Writing-to-Learn the Nature of Science in the Context of the Lewis Dot Structure Model

Abstract

Traditional methods for teaching the Lewis dot structure model emphasize rule-based learning and often neglect the purpose and function of the model. Thus, many students are unable to extend their understanding of molecular structures in new contexts. The assignment described here addresses this issue by asking students to read and write about the 1916 paper, in which Lewis proposed the original ideas that led to the dot structure model taught in modern general chemistry courses. This directed writing-to-learn approach is designed to promote conceptual learning of the Lewis dot structure model and to transform students' beliefs about the nature of science as they evaluate the early model presented by Lewis and compare it to the conventional model taught in lecture. Participating students responded to a pre−post survey, which indicated modest gains in their conceptions of the nature of science. The assignment is designed for college-level general chemistry students but may be modified for use in high school chemistry and is generally transportable to other fundamental topics in chemistry in which accessible literature is available as an appropriate source for directed reading and writing.

The Effects of Writing to Learn (WTL) on Academic Achievement and Attitude to Lesson in English Classes

“…The results concerning the academic success of the students reveal out a parallelism with the studies conducted by making use of the WTL activity (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50). Considering the values obtained at the end of the research, it was found that; the students who were taught the SPT through the letter writing activity, which is one of the WTL activities, became more successful than the students who were taught through the traditional teaching method.…”

“…They have carried out an experimental study to find out that the students who used the WTL activity were more successful. When the literature is reviewed there can be seen plenty of studies related to WTL activities in variety of fields in variety of formats such as thesis or articles [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Studies related to Teaching English as a Second Language using WTL activities are very rare.…”

Identifying and Remediating Student Misconceptions in Introductory Biology via Writing-to-Learn Assignments and Peer Review

“…The WTL process used here was developed to incorporate the criteria detailed above to enhance student learning. In these assignments, students engage in a process in which they first respond to a given audience about a scenario, then participate in student-mediated peer review, and finally revise their writing based on the feedback they received and how their knowledge of the content has developed ( Shultz and Gere, 2015 ; Finkenstaedt-Quinn et al. , 2017 ).…”

Connecting Chemistry to Community with Deliberative Democracy

“…One point raised in these discussions is whether chemistry should be taught as a collection of facts or as a way of thinking (7). A scientific way of thinking involves understanding the role of chemistry in decision-making regarding modern issues (7) as well as appreciating the dynamic nature of chemical knowledge (8). The concern that students view science as a static body of knowledge is not unique to chemistry and is echoed by other science educators who encourage more deliberate teaching of the nature of science as a social enterprise in which knowledge is constructed through debate and consensus building as new facts and evidence become available (9,10).…”