Thanks, James for bringing this to our attention.
I still work with students on matters relating to study-skills development
(not least academic writing), as well as with staff on assessment and
teaching methods. The symptoms described are certainly widespread, and
indeed affect some disciplines much more than others.
Two thoughts. (1) With widening participation policies, there are now many
more students in higher education than formerly, including many from home
backgrounds where books were not part of the environment. Many students
don't read books for pleasure, and this is bound to reflect in their
writing skills.
(2) Many students are much more comfortable writing on screen than on
paper, and sometimes produce much better text when they can see what they
are doing on screen (and use spellchecks, and so on). The same students
with pen and paper are often much more clumsy.
(3) I too notice that many students are much better orally than in
writing. In one of my own contributions to the field ('How to Study',
2003,Oxford, Blackwell), in my section aiming to help students improve
their academic writing, one of my suggestions is to get other people to
read out their writing back to them. Then, they often realise some of the
deficiencies in their writing and correct them (not least when whoever is
reading back their work has difficulty working out the sentence
structures).
(4) [This may not be what you want to read!] Perhaps it is unwise to try
to train all of our widened-participation student population into the
academic writing culture which used to prevail in higher education when
only 5% of the population was present there? Perhaps we should adjust our
expectations and requirement toward the actual student population we now
have, and downgrade the significance of good written communication, and
balance it better with oral communication?
"Dumbing down!" I hear you thinking? My experience is however that
students are every bit as 'bright' as ever - probably brighter, but their
portfolio of skills and attributes has certainly changed, and is likely to
continue to change. I don't think we can simply blame schools and
teachers. Well-written books are simply a lesser part of the lives of many
young people that used to be the case, out of school in particular.
Phil Race
Leeds Metropolitan University
www.phil-race.com
(2) > Members of the SEDA list may wish to comment on the request for
> information
> below from Prof. Diane Korrbrot.
>
> From: "kornbrot" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: "'Becta's ICT Research Network'" <[log in to unmask]>
> Cc: "'Tony Marcel'" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:31 AM
> Subject: [ICT Research Network] Writing skills: Evidence based
> improvement?
>
>
>> For some time we have had a serious problem that we believe is
>> widespread
>> across disciplines in the UK and the USA. We are unsure how to deal with
>> it.
>> We are appealing to all of you for EVIDENCE BASED solutions.
>>
>> THE PROBLEM IN BRIEF
>> We teach on an undergraduate psychology degree and are very concerned
>> about
>> the writing skills of students of all years, some of who appear bright
>> in
>> oral academic discussion.
>>
>> In many cases their written English is appallingly bad. Not only are
>> their
>> spelling, grammar and sentence formation very poor, but they simply
>> cannot
>> communicate their ideas in writing. This inability has many serious
>> consequences. Their abilities will be underestimated in coursework
>> essays
>> and written exams; the failure to articulate in clear and structured
>> English
>> will impede their thinking; they will fail to get or keep any
>> interesting
>> job that requires clear writing of reports or other communications.
>>
>> REASONS and Solutions
>> One of us is new to the University and previously worked mostly with
>> Ph.D.
>> students. The other has been at the University for many years, but has
>> become used to this situation as writing skills have gradually declined.
>>
>> We have discussed this widely with our psychology colleagues, face to
>> face
>> and by email. They have suggested many reasons for the problem, ranging
>> from
>> addiction to texting to not reading classic novels. They have also
>> suggested
>> possible solutions, many of which are time consuming for both students
>> and
>> teachers. However, none of us knows of much evidence to support our
>> ideas.
>> Even though the problem may have its origins in school level education,
>> we
>> are looking for solutions that can be applied at the tertiary level.
>>
>> PLEASE HELP
>> So we are appealing to you as experts to provide us with solutions that
>> have
>> been 'tried and tested'. All suggestions and information will be
>> gratefully
>> received and then summarized and distributed to all members of this list
>>
>> THE PROBLEM IN MORE DETAIL
>> Many students' cannot spell; their vocabulary is poor and mistaken; they
>> have little idea of syntax, cannot punctuate, have no idea of what
>> constitutes a sentence, let alone a paragraph. Ignorance of genitive
>> formation and of number agreement is the least of the problems.
>> Malapropisms
>> abound. They know neither what is necessary for a sentence (e.g. a
>> finite
>> verb to constitute a main clause) nor when a new sentence is required.
>> Sentences are long meander, and so are hard to understand Students seem
>> unable to detect their errors if/when they proofread their drafts. Many
>> do
>> not seem to realise that written communication differs from oral
>> communication, not only by convention, but necessarily in that the
>> former
>> lacks context and prosody.
>>
>> This raises several issues and has ramifications.
>> (a) In very many cases lecturers cannot understand what is meant or
>> intended, often even after considerable effort. I am not sure whether
>> the
>> writer knows. In numerous cases, when asked, they cannot recover what
>> was
>> intended or if anything was intended. I cannot give marks for what I
>> cannot
>> understand, and potential parts of an argument are lost, disabling any
>> force
>> and coherence of what comes before and after.
>> (b) Many students will do badly in written exams because, apart from
>> annoying errors, their communication and expression of ideas will fail
>> them
>> and/or irritate examiners.
>> (c) In many cases the failure to articulate in clear and structured
>> English
>> impedes clear thought. Something that I would like to convey to students
>> is
>> that writing is often a means by which we can explore our own thinking.
>> (This is something about which the late Peter Wason wrote cogently, and
>> is
>> part of psychology itself.)
>> (d) Since lecturers cannot simply ignore the problematic bits of
>> writing,
>> focus on the main aspects of essays or dissertations - clear conveyance
>> of
>> research, data or ideas, accuracy, relevance, argument structure - is
>> hindered. Time is wasted on lower level correction.
>> (e) Most university graduates expect and are expected to get certain
>> kinds
>> of employment: jobs where they have to produce writing, e.g. reports and
>> other communications. Students who are as disabled as ones that I have
>> encountered cannot hope to gain or keep such positions. Certainly in
>> applications for jobs or further studentships they cannot compete with
>> people who can write without egregious error. If they are not helped by
>> the
>> time they leave university, preferably school, the education system (and
>> that includes us) has seriously failed them.
>>
>> When tutors correct or draw attention to the problems, they fear that
>> they
>> are wasting time or using it inappropriately and that students feel the
>> same.
>>
>> Diana Kornbrot, Tony Marcel
>>
>> Professor Diana Kornbrot
>> University of Hertfordshire
>> College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UK
>> Email: [log in to unmask]
>> Web: http://web.mac.com/kornbrot/iWeb/KornbrotHome.html
>> Blended Learning Unit
>> voice: +44[0]170 728 1315 fax: +44[0] 170 728 1320
>> Psychology
>> voice: +44[0]170 728 4626 fax: +44[0]170 728 5073
>>
>> Kornbrot
>> 19 Elmhurst Avenue
>> London N2 0LT, UK
>> voice: +44[0208 883 3657 fax: +44[0] 0208 444 2081
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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