Do you have an overarching learning goal associated with reading these books? That might give you some ideas about how you want to structure the assignment. I think it helps to stand back and ask why the students should do this assignment (besides the "good" of reading beyond the textbook).
For a book written for the general public, you might have a critical thinking outcome for this assignment, such as evaluating the accuracy of the information provided (compared to what students learned from the textbook and class discussions about the particular neurological issue discussed). The AAC&U Value rubric for Critical Thinking has some great criteria for evaluating this type of response. Content outcomes might be more difficult because the content of the books will be so varied and students will read and write about only one book. I am interested in learning about the types of prompts and evaluations others use for "general reading" assignments . . . and why instructors choose to make these assignments. Claudia _____________________________________________ Claudia J. Stanny, Ph.D. Director Center for University Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Associate Professor NSF UWF Faculty ADVANCE Scholar School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences University of West Florida 11000 University Parkway Pensacola, FL 32514 – 5751 Phone: (850) 857-6355 or 473-7435 [email protected] CUTLA Web Site: http://uwf.edu/cutla/ Personal Web Pages: http://uwf.edu/cstanny/website/index.htm On Tue, Jul 10, 2012 at 1:06 PM, Carol DeVolder <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > > Hi colleagues, > For those of you who require students to write book reviews (if any of you > do), what questions do you ask students to answer? I'm trying to create an > assignment where students choose a book (fiction or nonfiction) and review > it for my Brain and Behavior class. I'm thinking of books like *My > Lobotomy*, *The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat*, *Saving Milly*, *Still > Alice*, and *The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.* Other title > suggestions are welcome. I've never created this type of assignment before > and don't want to reinvent the wheel, so your input is greatly appreciated. > Thanks, > Carol > > -- > Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > St. Ambrose University > 518 West Locust Street > Davenport, Iowa 52803 > 563-333-6482 > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d550&n=T&l=tips&o=18946 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-18946-13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > > > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=18949 or send a blank email to leave-18949-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
