Action Research: Integrating Chemistry and Scientific Communication To Foster Cumulative Knowledge Building and Scientific Communication Skills

Abstract

Collaboration between chemistry lecturers and literacy lecturers led to the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary project with the object of addressing two pertinent challenges in chemistry education. The first challenge is the tendency of students to approach different topics in science as separate units of knowledge, which hinders cumulative knowledge building. The second challenge is the effective incorporation of scientific communication skills into science curricula. In the course of this project students completed various assignments in the fields of chemistry and scientific communication, while exploring the characteristics and properties of individual ionic compounds. Feedback on the first two iterations of this project was obtained by electronic surveys. The results revealed that the project succeeded in enabling students to appreciate the interconnectedness of various topics within the chemistry curriculum. It also supported the development of students’ scientific communication skills and helped them realize the significance of these skills in a science context. Furthermore, it revealed the importance of concerted communication by the lecturers with the students to maintain the collaboration between the different disciplines.