Writing in authentic science genres in the organic chemistry II laboratory to improve student perceptions of themselves as writers and belonging in STEM

Rebecca E. Black

New College of Florida

It is vital that we incorporate effective writing instruction into the chemistry curriculum and provide undergraduates opportunities to engage with diverse professional writing genres. Myriad studies have investigated the impacts of writing instruction and activities throughout the chemistry curriculum, with a significant emphasis on enhancing student’s proficiency in writing lab reports in introductory chemistry labs. However, academic lab reports can fail to resonate with students, who may struggle to see the practical and professional relevance of mastering this genre. To address this, some more recent studies have moved toward guiding students in writing more authentic scientific artifacts, such as journal articles. These studies further exemplify the positive impact of infusing real-world relevance into the chemistry curriculum to bolster student motivation and learning.

Inspired by this work and the principles of Self-Determination Theory, a writing-enhanced curriculum was developed for Organic Chemistry II Laboratory at New College of Florida. The curriculum features explicit writing instruction and assignments centered in two professionally relevant genres: Decision Memoranda and a Journal Article. The latter was written in parts and with multiple rounds of peer review and revision, mirroring the iterative process typical in science writing. A qualitative research study was carried out to explore the impact of this writing-enhanced curriculum on students’ attitudes and perceptions about their writing competence and science writing identity and on their belonging in STEM. Pre- and post-course surveys were administered to students in the Spring 2023 courses. Both surveys sought to capture students’ perceptions of their: (i) writing practices and self-perceived writing abilities and (ii) belonging in STEM. Post-course surveys also included questions on how completing this writing-enhanced curriculum impacted their development of other transferable skills and impressions of the curriculum. Participants felt that this curriculum helped them become better writers, was engaging, and should continue to be implemented. Interestingly, likely due to already high perceived levels of belonging in STEM at the start of the course, no significant change was observed in STEM belonging. Insights from analysis of these survey data will be presented.

I am the Organic Chemistry session organizer. If this talk is accepted, I'd appreciate if we can organize together to ensure my talk does not overlap with any of the planned Organic Chemistry sessions. Last year, this was not a problem. I'm sure we can work it out!