Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students

Learning the tools and conventions of expert communication in the sciences provides multiple benefits to bioscience students, yet often these skills are not formally taught. To address this need, we designed a writing-intensive microbiology course on emerging infectious diseases to provide upper-div...

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Autores principales:	Kimi Grzyb, Wesley Snyder, Katharine G. Field
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2018
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/bdba402a81724cb6bb062367b8a9b390
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:bdba402a81724cb6bb062367b8a9b3902021-11-15T15:04:53ZLearning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.13381935-78851935-7877https://doaj.org/article/bdba402a81724cb6bb062367b8a9b3902018-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.1338https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7877https://doaj.org/toc/1935-7885Learning the tools and conventions of expert communication in the sciences provides multiple benefits to bioscience students, yet often these skills are not formally taught. To address this need, we designed a writing-intensive microbiology course on emerging infectious diseases to provide upper-division students with science-specific writing skills along with disciplinary course content. The course followed the guidelines of our university’s Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) program. Students wrote a press release, a case study, a controversy/position paper, and a grant prospectus, and revised drafts after feedback. To assess the course, in 2015 and 2016 we administered pre-post surveys and collected writing samples for analysis. Students reported on their experience, training, skills, and knowledge before taking the course. They then rated the extent to which the assignments, lectures, in-class activities, and writing activities contributed to their attainment of the learning outcomes of the course. Students entering the class were inexperienced in tools of science writing and the specific genres covered by the class. Their confidence levels rose in both skills and knowledge. Feedback from instructors was cited as most helpful in the majority of the areas where students reported the most gains. The survey provided evidence that discipline-specific knowledge had been acquired through writing activities. Teaching science writing by allowing the students to write “fiction” (e.g., a case report about a fictional patient) was effective in maintaining a high level of interest, both in learning the conventions of the genre and in seeking out detailed information about emerging infectious diseases. Both the course structure and the specific assignments would be useful at other institutions to teach science writing.Kimi GrzybWesley SnyderKatharine G. FieldAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENJournal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 19, Iss 1 (2018)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Kimi Grzyb Wesley Snyder Katharine G. Field Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students
description	Learning the tools and conventions of expert communication in the sciences provides multiple benefits to bioscience students, yet often these skills are not formally taught. To address this need, we designed a writing-intensive microbiology course on emerging infectious diseases to provide upper-division students with science-specific writing skills along with disciplinary course content. The course followed the guidelines of our university’s Writing Intensive Curriculum (WIC) program. Students wrote a press release, a case study, a controversy/position paper, and a grant prospectus, and revised drafts after feedback. To assess the course, in 2015 and 2016 we administered pre-post surveys and collected writing samples for analysis. Students reported on their experience, training, skills, and knowledge before taking the course. They then rated the extent to which the assignments, lectures, in-class activities, and writing activities contributed to their attainment of the learning outcomes of the course. Students entering the class were inexperienced in tools of science writing and the specific genres covered by the class. Their confidence levels rose in both skills and knowledge. Feedback from instructors was cited as most helpful in the majority of the areas where students reported the most gains. The survey provided evidence that discipline-specific knowledge had been acquired through writing activities. Teaching science writing by allowing the students to write “fiction” (e.g., a case report about a fictional patient) was effective in maintaining a high level of interest, both in learning the conventions of the genre and in seeking out detailed information about emerging infectious diseases. Both the course structure and the specific assignments would be useful at other institutions to teach science writing.
format	article
author	Kimi Grzyb Wesley Snyder Katharine G. Field
author_facet	Kimi Grzyb Wesley Snyder Katharine G. Field
author_sort	Kimi Grzyb
title	Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students
title_short	Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students
title_full	Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students
title_fullStr	Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students
title_full_unstemmed	Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students
title_sort	learning to write like a scientist: a writing-intensive course for microbiology/health science students
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2018
url	https://doaj.org/article/bdba402a81724cb6bb062367b8a9b390
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Learning to Write Like a Scientist: A Writing-Intensive Course for Microbiology/Health Science Students

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