Incorporating a Substantial Writing Assignment into Organic Chemistry: Library Research, Peer Review, and Assessment

Nicotera, Cynthia L.; Shibley, Ivan A.; Milakofsky, Louis

doi:10.1021/ed078p50

Cited by 37 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Since the 1970s, a writing-to-learn literature has emerged suggesting that students can learn content, such as scientific theories and historical causes and effects, through writing about it (e.g., Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, & Wilkinson, 2004; Emig, 1977). This literature tradition has advocated the merits of writing activities as diverse as journal writing (Connor-Greene, 2000), note taking (Kiewra & Benton, 1988; McIntyre, 1992), summaries (Friend, 2002; Radmacher & Latosi-Sawin, 1995), short essays (Marshall, 1987; Voss & Wiley, 1997), term papers (Nicotera, Shibley, & Milakofsky, 2001), and “mini-writing” in large classes (Gingerich et al, 2014). Less clear, however, is whether these recommendations have solid empirical support.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the cognitive processes involved in writing to learn.

Arnold¹,

Umanath²,

Thio³

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied

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Writing is often used as a tool for learning. However, empirical support for the benefits of writing-to-learn is mixed, likely because the literature conflates diverse activities (e.g., summaries, term papers) under the single umbrella of writing-to-learn. Following recent trends in the writing-to-learn literature, the authors focus on the underlying cognitive processes. They draw on the largely independent writing-to-learn and cognitive psychology learning literatures to identify important cognitive processes. The current experiment examines learning from 3 writing tasks (and 1 nonwriting control), with an emphasis on whether or not the tasks engaged retrieval. Tasks that engaged retrieval (essay writing and free recall) led to better final test performance than those that did not (note taking and highlighting). Individual differences in structure building (the ability to construct mental representations of narratives; Gernsbacher, Varner, & Faust, 1990) modified this effect; skilled structure builders benefited more from essay writing and free recall than did less skilled structure builders. Further, more essay-like responses led to better performance, implicating the importance of additional cognitive processes such as reorganization and elaboration. The results highlight how both task instructions and individual differences affect the cognitive processes involved when writing-to-learn, with consequences for the effectiveness of the learning strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the cognitive processes involved in writing to learn.

Arnold¹,

Umanath²,

Thio³

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied

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“…At the end, students splice the knowledge generated from each phase into a single cohesive and meaningful scientific story, which is communicated both orally and in writing. In this report, we specify how we have leveraged the scientific method along with the community’s reports on technical writing for chemical literacy, 27 , 39 , 43 , 66 − 115 , 119 laboratory experiments, 21 , 26 , 32 , 59 , 107 , 116 − 127 , 173 − 175 critical thinking exercises, 3 , 13 , 26 , 117 , 128 − 143 and research experiences 146 − 155 to create a unique protocol to enhance the communication skills of undergraduates via individual one-on-one mentoring. This has been applied to our regional summer research program of roughly 35 students per year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Scientific Method as a Scaffold to Enhance Communication Skills in Chemistry

et al. 2022

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Scientific success in the field of chemistry depends upon the mastery of a wide range of soft skills, most notably scientific writing and speaking. However, training for scientific communication is typically limited at the undergraduate level, where students struggle to express themselves in a clear and logical manner. The underlying issue is deeper than basic technical skills; rather, it is a problem of students’ unawareness of a fundamental and strategic framework for writing and speaking with a purpose. The methodology has been implemented for individual mentorship and in our regional summer research program to deliver a blueprint of thought and reasoning that endows students with the confidence and skills to become more effective communicators. Our didactic process intertwines undergraduate research with the scientific method and is partitioned into six steps, referred to as “phases”, to allow for focused and deep thinking on the essential components of the scientific method. The phases are designed to challenge the student in their zone of proximal development so they learn to extract and ultimately comprehend the elements of the scientific method through focused written and oral assignments. Students then compile their newly acquired knowledge to create a compelling and logical story, using their persuasive written and oral presentations to complete a research proposal, final report, and formal 20 min presentation. We find that such an approach delivers the necessary guidance to promote the logical framework that improves writing and speaking skills. Over the past decade, we have witnessed both qualitative and quantitative gains in the students’ confidence in their abilities and skills (developed by this process), preparing them for future careers as young scientists.

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“…The strategy for developing the Lake Tempe area based on 3E (education, environment, and entrepreneurship) (Berger et al, 2007;Rimmington et al, 2009;Arend et al, 2015;Julifa et al, 2015;Abdelmaged, 2021;Viveiros et al, 2021) is a new breakthrough in realizing independent tourism in the Wajo district. The type of writing in this scientific paper is library research (Nicotera et al, 2001;Aharony, 2006;George, 2008;Wijayanti, 2014;Sesagiri Raamkumar, 2015;Winchester & Salji, 2016;Kasdi & Wijayanti, 2017;Sari & Asmendri, 2020). The data collection technique used is to collect secondary data related to the formulation of the problem obtained from various references and then analyze it descriptively and qualitatively (Nassaji, 2015;Kim et al, 2017;Graneheim et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caec (Community of Active English Communication)-Based Empowerment of Lake Tempe Wajo Tourism Regional Communities

Adzim

Amiruddin

2021

JAI

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South Sulawesi's Lake Tempe is a popular tourist site. Many foreigners, both locally and internationally, visit Lake Tempe. The quality of the guide's service has a significant impact on the smoothness and comfort of travel in Tempe. As a result, a training and mentoring program for foreign-language tourism performers in the Tempe Lake area is required. The PKM program is carried out in stages: (1) PKM participant selection; (2) PKM briefing participants; (3) survey site; (4) PKM program socialization; (5) debriefing tourist actors; and (6) twice-weekly training and mentorship for three months. In total, 25 meetings were held to provide training and mentorship. The training team enhances the vocabulary at the start of the training, and subsequently, the material and speaking are intensified by the team. The assessment's findings revealed a significant increase: (1) There were three people in the very good group, 25 in the good category, and two in the bad category when it came to vocabulary ability. (2) There are 26 persons who are classified as good at tenses, and just four people who are classified as less good. (3) In terms of speaking skill, four people were rated as very good, 25 were rated as good, and one was rated as less good.

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Incorporating a Substantial Writing Assignment into Organic Chemistry: Library Research, Peer Review, and Assessment

Cited by 37 publications

References 5 publications

Understanding the cognitive processes involved in writing to learn.

Understanding the cognitive processes involved in writing to learn.

The Scientific Method as a Scaffold to Enhance Communication Skills in Chemistry

Caec (Community of Active English Communication)-Based Empowerment of Lake Tempe Wajo Tourism Regional Communities

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