An approach to improving communication skills in a laboratory setting: The use of writing consultants

Abstract

The communication skills of chemistry students, among others, are generally maintained to be deficient. ~o s e n t h d refers t o 16 papers in this Journal1 between 1975 and 1987 that are coneeried with writing and the need for its improvement. At Rensselaer, concrete steps have been taken to address this problem a t the Institute level, and this paper describes how we have incorporated Institute requirements into our chemistrv oromam.The gist of the Institute's requirement is that aU students take two "writine intensive" courses, one of which is in the major. ~c c o r d i n g to Institute guidelines, "a course in the maior becomes writine intensive by virtue of its success a t heiping students to uGderstand and master discipline-and profession-specific uses of writing as modes of thinking and communicating." In general, faculty, in writing intensive courses, are expected to provide students with more than two opportunities to write, to make this writing integral to the actual work of the course and relevant to students' writing in the giving of grades, and t o provide clear and consistent feedback and timely commentary to help students imnrove. . -As a means of supporting this approach, graduate students in the Deoartment of Laneuaee. Literature. and Com-" " .munication have been made available as "writing consultants" to students and faculty in these courses. Tmically these writing consultants begin by constructing a desiiiptive analvsis of the features of student performance on the first writing assignment and meeting with faculty to determine which of these features are appropriate or inappropriate for the specific field. The writing consultants then make these criteria available to students and use them to give students comments on drafts of major writing assignments. Students then revise their work and turn it in for evaluation by the denartment. -~ ~ .~~~~~~~~~ ~ The chemistry laboratory program seemed t o us to be the loeical lace to stress communication throueh this writine-~ ~ . intensive requirement. The chemistry ma&rs1 laboratoryconsists of a seouence of four lareelv integrated laboratow courses in the sophomore and junior in which most experiments extend over multiple periods. Some labs have been graded on the basis of aresults summary (sample calculations, answers to questions, brief discussion of specific points,etc.), while ochers have required written formal reports. We have felt that a small number of reports requiring significant effort could be given more attention b4 both students and faculty than could formal reports on every experiment. These reports are modeled on journal styles and are expected to focus on the chemistry of the experiment, not on the students' perception of its educational value. Faculty grading these reports have been concerned most ' Rosenthal, L. C. J. Chem. Educ. 11987, 64, gQG998. strongly with correct chemistry hut have attempted to stress good writing and proper format as well. However, faculty have often felt uncomfortable in evaluating writing style (except for...

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