대학의 계열별 글쓰기 수업에서의 과학 글쓰기 및 토론 활성화 방안

Abstract

As the role of science in society becomes increasingly prominent, there is a rising recognition of the importance of scientific writing. However, in-class tools to teach scientific writing and effective communication to undergraduate science and engineering majors are still in need. It is not easy to clearly and effectively convey one’s argument on scientific issues based on technical knowledge through writing. It is even more difficult when you are teaching in an undergraduate scientific writing class setting where students of different science and engineering majors come together. To teach effective communication, we need to devise more specific methods to address various difficulties that students may encounter. In this study, we developed the “essay introduction letter” to facilitate scientific wrting and in-class discussions. Modelled on cover letters for academic journals, the essay introduction letter incorporates essential elements for effective science communication. In our study, students were required to write an essay introduction letter to present their argumentative essay assignment and read others’ essays before inclass discussions on each writing. We then analyzed the effects of using the letter by observation of in-class discussions and student surveys. Our findings suggest that students can more readily prepare their presentations and participate in meaningful discussions through writing and reading essay introduction letters. We hope that this study will contribute to devising specific methods to teach scientific writing and effective communication to undergraduate science and engineering majors.