Marybelle C. Keim

As an undergraduate and as a graduate student, I wondered why term papers were so popular with my professors. These so-called research papers were always due at the end of the term and were heavily weighted in the awarding of a final grade. In most cases, these papers were hastily written, because three, four, or even five such documents were expected, one for each class. Occasionally topics were assigned, but the usual directions were, "Research something related to this course and write about it." At no time did anyone ask to see my note cards or give any feedback on an early draft of the paper. Consequently, most of my peers and I became expert at finding appropriate references and stringing them together into a coherent but lackluster paper. At the beginning of the next term, the papers could usually be retrieved from the professors, often with no comments or marks, save for a letter grade. I really did wonder if anyone had even given the papers a cursory glance, let alone a careful review.

As a fledgling professor in the early 1970s teaching graduate courses in higher education (e.g., college teaching, higher education curriculum, or-

Marybelle C. Keim is an assistant professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale .

ganization and administration, community college), I too, assigned term papers. I knew from reading McKeachie ( 1969) that term papers were supposed to employ the powers of analysis and integration and that understanding and original thinking were the outcomes of such assignments. So I reasoned, "If it's good enough for McKeachie, it's good enough for me."

At the end of my first quarter, students dutifully handed in heavily referenced papers. There would be a topic sentence, followed by numerous quotes and paraphrased ideas, then another topic sentence, followed by more references, and so and on. Often, I wondered if the students had used a commercial term paper company or had retyped an old paper from a sorority/ fraternity file. Others bordered on completely plagiarized ideas. During the next quarter, I painstakingly discussed commercial term paper outfits, originality, and plagiarism, but in spite of my exhortations, the final results were not much better.

I continued to read about college teaching. New Directions for Teaching and Learning did not come into existence until the 1980s, so the best sources at the time were the many volumes of Improving College and University Teaching . I found some apparently excellent advice about term papers by D. Cunningham ( 1975). Among his suggestions was to have "students submit written proposals for their topics by the end of the second or third week. This will encourage them to start their research early and will allow you to check their progress" (220).

The next quarter, I followed Cunningham's advice. Some apsects of the papers improved, but the products were still disappointing. By then, I was aware that most professors who published rarely wrote very much during academic terms. They did most of their writing during leaves, breaks, and holidays. So, I pondered, "If professors can produce only one or two publishable articles/chapters a year, how can students write three, four, or more long papers each term?"

I went back to the literature again. McKeachie ( 1969) confirmed my suspicions when he wrote that his experiences with term papers had "not always been happy ones" (120), and Eble ( 1976) described the term paper as a bad assignment. Eble ( 1988 :133) pointed out five major problems with term papers: (1) teachers do not give enough specific attention to the nature and aims of the paper, (2) "too much weight in the course is given the term paper," (3) students can get others to prepare their papers for them, (4) students have too many papers to write each term "to do any of them justice," and (5) faculty do not "provide the feedback that serious written work deserves."

At this point, I completely revised all my courses to eliminate term papers. Instead I gave numerous written assignments shorter than term papers in each course, including eight-to-ten abstracts, a book review, a group paper and project, two thought papers, and a take-home final. I carefully critiqued the students' written work and returned the papers to them at the beginning of the next class session. These variations of the term paper have been very successful.

Abstracts and Book Reviews

The abstracts are on assigned topics and are due on specified dates. Students are expected to make several trips to the library to read journal articles and select relevant ones to summarize in type on 5-by-8 cards, using an appropriate style manual for the reference. They also need to furnish critiques of the articles and several discussion questions. The abstracts are used in class to elicit in-depth discussions about a given topic. Students are divided into groups of four or five, and each student presents his or her article to the other members of the group. One member of each group serves as recorder and, after small group discussions have ended, gives a short report, either oral or written on the chalkboard, to the class. I then clarify and augment the points brought up in the small groups and in the class discussion.

Students appear to like this activity, and their written and oral communications skills improve rather quickly. In addition, there is a much higher level of interaction among the students. They learn each others' names and form study groups; the shyer and less verbal students begin to blossom. I was pleased to find how effective this technique was, which was years before Astin ( 1985) and others begin to write about student involvement in learning or active teaching modes.

Abstract cards are also an excellent vehicle for reviewing literature on any topic and can be used for papers, journal articles, theses, dissertations, and comprehensive examinations. Students learn the practicality of using 5-by-8 cards instead of folders of disorganized photocopies because they have already summarized and critiqued their articles -- preliminary steps before using any literature in a review.

The book review differs from a book report in that it is a professional book review, not merely a summary of a book. Most students have read such a review in journals but have never attempted to write one. I duplicate and share numerous models from professional journals before asking students to write their review. Students quickly learn that the critique is the most important part of the assignment. Almost as an afterthought, I decided to have students report on their books orally. This activity has become an excellent vehicle for broadening students' awareness of the professional literature.

Group Papers and Projects

Eble ( 1988) stated that "much of the real work of the academic world 'itself goes on in a committee, just as it does in the real world" (135). Because I had come to that realization years before, I added group papers and projects to my courses. This assignment is for three or four students to form a group, research the literature on a topic, write a group paper highlighting the findings (ten to twelve pages, including the references), duplicate the paper for class members, and distribute it the week before the class presentation. Although the class presentation is on the same topic, it is not to be a rehash of the paper. Some of the groups are extremely creative in their presentations, using role plays, case studies, simulations, panels, videotapes, overhead transparencies, recordings, and the like.

