Directed Paraphrasing involves students summarising what they have learned, then rewriting their answers for a specific audience and sharing the answers with the class. After the sharing, educators can summarise emerging themes and address any confusion.
Instructions
- Ask students to write a quick summary what they’ve learned in this class. For instance, they can choose from any new concepts, definitions, theories, models and frameworks they have learned so far. This will serve as their initial summary.
- Provide a list of different types of audiences. Assign or let students choose an audience. Ask students to rewrite their summary for the selected audience.
- Ask some students to present their initial and adapted summaries.
- Conclude the activity by summarising the key themes and the importance of tailoring information to different audiences in effective communication.
Resources
A list of different relevant types of audiences which the students are familiar with.
Variations
- Make it real-world related: Provide students with real-world scenarios where they would need to communicate a complex concept. Instead of selecting an audience from a list, students can engage in role-play. They become the specified audience and their peers must adapt their summary accordingly.
- Create visual summaries: Instead of written summaries, students can create visual summaries using diagrams, infographics, or drawings. They must then adapt these visuals for different audiences.
- Make it extra quick: Turn the activity into a game by setting a timer for very short rounds (e.g., 1 minute). Students summarise their topic, pass it to a peer, and the peer adapts it for a different audience. This activity encourages quick thinking and adaptability.
References
Directed Paraphrasing | Explore Learning and Teaching (griffith.edu.au)