Goldberg, S. R., & Rich, J. A., & Masnick, A. (2014, June), The Use of Metacognitive Writing-to-Learn Prompts in an Engineering Statics Class to Improve Student Understanding and Performance  Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--23184

\bibitem{asee_peer_23184}
  Goldberg, S. R., \& Rich, J. A., \& Masnick, A. (2014, June), \emph{The Use of Metacognitive Writing-to-Learn Prompts in an Engineering Statics Class to Improve Student Understanding and Performance}
  Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana.
  10.18260/1-2--23184

Saryn R. Goldberg, Jennifer Andrea Rich, and Amy Masnick.  "The Use of Metacognitive Writing-to-Learn Prompts in an Engineering Statics Class to Improve Student Understanding and Performance".  2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2014, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2014.  https://peer.asee.org/23184 Internet.  29 Jun, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_23184}
  Saryn R. Goldberg, Jennifer Andrea Rich, and Amy Masnick.
  "The Use of Metacognitive Writing-to-Learn Prompts in an Engineering Statics Class to Improve Student Understanding and Performance".
  \emph{2014 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2014, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2014.
  https://peer.asee.org/23184 Internet.  29 Jun, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_23184
author = "Saryn R. Goldberg, Jennifer Andrea Rich, and Amy Masnick"
title = "The Use of Metacognitive Writing-to-Learn Prompts in an Engineering Statics Class to Improve Student Understanding and Performance"
booktitle = "2014 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2014"
month = "June"
address = "Indianapolis, Indiana"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/23184}
number = {10.18260/1-2--23184}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -             The use of metacognitive writing-to-learn prompts in an         engineering statics class to improve student understanding and                                    performanceRecent studies on the use of writing-to-learn assignments in math, science and engineeringcourses have yielded little success in identifying the kinds of writing that lead to greater studentperformance and metacognitive understanding (Kagestan & Engelbrecht 2006; Moore 2012;Porter & Masingla 2000; Yancey 2012). This paper discusses our experience designing andimplementing a study integrating metacognitive writing-to-learn prompts into an undergraduateengineering statics course. We asked students to respond to a writing prompt for one problem on10 homework assignments per semester. Through student surveys, we assessed the effect ofresponding to these prompts on student understanding of statics concepts. We also assessedwhether the inclusion of the writing prompt improved student performance on exams.The initial iteration of the writing prompt required that students describe each step of theirsolution to a homework problem and assess whether their answer seemed reasonable. Weintended for the writing protocol to prompt students to consider the purpose of each step of thecalculation and thus prevent them from resorting to a “plug-and-chug” approach to solving theproblem. The assessment of the reasonableness of their answer was designed to encouragestudents to think about the problem in a real-world context, strengthening their understanding ofthe concepts and providing an approach for recognizing errors. Students indicated that theyfound the exercise useful in improving their understanding of statics concepts. However, we haddifficulty with compliance with the step-writing portion of the prompt. Further, the writingresponses were challenging to grade effectively and consistently. The intervention resulted inonly small trends in improved test performance.After considerable re-assessment, discussion and continued research, we streamlined the writingassignment. In the latest iteration, we ask students to reflect on any confusion they have abouthow to solve the homework problem and then revise this reflection after receiving instructorinput. Specifically, we have students assess the reasonableness of their numerical answer to eachproblem and then answer a series of questions to describe any confusion they had about theconcepts or computations required to solve the problem. The problem solution is thendemonstrated in class as students correct their own work. Following this demonstration, studentsare asked to re-examine and revise their conceptual and computational errors in writing. Finally,the instructor provides feedback when grading the homework as to whether students’understanding of the source of any errors is accurate. If the inclusion of a revision step in thiscontext functions as it does in other related fields (Kagestan & Engelbrecht 2006; Porter &Masingla 2000; Pugalee 1997; Miller 1996), then we predict that directing students to reflect onthe cause of their misunderstandings about the problem will lead them to have a betterunderstanding of the concept under review.In this paper, we will discuss pedagogical and practical reasons for our redesign of the writingintervention and will describe preliminary findings of student compliance and success using themodified writing prompts.                                         ReferencesKagesten, O., & Engelbrecht, J. (2006). Supplementary explanations in undergraduate       mathematics assessment: A forced formative writing activity. European Journal of       Engineering Education, 31(6), 705-715.Moore, J. (2012) Mapping the questions. Composition Forum 26 Retrieved from      http://compositionforum.com/issue/26/map-questions-transfer-research.phpMiller, L.D. (1992) Teacher benefits from using impromptu writing prompts in algebra classes.        Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 23, 329-340.Porter, M. & Masingla, J. O. (2000). Examining the effects of writing on conceptual and        procedural knowledge in calculus. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 42, 165-177.Pugalee, D. (1997) Connecting writing to the mathematics curriculum. Mathematics Teacher, 90,       308-310.Yancey, K. (2012) Prior knowledge and its role in transfer. Composition Forum 26 Retrieved      from http://compositionforum.com/issue/26/prior-knowledge-transfer.php
AU  - Saryn R. Goldberg
AU  - Jennifer Andrea Rich
AU  - Amy Masnick
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - The Use of Metacognitive Writing-to-Learn Prompts in an Engineering Statics Class to Improve Student Understanding and Performance
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/23184
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--23184
ER  -