GIVING

A 

GIFT

(Good Idea for Teaching Students)

Please use the following format if you’d like to give a GIFT to your colleagues. Email the GIFT as an attachment to Melissa Colón.

TASK/ACTIVITY/ASSIGNMENT

Describe the task/activity/assignment. In some cases, it might be relevant to include the name of the class or the setting in which the activity will take place. If you think the activity has broad application, then it is not necessary to include the context.

TECHNIQUE/STRATEGIES

Name the pedagogical strategies or techniques that are embedded in the activity.

SKILL BUILDING

Describe what skill(s) is being addressed.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE

TASK/ACTIVITY/ASSIGNMENT

Teach students a simple method to cite sources when speaking and writing and then expect them to practice using the method regularly and in multiple contexts throughout the semester.

The method:  Tell students to introduce an idea, example, or statement that comes from an outside source with these words:  According to . . .

Examples of contexts in which students would be expected to cite their source:

• According to our textbook . . .
• According to your lecture on February 16^th . . .
• According to my Aunt Betty . . .
• According to the Union Democrat (New York Times, Modesto Bee) . . .
• According to James Joyce in Ulysses . . .
• According to my results in the lab experiment . . .
• According to witnesses at the scene of the accident . . .
• According to diagnostic tests on the engine of this car . . .

Require students to regularly cite the source of their information. When a source is omitted, remind them to include it in written or spoken statements by asking. “Can you tell me where that information comes from using the ‘according to’ model?”

Once students are consistently using the “according to” model, they often spontaneously modify the introduction or ask for ways to vary the means of citation to avoid redundancy. 

TECHNIQUE/STRATEGIES

This method embeds the following pedagogical techniques/strategies:

• Making connections between ideas/situations: text-to-text, text-to-self, text-to-situation, etc.
• Showing students how to use the language and methods of academic discourse (as described by Mike Rose);
• Defining expectations and holding students accountable.

SKILL BUILDING

This task builds students’ awareness of and skill with documenting sources.