Writing Assists Learning: Learning Improvements in Teaching Construction Management

This paper sets out to address the "thesis" that there is a correlation between writing in an academic discipline and mastering its material, shaping its ideas, and critical thinking.When a student writes he learns the subject better, he understands the material better, and he retains course material longer.It will set out two Case Studies in the Construction Management field presently being used at Farmingdale State University and how they differ in nature and therefore produce different writing skills.We will address the success and failure of each of these styles of assignment and try to answer the question "why" one assignment may produce better writing than another.The relationship between "writing" and "thinking" will be explored particularly from the standpoint of improvements made to student's writing skills as a result of the techniques applied.Various learning improvements and techniques will be explored such as the inseparability of writing and thinking, the student's need of a format to adhere to, and the better packaging of assignments.Can a student's ability to write be "trained" by starting with low stakes writing and building up to high stakes writing in the time span of one semester.How much does "peer review" influence the student's writing.Additional areas of interest would be the effects of requiring an oral presentation and/or defense on the writing ability of the student, and the pros and cons of keeping a journal.