LETTERS TO MY PARENTS: USING LETTER-WRITING FOR LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT IN INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY CLASSES

A letter-writing exercise was developed for a small-enrollment Introductory Geology Class that met one evening a week. Each week, in addition to completion of the in-class lab exercise, students were asked to explain in a letter format a specific geologic topic such as "what is the difference between elements, minerals and rocks?" or "what is a geologic cross section?" The topics tied directly to material covered in class. Students had to present their explanation in a letter to either my mother or my father, neither of whom knew anything about geology. The students were instructed to write the explanation using common, everyday language.

There were multiple aims in the exercise: 1. I wanted the students to learn the material, and the best way to learn is by teaching or explaining something to someone else; 2. I wanted to find out whether the students had learned the content, and what misconceptions they might continue to have about the topic; 3. I wanted students to engage with the content in the break between class meetings; the assignments were due by email two days before the next class, and were returned in class; 4. I wanted students to practice and develop their writing skills. 5. I also wanted the students to feel comfortable with and be unintimidated by the assignment. To this end I built up a partially fictional image of my parents and divulged new trivia each week, which further engaged the students in the letter-writing process. I also produced "replies" and "further questions" from one or other of my parents.

This tool for learning and assessment proved to be enormously successful. The "human" aspect engaged the students, and thus they engaged in, and learned the content, as well as developing their writing skills in a relatively non-threatening format. Because the topics they wrote about were geologically straightforward, it was very easy to assess quickly whether they understood the content. This exercise could be adapted for learning and assessment at any grade level.