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| Image courtesy of the Piecesofme Blog |
According to the Inside Vandy, a Vanderbilt University online student paper, formal papers are on the decline, the 'National Survey of Student Engagement' found that in 2011, 82% of first-year college students and over 50% of seniors were not asked to do a single paper of 20 pages or more.
"Students tend to write better when they know someone might actually read what they're doing, other than their professor who has to read it. It gives students the opportunity to write and think about the course topics on a more regular basis in something that's not a high stakes graded essay. It's more about participation and less about valuation. You also sometimes see a bit more creativity with multimedia than you normally would in a more formal medium and I think that's valuable too," said Derek Bruff, a senior lecturer in mathematics and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching.So while many professors cite that blog writing provides students with a sense of relevancy and instant feedback, others like all of us at AcaDemon, argue that formal papers are a necessary means to develop a student's critical thinking and argumentation.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this matter so please post your comments below this post or let's continue this conversation on the AcaDemon Facebook page.
