“How does your writing sound when you read it aloud?” This is one of the many questions Dr. Eve Wittenberg poses to her students and colleagues. Wittenberg is a Scholar in Residence at GHELI, where she develops experimental learning materials related to her field of decision science. She is also a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Health Decision Science (CHDS) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where her research addresses priorities and values in health and policy decisions.
At a recent roundtable of Incubator teaching and learning staff, Wittenberg facilitated a conversation about writing exercises for the science classroom. As researchers continue to think about how to share the findings of their work, the ability to communicate clearly and concisely to multiple audiences has become an increasingly valuable skill. Starting in Fall 2018, Dr. Wittenberg will be teaching an undergraduate academic writing course at the Harvard College Writing Program.
Dr. Wittenberg previously partnered with the Incubator in 2015 to offer a monthly Writing Group for CHDS faculty and staff that explored various aspects of writing across genres and disciplines related to global health, decision science, and public health education.
The roundtable conversation mainly focused on ways to facilitate constructive writing feedback in the classroom, from modelling the critique process for students to peer feedback circles. Staff and fellows also underscored the importance of providing substantive feedback at the beginning of the semester to maximize the opportunity for growth throughout the term.
“Treat everything as draft,” advised Dr. Terry Aladjem, Senior Contributor at the Incubator and lecturer in Harvard College’s Social Studies concentration. In his longstanding junior tutorial course, Law and American Society, Aladjem’s students workshop specific fragments of their papers with peers. By carefully selecting excerpts to review with peers, the critique experience was more productive and relaxed for students.
The informal conversation laid the groundwork for the Incubator’s ongoing exploration of diverse pedagogical approaches for bringing global health topics to life in the classroom. To learn more about writing in academic settings, explore the CHDS resource pack on the subject.