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Welcome to the CIRTL Network’s Virtual Coffee Hour

TEACHING AND USING WRITING SKILLS IN THE STEM CLASSROOM

Michelle Sulikowski Kathryn MillerSession Begins at 1PM Central Time

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Brian Chabot

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Writing in the STEM ClassroomOne approach to fostering deeper

student engagement and understanding

Kathryn G. Miller, Professor and Chair of Biology

CIRTL Coffee Hour, March 20, 2013

The course

• Biology 3191: Molecular Mechanisms in Development– Read primary literature (no textbook)– Discussion, not lecture– Writing-Intensive

• Analytical essays• Long Literature Research paper

Foster understanding, organization, synthesis of ideas and information

Why Writing Intensive?• Bean ‘Engaging Ideas’ (2001), p. 29-31

– “What…..students need to understand is that for expert writers, the actual act of writing causes further discovery, development, and modification of ideas.”

• Active rather than passive• Understanding instead of facts• Ask questions and engage in dialog, not

acquire information

The writing process: ‘think, then write’ model

• Choose a topic• Narrow it

• Write a thesis• Make an outline

• Write a draft• Revise • Edit

Bean ‘Engaging Ideas’ (2001), p. 29-31

Expert writer’s process: unanswered questions and a dialog with the ‘material’

1. Starting point: perception of a problem2. Exploration3. Incubation4. First draft5. Reformulation and revision6. Editing

RecursiveReformulate

ideas

Bean, Engaging Ideas

This description of the writing process emphasizes the fact that expert academic writers are driven by their engagement with

questions or problems and by their need to see their writing as a contribution to an ongoing conversation. ………..[T]his problem-driven model of the writing process has a distinct advantage… It

allows …[the]… link[ing of] the teaching of writing to … teaching the modes of inquiry and discovery in the…. discipline.

….[S]tudents [get] personally engaged with the kinds of questions that propel writers through the writing process. Thus, the writing process itself becomes a powerful means of active

learning.

My goals for the course

Developmental biology concepts and molecular

mechanisms

Interesting area of Biology; many different

aspects of biology encompassed within

Science discovery process

Knowledge construction in field, how is new

knowledge created?

Relationship between evidence and ideas Understanding not facts

Express ideas clearly, use empirical support

Understanding not facts; transferable skills

Goal: Why:

Essays

• Question or thesis • Question designed to require synthesis of

material from several sources• Support answer with empirical data and

arguments• Organize around ideas

Example

Grading

Writing examples: 3 ways to write about the same thing

Analysis of writing examples

Development of student writing skills

• Cornell students are required to take 2 writing courses

• Most courses assume students have sufficient writing skills and don’t educate about writing

• Writing skills students need for STEM disciplines (or other career/professional writing) usually are not evaluated

Courses taught with writing skills emphasis

• Environmental Issues (BioEE 1100)• Principles of Ecology and Environment (BioEE

2610)• Current Topics in Ecology & Evolutionary

Biology (BioEE 7670)

Things to do

• Educate yourself about how to help students improve their writing

• Get books or other resources that deal with writing techniques

• Design approaches to assist students to improve writing skills (grading rubrics, special assignments, course sections)

Grading Rubric-ContentDesired outcome: Quality of the response to the assignment

4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Takes a position in response to the question

A position on the question is clearly stated and arguments are developed with evidence the provide support of the position taken that goes beyond the basics in substance and interpretation

An appropriate position is taken and some arguments are developed to support the position

A position is taken, but the essay does not contain or develop arguments to support the position taken or takes an inappropriate position in response to the question

Does not take a position in response to the question

Grading Rubric- WritingDesired outcome: Quality of the writing

1.5 points 1.0 points 0.5 points 0 points

Uses appropriate writing techniques

Uses the correct structure and style for the assignment, including introduction with roadmap and conclusion; uses good sentence and paragraph structure, appropriate word choice, few errors in spelling or grammar; overall all result is one of persuasive writing

Uses the correct structure and style for the assignment; uses good sentence and paragraph structure, appropriate word choice, few errors in spelling or grammar

Uses adequate structure; errors in style for the assignment or sentence or paragraph development; numerous errors in grammar, spelling

Serious writing problems (e.g. not an essay, paragraphs without topic sentences, sentences that don’t make sense or are out of place, etc.)

Writing in the STEM Disciplines

Michelle SulikowskiVanderbilt University

CITRL, March 2013

The activity must be authentic and related to course objectives

Let them know that this is how scientists communicate The teacher shows writing is valuable by spending

class time discussing writing Short 5 minute talk with expectations, rubrics or

examples is key Allow students to do peer review prior to submission

(peer review is an authentic exercise) Allow resubmission for any work that is unacceptable

(how peer review works)

Make Writing an Authentic Activity

Give a grade to students for the actual peer review

Get at least two reviews per piece of work

Give guidelines for reviewing including deadlines

Require students to show changes in yellow highlight or discuss the changes at the end of the work

Good peer review lightens the instructors load and gives students ownership of their scholarship

Can do it all on OAK in groups that you control

Briefly discuss the peer review process

Remind them that good peer review can be painful

Peer Review

Lower Level Labs◦ Replace a regular undergraduate lab report with a

journal quality experimental◦ Give examples for students to follow

Higher Level Labs◦ Produce several forms of an abstract :differing

lengths (50 – 200 words) and for different audiences (lay / scientific)

◦ For sequential experiments, write a journal article instead of a lab report

Authentic Writing in Laboratory

Organic Chemistry ◦ Choose a project that matches curriculum

requirements but has some meaning to the student◦ Choose a drug with an alkene and a carbonyl group◦ Each week they apply what we learn in lecture to that

drug (has an explicit format in my class)◦ They conclude the project with a description of how

the drugs works and why it is used based on Discover or Scientific American format

◦ Audience: First part is me, second is their peers◦ Instruction in writing: 5 minutes of class time with a

handout every few classes; give examples of acceptable products

Authentic Writing in Lectures

We learn to write by actually writing

Write in or out of class Give guidance on the

prompt sheet, no need to discuss if the assignment is short

Value the assignment by giving it a grade

Grade loosely to save your mind

In class assignment: Write a few sentences on something you understood from lecture or explain something that you did not understand using proper terminology whenever possible

Take-home assignments if you don’t have class time or want a more in-depth response: Write 5 sentences on 1/3 assigned

topics Ask them to write about something

from lecture Ask them to write on a topic of

choice that relates to actual or related course content

You can teach writing in any class

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UPCOMING COFFEE HOURS

BUILDING AN ACADEMIC CAREER

SERIESTeaching at a Primarily Minority

Institution

March 28th, 2013, 12-1pm CT

Facilitated by:

Tabitha Hardy, Post Doc, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Institutional Research and Academic Career Development

Award (IRACDA) FellowKeri Mans, Post Doc, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Institutional Research and Academic Career Development

Award (IRACDA) FellowImani Goffney, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction,

University of Houston

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE STEM CLASSROOM

SERIESFostering Critical Thinking

April 17th, 2013, 1-2pm CT

Facilitated by:

Nancy Ruggeri, Associate Director of Graduate Programs, Searle Center for Teaching

Excellence, Northwestern University

To sign up to hear about these and other CIRTL events, email info@cirtl.net.