As an evaluation technique, I developed a peer rating scale to be completed immediately after the presentation by the students in the audience. After all the groups have presented, I prepare summaries of the peer ratings, compile means on each of the items, and give each student a copy of his or her group's evaluation. The students are tough raters, but they give lots of excellent feedback to the presenters -- some negative, but mostly positive.

Thought Papers

"Thought papers," I explain, "are supposed to be creative and original. "Creative and original? What's that? We've never been asked for our ideas about anything," respond my students.

So, we usually begin with an assigned topic. In my class on college teaching, the first paper usually deals with "My Ideas for Improving College and University Teaching." All students have opinions about this topic, just from being students for so many years. I tell students they can research the topic, but they are to develop their own ideas and not use a lot of quotations. For the second thought paper, students select their own topic, which must be related to the course. Many students are so bound by the traditional term paper concept that they have some difficulty breaking out of the mold. However, students do learn to be creative as they practice writing this kind of paper. We also have oral presentations of these papers, and students look forward to these sharing sessions. This type of assignment can be adapted for use in most college and university courses; the professor needs only to furnish a provocative topic and some instructions about writing the paper.

Take-Home Final

By using an essay take-home final exam, I can assess higher-level objectives, such as synthesizing and conceptualizing. The final is distributed no later than mid-term and usually consists of four different parts: writing a speech, a compare-and-contrast question, an additional thought paper of publishable quality, and a creative presentation.

For the speech question, I ask students to prepare the text of a ten to fifteen-minute speech. Because most graduate students in higher education have not written a speech for years, many find that they have to review and relearn the rudiments of such an assignment. Usually I assign the topic and identify those who will be in the audience. For example, "You are knowledgeable about collective bargaining in higher education and have been asked to speak to a group of faculty in a research university (or a community college or a liberal arts institution) about this topic. Please prepare a persuasive speech in which you point out the advantages (or disadvantages) of collective bargaining in this setting."

The compare-and-contrast question is structured around several of the most important topics studied in the course. Students are given a choice of topics and asked to compare and contrast the ideas from three journal articles/books/chapters -- for example, "Compare and contrast the ideas of Keller, Cope, and Kotler about strategic planning in higher education."

The thought paper in the final is similar to the two assigned previously in the term. A choice of topics is furnished, and the student is urged to take advantage of the opportunity to write an article that can be submitted to a professional journal. Several of my graduate students have been able to publish thought papers in reputable journals. For example, The College Student Journal accepted an article by Weiler ( 1990), which was an expanded version of one of his thought papers. Students who aspire to an academic career after graduation can have their status enhanced by a publication record.

The creative presentation is described by students as "off-the-wall." The question is worded, "Please prepare a creative presentation dealing with some topic studied in this class. Media, art work, games, plays, poems, songs, and the like may be utilized for this question. Each student will be given five minutes to share his or her presentation during the last class session."

This assignment offers unlimited horizons. Students who have difficulty expressing themselves verbally are given an alternative, and those who have artistic, musical, poetic, or gamesmanship abilities have a chance to demonstrate these talents. The purpose of this question is for students to try a new medium, to gain self-confidence in developing creativity, and to have some lighthearted moments. I suspect that some of the creative projects presented as part of the open question may linger in the minds of students longer than most of their conventional examination efforts.

Student presentations devised over the years have been truly creative: crossword puzzles, word jumbles, scrabblegrams, poems, short stories, plays, transparencies, slide tape presentations, videotapes, cartoons, paintings, sculptures, collages, batiks, macrame, mobiles, spell downs (using course content), newspapers, fashion shows, board games, take-offs on TV shows (e.g., "Wheel of Fortune"; "Win, Lose, or Draw"; "Twenty Questions"), and song lyrics. Among my favorites were two from a higher education curriculum class, entitled "Goin' to Lay Down My Curriculum Guide" (to the tune of " Down by the Riverside") and "Core Curriculum Forever" (to the tune of " Glory, Glory Hallejulah"), accompanied by a very accomplished banjo player, and sung by the entire class.

The teaching practices described in this article change the role of the professor in the classroom from authority to facilitator. It does take considerable time to read and critique all the students' written work, but the value added to each student's expertise and knowledge far outweighs the extra time spent by the professor.

I have been using these methods very successfully for approximately fifteen years and find them more creative and effective than any others described in the professional literature. In addition, many of my graduate students who are also faculty members in a variety of higher education institutions have experimented with the techniques and have found them useful at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and in many teaching fields.

REFERENCES

Astin, A. W. 1985 . "Involvement: The cornerstone of excellence". Change 17(July/ August): 35-39.

Cunningham, D. 1975 . "A better start on term papers". Improving College and University Teaching 23(4): 220.

Eble, K. E. 1976 . The craft of teaching . San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.

Eble, K. E. 1988 . The craft of teaching , 2d ed. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.

McKeachie, W. J. 1969 . Teaching tips. A guidebook for the beginning college teacher , 6th ed. Lexington , Mass. : D. C. Heath.

Weiler, R. 1990 . "Ideas about improving university teaching: A graduate student's perspective". College Student Jo.urnal 23(4): 290-93.

See also

Video term papers

Music term papers

Buy term paper now!