face constraints on their time. They may work, have family demands, or face family or personal crisis situations. Help students establish a healthy perfectionism: a healthy view of how to manage time and conflict. As Deepak Chopra (2005) states in his book Peace is the Way:

"Conflict…serves as the meeting point between two choices, and as long as we are on the path, choice is a constant. There isn’t a single choice you can make once and for all. The journey is too dynamic for that, and the deepest drives return time and again at different stages of life" (p. 224).

Helping students establish a willingness to learn from mistakes, to be compassionate with themselves, and to move toward an ‘I think I can’ point of view helps them build empathy toward each other, and they learn to see themselves as part of a caring team of learners, which includes the instructor.

References

Chopra, D. (2005). Peace is the Way. New York: Harmony Books.

Hartup. W.W. (1992). Having Friends, Making Friends, and Keeping Friends:
     Relationships as Educational Contexts. Elementary and Early
     Childhood Education. Retrieved November 18, 2009 from ERIC.

Susan Erdakos is an adjunct professor in early childhood education in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Did you know...

Susan is a member of the 100 Mile Swim Club at the Riviera Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois? Way to go, Susan!

Developing a Meaningful Revision Policy >Diane Martinez

I shudder at the word revision. In the immediate moments that follow a grading session, revision means simply more grading; however, I have to admit that sometimes revisions are necessary. I’m a writing instructor; I know this to be fundamentally and pedagogically true. But when should we allow students to revise? Some instructors have a strict no-revision policy, while others allow unlimited revisions. I contend there is no happy medium, but rather, instructors should develop a meaningful revision policy that encourages good writing practice and learning.

I can’t find the exact quote, but we might consider the concept that good writing is never finished, just due. For many of us that is a sad truth because we could work on our masterpieces for eternity, but what good would that do? No matter what type of writing we do on the job, eventually a final copy has to be turned in.

A revision policy that allows for unlimited revisions may send the wrong message to students. If students are allowed to revise as much as they like, then what they may end up doing is simply turning in draft writing initially just to meet a deadline and then incrementally revise based on each subsequent grade until they finally get the grade they want. While we want to offer unlimited opportunities to teach students, unfortunately, for many of students, "unlimited" equates to infinite opportunities to raise a grade. That approach is time-consuming for both student and instructor, but more importantly, it’s really a rather ineffective writing practice.

So we have to ask ourselves, what kind of writing practices do we encourage with our revision policy? In order to help students prepare for the writing demands of the workforce, we want to ensure that our revision policy encourages good writing strategies. One way to develop effective writing strategies is to encourage the writing process from the start. Remind students at least two weeks ahead of time that a writing assignment is due and promote the writing process. This might include a visit to the Writing Center live tutor to brainstorm ideas or to draft a working thesis statement. Encourage students to write multiple drafts, because it is in the drafting stage that they should learn to catch problems with structure, organization, and correctness. What we do not want is for students to get in the habit of turning in drafts for their projects. How would a manager receive a report draft when the final was supposed to be delivered? Instructors might even want to look at projects the same way a boss would look at a report, as a final copy that meets certain requirements and expectations, and in most cases, a boss would not allow unlimited opportunities to revise.

We also want to make sure our revision policy is meaningful for students. While some of us spend a great deal of time commenting on student papers, when it comes to asking students to revise, consider meeting with them on AIM or preferably on the phone to discuss the assignment. Basically, students should not revise or rewrite an assignment without first meeting with the instructor to clarify what needs to be revised and why. If students do not meet with the instructor, consider letting the original grade stand. Meeting with you is not a punishment; it is, however, a motivator because it allows students to talk with you about their writing, which can be a significant learning moment.

On the other end of the spectrum are students who want to revise simply for a higher grade. To help these students focus on their writing instead of on a grade, ask them to meet with you to discuss their writing and what they would like to improve overall. Of course, one question is, doesn’t a better grade indicate students have learned, whether or not you’ve met with them? This is not always the case because when someone is simply looking for a checklist of items to "correct," learning has not always taken place. The goal is so grade-oriented that the "learning" becomes distorted because it is so strongly connected with a grade. Having a conversation with an instructor about writing, however, eliminates that checklist mentality and forces the student to look at their process and writing as a whole.

No matter if students are revising because they misunderstood the assignment or they want to raise their grade, help them make their revision goal-oriented and demonstrate noticeable progress that is measurable on one or two particular skills. This is best achieved through a one-on-one conference. By meeting with you personally, students are asked to articulate what they would like to improve upon, how they plan to do that, and how that can be achieved in the assignment they are working on.

As an institution of higher learning, one of our goals is to prepare students for the workplace. I do not know of many workplaces that would take kindly to draft writing being turned in when a final copy was expected; however, I am also aware that when a report does not meet its target, management will ask for a rewrite, sometimes kindly and sometimes not so kindly. We are, however, a teaching institution and so we want to give students some room to fail in a safe environment. A meaningful revision policy can be one of those safety nets; however, we want to ensure that what we are doing through this policy will help students develop better writing practices, which will help them learn to be better writers.

Diane Martinez is a writing specialist in the Writing Center.

Did you know...

Diane is working on her PhD in professional and technical communication at Utah State University in Logan, UT?