Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - University of Wisconsin-Platteville chemistry professors Tim Zauche and Sofia Carlos-Cuellar received a 2005-06 Assessment Activity Fund grant to explore a web-based writing program called Calibrated Peer Review (CPR). The program is designed to add a writing dimension in assessing how well students are learning key concepts and techniques.

CPR was developed by UCLA and has been adopted by over 500 campuses in the last 10 years. Students complete short writing assignments, and then "calibrate" themselves by reading and evaluating their classmates' writing assignments online. By the time students have gone through the entire process for an assignment, they've had many opportunities to read and write about a key chemistry concept in depth. Zauche used CPR in his Chemistry 124 class this past fall and will use the program again for his spring section, as well as the sophomore section of Chemistry 273. "The process still needs refining, but I think it will prove to be a good tool for assessment, and I plan to continue using it. I'm committed to having my students use writing as a tool for learning, but it isn't always very feasible to grade that many papers for multiple assignments when you have large courses and labs. I think this is a good alternative, and I'm looking for other ways to expand on the concept," he said.

At the end of the course, Zauche asked the students to evaluate how well CPR had helped them critique their own work, write in a concise format and understand key concepts. Student reactions to the process were generally positive. One student wrote," "It was very helpful in critiquing my work...the questions really help to see what areas I missed." Another noted that, "...a lot of times in my writing I would add a lot of extra padding in there, but CPR helped me to just put in the facts."

A third student wrote that CPR was most helpful in reinforcing key concepts, saying, "I feel that this was the best part of CPR. It very much challenged students to really understand the concept and think about it." The UWP Teaching Excellence Center (TEC) will serve as a contact point for instructors and departments interested in implementing or learning more about CPR. It will hold an open house from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, April 3, 2006, in the Computer Conference Room of the Pioneer Student Center for faculty interested in implementing CPR in their classrooms. "Because the ability to write effectively is so integral to scientific analysis and study, I'm excited that Dr. Zauche is exploring CPR. Through more frequent and extensive exposure to science writing, students will gain a necessary skill applicable to their field of study," said April Schmidt, graduate assistant, TEC. Anyone interested in learning more about Zauche's experience may contact him at (608) 342-1678 or zauchet@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: Tim Zauche, professor, Department of Chemistry, (608) 342-1678,zauchet@uwplatt.edu

Prepared By: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu