To prepare for major changes in Carleton College's writing curriculum, faculty from 14 of the College's academic departments recently participated in an intensive, three-day workshop on the assessment of student writing.
Led by Richard Haswell, Haas Professor of English at Texas A & M University (Corpus Christi) and a nationally-recognized expert on the teaching of writing, faculty from departments as disparate as Japanese, music, and physics discussed the methods they use to teach and evaluate writing.
The workshop is one in a series of meetings following the faculty's recent decision to change the way students satisfy the College's writing requirement. Beginning with the class of 2005, each student will submit a portfolio at the end of the sophomore year that includes written work proving his or her ability to observe, analyze, interpret, use secondary sources, and construct a thesis-driven argument. Reflective essays in which each student discusses his or her growth as a writer will also be required. Students whose portfolio does not meet the standards of the faculty evaluators will be directed into one-on-one tutoring or specific courses designed to help them improve their academic writing skills. Students with an exceptional portfolio will earn special recognition.
The faculty workshop participants developed the set of standards to use in evaluating the student portfolios. The workshop also helped to ease concern among faculty about the time involved in evaluating over 400 portfolios per year. By evaluating sample portfolios, the faculty "discovered that reading and evaluating students' work for quality can be done quickly, efficiently, and fairly," said Carol Rutz, director of the college writing program and lecturer in English.
Prior to the change, Carleton students met the College's writing requirement by receiving certification in one course. This process did not allow students to demonstrate their ability to write in multiple disciplines or reflect on their progress.
According to Haswell, the portfolio method of assessing writing skills provides a genuine opportunity for reflection and growth. "I think there's a tendency when you [fill the requirement by taking one course] to walk out the door at the end of it and imagine it's over, it's done, it's a requirement you can now check off. And nobody wants writing to fall under that sense of 'I've done it; now I don't have to worry about it,'" he said. By encouraging students to focus on their writing throughout two years of study, the College's writing program will produce self-reflective, and thus better, writers, Haswell said.
Carleton Assistant Professor of English Greg Hewett believes that the portfolio system also encourages more self-reflection among faculty. Because faculty share in the task of evaluating portfolios, they will become more cognizant of the way they use writing in their courses. "Indirectly, this program gets professors to be more aware of the act of writing at Carleton," he said.
According to Rutz, the portfolio program aims to offer students a rigorous, balanced, and comprehensive approach to learning how to write. By ensuring that students can write competently for a variety of audiences and in numerous circumstances, such a program, she said, is well-suited to Carleton's liberal arts philosophy.