Using the Science Writing Heuristic to Improve Undergraduate Writing in Biology

Abstract

Our objective was to investigate the impact of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) on undergraduates’ ability to express logical conclusions and include appropriate evidence in formal writing assignments. Students in three laboratory sections were randomly allocated to the SWH treatment (n = 51 students) with another three sections serving as a control (n = 47 students). All sections received an identical formal writing assignment to report results of laboratory activities. Four blinded raters used a 6-point rating scheme to evaluate the quality of students’ writing performance. Raters’ independent scoring agreement was evaluated using Cronbach's α. Paper scores were compared using a t-test, then papers were combined into low-scoring (3.5 of 6 points) or high-scoring (>3.5 of 6 points) sets and SWH and control cohorts were compared using Pearson's chi-square test. Papers from the SWH cohort were significantly (P = 0.02) more likely to receive a high score than those from the control cohort. Overall scores of SWH cohort papers tended to be higher (P = 0.07) than those from the control cohort. Gains in student conceptual understanding elicited by the SWH approach improved student ability to express logical conclusions about their data and include appropriate evidence to support those conclusions in formal research reports. Extending the writing tasks of the SWH to formal writing assignments can improve the ability of undergraduates to argue effectively for their research findings.

Keywords:

• Writing
• Science Writing Heuristic
• Biology education
• Reasoning

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by a Faculty-Undergraduate Research Collaboration grant from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and the Departments of Biology and English at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire. This study received approval from the UWEC Institution Review Board for use of human research subjects. We also thank the UWEC Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for its support of this study, and warmly thank Dr April Bleske-Rechek, UWEC Psychology Department, for her help with data analysis. T. W. wishes to acknowledge funding from a National Science Foundation CAREER grant (DEB-0642512) that allowed him to work on this project.