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Chemistry Bibliography
Prepared by Peter Sands, PhD The sciences and mathematics have a large and growing body of both anecdotal and empirical research into the effects of introducing explicit writing instruction in the undergraduate curriculum. Additionally, there is a very large body of writing on the effects of writing instruction on science education in the elementary and secondary grades. Journals devoted to teaching, such as Journal of College Science Teaching, and American Biology Teacher, regularly publish articles on teaching methods that depart from traditional lecture or rote-based laboratory teaching; those articles generally explore the uses of writing as a means of teaching and learning the content of science courses (in addition to learning the disciplinary conventions of science writing). In the last ten years, these articles and reports from the field have been increasingly written by practicing science educators in addition to specialists in writing instruction. What follows here is a very selective annotation of fairly recent works and a list of additional resources. It is by no means comprehensive. It is also generally descriptive rather than evaluative; I leave such judgments to those better qualified than I. Annotations marked with a double asterisk are copied from from the Georgia State University WAC program subject bibliographies at: http://WWW.GSU.EDU/~wwwwac/. Book Connolly, P., & Vilardi, T. (1989). Writing to learn mathematics and science. New York: Teachers College Press. A collection of 23 essays by mathematicians, scientists, and compositionists. The essays are in the main practically oriented, offering concrete teaching strategies. But it does not reduce itself to practical concerns only, "[r]ather, it represents the necessary use of ordinary language to teach science and mathematics in all their subtlety, complexity, and richness" (xvi). The volume is particularly rich in specific classroom strategies used by practicing mathematicians and scientists.
Driskill, Linda et. al. (1998). Students' reasoning and rhetorical knowledge in first-year chemistry. Language and Learning Across the Disciplines 2 (3), 3-24. A case-based introductory chemistry course tests students' reasoning with essay questions. A protocol analysis project of the relation between successful and unsuccessful students' reasoning about chemistry and their rhetorical knowledge revealed several constraints affecting students' writing. Rhetorical knowledge, though, was a factor influencing student ability to explain and discuss chemistry. Recommendatiosn for new uses of writing in introductory chemistry were developed, based on the differences observed in successful and unsuccessful writers' processes.**
Brief summary of writing project conducted in a chemistry class. Students were presented with a problem to solve; as students solve the problems they also write up their procedures. The papers are critiqued and graded (on a 6-point holistic scale) by classmates, using a critique worksheet the class develops.**
Reviews literature that links writing to successful learning in chemistry. Included are sections on the general connection between writing and learning, writing in general and first year chemistry, upper division chemistry, overcoming constraints of writing in the chemistry classroom, and resources for students and faculty writing in chemistry. **
Describes an independent-study journal experiment in chemistry; suggests the journal showed the student showed "demonstrable learning in social, philosophical, and personal aspects of organic chemistry research."
Describes one professor's use of writing assignments in an organic chemistry course. Discusses different types of writing assignments: abstracts of published articles, concept or project papers, note taking in lecture and lab, and lab reports.**
Rymer interviewed nine scientists and conducted one formal case study of the writing of a journal article, to compare conventional assumptions about writing processes in scientific writing; she concludes that actual practice is much more recursive and more like the full range of strategies employed in other forms of professional, academic writing than the conventional, linear representation suggests. Rymer suggests that her research may indicate the need to expose students to a variety of formal and informal writing tasks in their science classes to better teach effective scientific writing as part of the whole range of scientific activity.
Correlates writing with improved performance on tests in a chemistry course. Students wrote summaries of chem lectures, which were evaluated on a 1-5 scale. Score on written assignments correlated positively with subsequent exam grade. Conclusion: writing improved understanding; writing showed prof what students did or didn't understand, and hence improved lectures.**
Gives an overview of writing activities that normally take place in science classes, such as notetaking and problem statements; advocates unstructured, inquiry-based writing as a tool students can use to learn more about chemistry, especially through the use of written comments and questions submitted at the end of each class in an "Exit Box." Suggests that teachers learn valuable information about their students through the exit questions.
Libianca, D., and Reeves, W. J. (May l985). Writing across the curriculum: The science segment. Journal of Chemical Education 62, 400-402. Powell, A. (December, 1985). A chemist's view of writing, reading, and thinking across the curriculum. College Composition and Communication 36, 414-418.
Thall, E., and Bays, G. (1989). Utilizing ungraded writing in the chemistry classroom. Journal of Chemical Education 66 (8), 662-663.
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