IF YOU WANT TO:
Assigning "minute papers" at the end of some lectures.
"Minute papers," as used by Charles Schwartz, a professor of physics, consist of two questions to which students give written responses at the end of each weekly lecture. "I call them `minute papers,'" he says, "because I preface them with the request that they take a minute or two to write on these two questions:
(1) What is the most significant thing you learned today? and
(2) What question is uppermost in our mind at the end of today's session?
"The minute papers started out purely as an attendance device," Professor Schwartz explains. "As I began to read their responses, however, I found them very useful in evaluating how successful I had been in conveying the material that day. In fact, now I often quote one or two of their essay responses at the beginning of the next discussion period to get the discussion started."
As is the case with many educational experiments, this one had an additional unintended benefit. "Because these are mainly science students who are seldom asked to write, I pointed out that these minute papers were good practice for the essay questions which would constitute my final. As the term progressed, I noticed an improve- ment in the papers: they became longer, better developed, and more carefully phrased."
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California