Welcome to the CIRTL Network’s Virtual Coffee Hour
TEACHING AND USING WRITING SKILLS IN THE STEM
CLASSROOM
Michelle Sulikowski
Kathryn Miller
Brian Chabot
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Writing in the STEM Classroom
One 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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Starting point: perception of a problem
Exploration
Incubation
Recursive
Reformulate
First draft
ideas
Reformulation and revision
Editing
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 problemdriven 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
Goal:
Why:
Interesting area of
Developmental biology
Biology; many different
concepts and molecular
aspects of biology
mechanisms
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
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
1. C i rcle one sentence that you found confusing or difficult to follow. Write what you
think the author means by this sentence. (You must use your own words.)
2. W rite one suggestion to make this prospectus better
After you have completed this form, wait until your partner completes his/her form. Take
turns in reviewing what was written. Responders will read what they wrote in response to
each question and show the author the sentences that they marked. Authors are only
allowed to say, ‘yes, that is correct’ or ‘no, that is not what I meant.’ THIS IS NOT THE
TIME TO FIX A PROBLEM OR EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MEANT. FIXING WILL BE
DONE LATER, after you have had time to think about what your partner has said.
AFTER YOU LEAVE THE SESSION: Think about your partner’s comments, even if
your partner understood your prospectus. Do the comments suggest that there may be a
better way of explaining? Or a different organization that would better convey your
points? Remember, your response may be that you don’t want to change anything. You
are not required to use the responder’s suggestions.
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-Content
Desired
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- Writing
Desired
outcome:
Quality of the
writing
Uses
appropriate
writing
techniques
1.5 points
1.0 points
0.5 points
0 points
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;
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.)
Michelle Sulikowski
Vanderbilt University
CITRL, March 2013
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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)
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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

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Briefly discuss the peer
review process
Remind them that good
peer review can be painful
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Lower Level Labs
◦ Replace a regular undergraduate lab report with a
journal quality experimental
◦ Give examples for students to follow
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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
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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
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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
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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:
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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
UPCOMING COFFEE HOURS
BUILDING AN ACADEMIC
CAREER SERIES
TEACHING AND LEARNING
IN THE STEM CLASSROOM
SERIES
Teaching at a Primarily Minority Institution
Fostering Critical Thinking
March 28th, 2013, 12-1pm CT
April 17th, 2013, 1-2pm CT
Facilitated by:
Facilitated by:
Tabitha Hardy, Post Doc, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Institutional Research and Academic Career Development
Award (IRACDA) Fellow
Keri Mans, Post Doc, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Institutional Research and Academic Career Development
Award (IRACDA) Fellow
Imani Goffney, Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction,
University of Houston
Nancy Ruggeri, Associate Director of Graduate
Programs, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence,
Northwestern University
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