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WRITING-TO-LEARNIN STEM
Julie ReynoldsDuke University
July 2012
•Why should scientists teach writing?
•What works? What do we know?
•How do you study the impact of WTL?
PART 1: WHY SHOULD SCIENTISTS TEACH WRITING?
WTL pedagogies can
• Deepen conceptual understanding • Reveal misconceptions• Acculturate students into discipline• Increase retention
But….
WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO WTL IN STEM?
MYTH #1: STEM FACULTY DON’T CARE ABOUT WRITING
What evidence do we have that faculty don’t care?
MYTH 2: Writing isn’t integral to STEM
do research
formulate problems
plan and execute experiments
analyze data
draw
conclusions
write it up
Scientist & Engineers always write
do research
formulate problems
experiments
analyze datadraw conclusions
write it!
Letters and emails
Drafts
Lab notebooks
Incorporate reviewer’s comments
Re-write for another audience
Drafts
submit manuscript
Grant proposals
…but are our STEM students?
First-year writing“W” course
“W” course
MYTH 3: IT’S THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT’S JOB….
Scientific writing ability = f(?)
• # of undergrad English courses?• years at University?• exposure to sci writing in other courses?• prior experience writing a scientific paper?
Jerde CL, Taper ML. 2004. Preparing undergraduates for professional writing: evidence supporting the benefits of science writing within the biology curriculum. Journal of College Science Teaching 33: 33-37.
MYTH 4: “BUT I CAN’T TEACH WRITING!”
Writing is visible thinking
WTL LTWXvs
MYTH #5: A FEW WID COURSES ARE ENOUGH
Quality practice
Writing task(and associated learning
outcomes)
1st year
Pre- & Co-Requisites
Core Course
Cap-stone seminar
Honor thesis
Abstracts and summaries
Lab notebooks, etc.
Laboratory reports
Op-eds/opinion pieces
Research proposal
Thesis, manuscript, book chapter
•
•
?
??
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•
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Writing task 1st year
Pre- & Co-Requisites
Core Course
Cap-stone seminar
Honor thesis
Abstracts and summaries
Lab notebooks, etc.
Laboratory reports
Op-eds/opinion pieces
Research proposal
Thesis, manuscript, book chapter
•
•
•
••
•
•
•
• • •
•
••
•
MYTH 6: MORE ASSIGNMENTS WILL IMPROVE WRITING
Students will figure it out
Take Home Messages• Writing-to-learn pedagogies are under-utilized in STEM
courses• Stem faculty can and should use writing to teach • Student need opportunities to practice disciplinary writing
• Skill development occurs over time
• Skills do not improve automatically• Writing assignments need to be carefully constructed, using full
rhetorical context, structured opportunities for feedback (including peer review)
• Modeling disciplinary ways of thinking socializes students into the discipline• Bowman MH, Stage FK. 2002. Personalizing the Goals of
Undergraduate Research: Implementing Three Types of Goals. Journal of College Science Teaching 32: 120-125.
PART 2: WHAT WORKS? WHAT DO WE KNOW?
• WTL Working group • Biology = 2• Chemistry = 3• Education = 1• Engineering = 2• Physics = 1• Psychology = 1• Writing = 2
• Workshop = 80 STEM faculty
Table 1: Key citations from the WTL in STEM bibliographic database that represent exemplary descriptive studies, empirically validated studies, and promising practices. The database, of 324 sources, can be searched by keywords. http://bit.ly/fjudgo
Julie A. Reynolds, Christopher Thaiss, Robert J. Thompson, Jr, and Wendy Katkin, 2012. Writing-To-Learn in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education: A “bottom-up” approach to developing and adopting effective practices, CBE - Life Science Education Vol. 11, 17–25.
.
Biology/ Life Sciences
Chemistry Engineering Math/Computer Science/Statistics
Physics/Earth Sciences
Content knowledge IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Conceptual understanding
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Scientific method IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Critical thinking IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Effective communication
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Metacognition IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Professionalization IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Biology/ Life Sciences
Chemistry Engineering Math/Computer Science/Statistics
Physics/Earth Sciences
Content knowledge IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Conceptual understanding
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Scientific method IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Critical thinking IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Effective communication
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Metacognition IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
Professionalization IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
IntroAdvancedCapstone
• Reconceptualize the role of writing in improving learning
• Delineate specific learning objectives• Determine “mechanisms of effect” • Focus on critical reflection and argumentation• Adopt a “hybrid paradigm” for studies• Establish multi-university collaborative initiatives
Future efforts must be informed by:• theory and research on WTL• science of teaching and learning
• Constructivism beliefs, prior knowledge, and frameworks for interpretation
• Metacognition focus on sense-making, self-assessment, and reflection during learning
• Metacognition regulates cognition, emotions, and motivation
• Neurocognitive development • learning changes the physical structure and functional organization
of the brain• ongoing remodeling of the brain throughout college year
Research template
What is the role of ___________________
in improving ________________________________
through impacting _______________________________
as a function of _______________________________ ?
[specific practice]
[disciplinary specific learning objective]
[specific cognitive, motivational, emotional process; prior knowledge; beliefs]
[course level, class size; discipline; level, background, and goals of the student; and institutional factors]
PART 3: HOW DO YOU STUDY THE IMPACT OF WTL?
Discourse analysis of texts
•Rubric•Rater training and calibration•Inter-rater reliability
Writing process• Guidelines for students
• Guidelines for faculty
• Timeline for revision
• Cover letters• Response to feedback
• Structured comments• Reader-based feedback
• Timely feedback• Multiple revisions• Peer review
Rubric•Quality of research•Critical thinking skills •Writing skills
No Somewhat(Minimum Acceptable Standards)
Yes (Standards of Excellence)
Is the writing appropriate for the target audience?
Honors theses should address non-specialist readers with an understanding of basic biology—specifically, any faculty member in the biology department regardless of sub-discipline. Although faculty are experts within their field of research, they are rarely familiar with the language and conceptual nuances of other highly-specialized fields of study. Students should assume their readers understand basic biological processes, but they cannot assume that readers readily remember all the details. Therefore, students should limit their use of jargon, and should explain or define all key terms and concepts that are specific to their sub-field.
The thesis is written with excessive jargon or is greatly lacking in definitions and explanations, making the research inaccessible to non-specialist readers.
The thesis includes some useful definitions or explanations, but some key terms or concepts are still challenging for the non-specialist reader. Non-specialist readers are able to follow the main themes of the thesis, but the writer has not made this task easy.
The thesis has sufficient definitions and explanations to make the research accessible and engaging to non-specialist readers