Video

Writing to Learn: Simple Strategies to Assess STEM Thinking

A long-debated topic in schools is who is responsible for teaching writing to students. Invariably, that task primarily falls on the shoulders of English teachers, but as the practice of teaching and learning changes over time, more of that responsibility is creeping into other content areas. While there are shared values of written composition, writing in the STEM classroom is different than writing in the English classroom. Why, then, do we often assume that students inherently know how to transfer and apply the instruction from their English classes? In order to address the scientific and technical skills associated with writing in the STEM, science and other STEM teachers must teach writing in the context of their subject matter as well.

In this webinar, we’ll discuss the importance of teaching writing in the STEM classroom and speak with John Hindmarsh from Westminster Kingsway College about how incorporating writing instruction and assessment has helped to fuel learning and increase student success.

Presenters:

John Hindmarsh

Biology Teacher & E-Learning Coach at Westminster Kingsway College

John has been teaching biology to students preparing to go to university in the UK for many years. Previously, he was a research assistant at Kings College London. He has used Turnitin to give feedback to students for the past 5 years and was a winner of the Turnitin Global Innovation Award in 2016.

Katie Wike

Senior Curriculum Specialist at Turnitin

Katie came to Turnitin straight from the classroom. She taught English Language Arts to 7th and 10th graders for eight years and personally encountered the challenges of effectively teaching middle and high school students how to write. Although leaving the classroom was a difficult decision, she ultimately came to Turnitin because she was interested in providing a solution to the challenge of writing instruction on a larger scale.

Hosted by Betty Ho, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Turnitin