Writing-to-learn in STEM

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

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

Conceptual understanding

Scientific method IntroAdvancedCapstone

Critical thinking IntroAdvancedCapstone

Effective communication

Metacognition IntroAdvancedCapstone

Professionalization IntroAdvancedCapstone

Biology/ Life Sciences

Chemistry Engineering Math/Computer Science/Statistics

Physics/Earth Sciences

Content knowledge IntroAdvancedCapstone

Conceptual understanding

Scientific method IntroAdvancedCapstone

Critical thinking IntroAdvancedCapstone

Effective communication

Metacognition IntroAdvancedCapstone

Professionalization 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

Writing-to-learn in STEM

Documents

The Inquiry Learning Package for Innovative STEM …learn-stem.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Learn_STEM...Learn STEM – Inquiry Learning Package for Innovative STEM Learning and

WRITING-TO-LEARN IN STEM Julie Reynolds Duke University July 2012

Writing to Learn: The New Georgia Writing Assessment

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Cadre B Writing to Learn

Writing to Learn Science, Technology, & Engineering

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Writing to Learn PowerPoint (Without Graphics)

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