Writing Matters: Writing-to-Learn Activities Increase Undergraduate Performance in Cell Biology

Balgopal, Meena M.; Casper, Anne Marie A.; Wallace, Alison; Laybourn, Paul J.; Brisch, Ellen

doi:10.1093/biosci/biy042

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The dilemma for the educators is to empower students to select their own frames and draw on both academic and personal funds of knowledge, without compromising opportunities to increase science content knowledge. WTL instructional strategies, when designed with specific prompts that encourage students to draw on multiple types of evidence around locally and/or culturally relevant issues do not have to compromise students’ use of academic science content (Balgopal, Casper, Wallace, Laybourn, & Brisch, ). WTL activities allow students the chance to be deliberate in their choice of evidence, as they can see their thoughts on paper, unlike oral arguments (Bereiter & Scardamalia, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…WTL activities allow students the chance to be deliberate in their choice of evidence, as they can see their thoughts on paper, unlike oral arguments (Bereiter & Scardamalia, ). Based on our current studies for which students wrote about cell biology and cancer treatments, all of our participants drew on academic science to support their claims, and many blended their sources of evidence (Balgopal et al, ). By guiding students to consider what claims they want to make about local environmental SSIs and about potential solutions to resolve these issues, along with discussions about what types of evidence are most meaningful in supporting their particular claims, we can help students become more thoughtful about their arguments and the frames that they choose to use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Writing from different cultural contexts: How college students frame an environmental SSI through written arguments

2016

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The research objective of this study was to describe the frames that students from two culturally distinct institutions used in their argumentative essays on a locally relevant environmental socioscientific issue. Participants (n = 47) were recruited from biology courses designed for pre‐service elementary teachers at both a public university and a tribal community college separated by around 80 km. Students participated in iterative writing assignments, class discussion, and small group planning activities. Each student submitted three essays (in total around 140 essays), which were analyzed for the types of claims made, the types of evidence used to support claims, and patterns of argument framing. A framing typology from the science communication discipline was used. Both cohorts used frames around accountability and compromise, but tribal college students were more likely to draw on morality frames while university students drew on economic development frames. In addition, the tribal students were less likely (58% of essays) to use scientific evidence to support their claims than the university students (96% of essays). We conclude that while frames lend them themselves to using scientific evidence, students from culturally marginalized backgrounds have an opportunity to increase their sense of agency and communicate their argumentative positions on SSIs. We recommend that educators assign WTL activities that allow students to select their own frames but encourage students to integrate scientific evidence in their essays, while also recognizing that how we define science is likely culturally biased. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54: 195–218, 2017

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Writing from different cultural contexts: How college students frame an environmental SSI through written arguments

2016

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“…As evidenced by the work of our students before and after feedback, any implementation of these assignments gives students opportunities to respond to peer or instructor feedback to improve their skills. Additionally, the production of written or other forms of communication about science supports students’ learning of the science itself ( 11 ); thus, inclusion of these assignments in basic science courses would support science communication as well as science content learning objectives.…”

Section: Discussion: 400-level Science Communication Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

Scaffolded Curriculum for Developing Science Communication Skills in Life Science Undergraduates ^†

Kelp

Hubbard

2021

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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Strong communication skills are essential for future science professionals, but practical training has not been featured strongly in undergraduate curricula. To better train diverse life science majors in communication theory and skills, we created a foundational 200-level course and an advanced 400-level science communication course. Here, we outline the strategy, including lesson plans, assignments, and grading rubrics, for these courses. The science communication assignments presented are diverse in terms of audience, including communication to fellow scientists, to clinicians, and to the public, as well as in terms of format, including written, oral, and visual modes. We also provide suggestions for placing assignments designed to build upon each other into preexisting courses in a scaffolded manner to promote mastery of science communication skills.

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“…Writing is one of the primary media used in Wikipedia assignments and is consistently associated with increased student engagement (Camfield & Land, 2017). In particular, the use of iterative assignments that begin early, start simply, build on one another and focus on the synthesis and summary of ideas and include peer review produces deep learning of content via communication of diverse and complex ideas (Balgopal et al., 2018). Building on low‐stakes activities stimulates student engagement and builds self‐efficacy (Camfield et al., 2020; Sawyer et al., 2017).…”

Section: Taking the Plungementioning

confidence: 99%

From panic to pedagogy: Using online active learning to promote inclusive instruction in ecology and evolutionary biology courses and beyond

Harris

McCarthy

Wright

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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In response to COVID-19, in spring, 2020 many of us rapidly took our in-person courses to an online format. This was panic pedagogy and we made the best of an emergency situation. Going forward, we now have a chance to reflect and think critically about how to best develop and deliver evolutionary and ecological content online. In this piece we challenge instructors to use the opportunity created by the COVID-19 pandemic to rethink the way in which they teach. Let us leverage the situation to increase use of active and inclusive practices in our (online) classrooms. We encourage instructors to be

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Writing Matters: Writing-to-Learn Activities Increase Undergraduate Performance in Cell Biology

Cited by 21 publications

References 41 publications

Writing from different cultural contexts: How college students frame an environmental SSI through written arguments

Writing from different cultural contexts: How college students frame an environmental SSI through written arguments

Scaffolded Curriculum for Developing Science Communication Skills in Life Science Undergraduates ^†

From panic to pedagogy: Using online active learning to promote inclusive instruction in ecology and evolutionary biology courses and beyond

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Writing Matters: Writing-to-Learn Activities Increase Undergraduate Performance in Cell Biology

Cited by 21 publications

References 41 publications

Writing from different cultural contexts: How college students frame an environmental SSI through written arguments

Writing from different cultural contexts: How college students frame an environmental SSI through written arguments

Scaffolded Curriculum for Developing Science Communication Skills in Life Science Undergraduates †

From panic to pedagogy: Using online active learning to promote inclusive instruction in ecology and evolutionary biology courses and beyond

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Scaffolded Curriculum for Developing Science Communication Skills in Life Science Undergraduates ^†