Writing to Learn in STEM

By Kimberly Bell, Ph.D.
Teaching Assistant Development Specialist
kimberly.bell@stonybrook.edu

Writing to Learn (WRL) is a pedagogy approach that incorporates short low-stakes written assignments, peer-review, and feedback to help students gain conceptual understanding. A literature review of more than 200 studies that reported using WTL strategies in STEM courses summarizes that this approach has been shown to help students meet learning objectives related to content knowledge, conceptual understanding, scientific method, critical thinking, effective communication, metacognition, and professionalization (Reynolds et. al., 2002). Despite the evidence, WTL is still not as widely used as it could be.
Join us this Wednesday for a panel discussion with faculty that have used WTL in their STEM courses. 

Writing to Learn in STEM Panel Discussion
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022 at 1 p.m. ET.
In person: CELT Faculty Commons E1332 Melville Library and Zoom

Register today!

(Coffee and cookies provided in the Commons.)
You can also join us on Zoom.

Panelists:

  • Mona Monfared, Associate Professor of Teaching, Molecular & Cellular Biology, UC Davis
  • Ginger Shultz, Associate Professor, Chemistry, University of Michigan
  • Joi Walker, Associate Professor, Chemistry, East Carolina University

Research from Ginger Schultz’s group provides advice for implementing WTL widely in high enrollment introductory STEM courses (Finkenstaedt-Quinn SA, 2021). 

Student in a lab coat with a microscope and taking noets.
Research shows that using Writing to Learn strategies in STEM courses helps students gain communication and critical thinking skills.

References

Finkenstaedt-Quinn SA, Petterson M, Gere A, Shultz G. Praxis of Writing-to-Learn: A Model for the Design and Propagation of Writing-to-Learn in STEM. Journal of chemical education. 2021;98(5):1548-1555. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01482

Reynolds JA, Thaiss C, Katkin W, Thompson RJ Jr. Writing-to-learn in undergraduate science education: a community-based, conceptually driven approach. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2012 Spring;11(1):17-25. doi: 10.1187/cbe.11-08-0064. PMID: 22383613; PMCID: PMC3292059.

About Carol Hernandez

Senior instructional designer and faculty developer in the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Stony Brook University. Research interests: inclusive pedagogy, women of color leadership in higher education, qualitative research, creative writing.

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