Writing to Learn - Research Papers

I recently had my students do a major research paper on different topics of the Vietnam War. I find the Vietnam War really interesting because of all the facets of that time period - everything from protests to Watergate. Since I learned to like it from studying specifics of the War, I thought my students would enjoy doing the same. At first my students complained about having to write a paper, but they soon came to love their topics. I used Dr. Gillis' motto of "Students need a choice and a voice" to frame this paper. I gave them many topics to choose from, all of which were somewhat applicable to their interests. I also gave them free reign to share anything on that topic they desired with me. I encouraged them to have an opinion!

One reason I wanted my students to do the paper was that it gave them a chance to build literacy in terms of using the Internet and using hard copy reference sources. I gave them each a day in the computer lab and a day in the library. It was fun to see them work so quickly and efficiently in the computer lab, and I enjoyed the opportunity to help them learn how to use the index and other search functions of reference books in the library.

My students papers were awesome - I learned a ton about all of their topics. Even after several years of studying this topic, there is still so much to know. I was careful when grading to note when students discovered facts I wasn't familiar with, so that they could take pride in "out-smarting the teacher."

It was interesting how many students who often suffer on my tests outperformed their peers on these papers. It drove home the fact that writing can do so much to teach my students. They really have to take ownership over the topic in order to be able to write two pages about it. Reflecting on this assignment, if I were to change anything I would try to make the assignment more differentiated. Many of my "advanced" students flew through the research, and then seemed bored to tears for the second half of each class. However, for students who weren't literate with research, they could have used more time. In the future, I think I might assign an advanced topic list, which students could pick a harder to research topic from and in turn receive extra credit for tackling it. I would not single out students to pick from this list, but let anyone who wanted to pick from it. Many of my advanced students would like this challenge, and it would ease their boredom.