Abstract
Authentic disciplinary practices engage students with the habits of mind and ways of knowing in the discipline. A need for change in undergraduate life sciences education has been established by diverse stakeholders, with a clustering of recommendations directed towards implementing authentic learning assessment and student experiences; including but not limited to, shifting course content requirements to competency requirements (AAMC& HHMI, 2009), establishing high‐impact practices to align with expectations for learning (AAC&U, 2008) and providing authentic disciplinary experiences that reveal the process of science (AAAS Vision & Change, 2011). Collaboration and innovation in the workplace go hand‐in‐hand and the enterprise of science and communicating science is collaborative. Writing in the discipline facilitates understanding and socialization in the discipline. This study presents evidence of student learning in a senior capstone course where students learn physiology in semester teams within the context of patient cases and engage in collaborative writing, inquiry, presentation, and peer review with individual reflection on the learning process and peer evaluation. In a 2‐year study, collaboratively written case reports and research reports paralleled semester improvement in individual and team exam performance. Student‐driven team inquiry project posters ranked consistent with team writing in the discipline. Members of high performing and most improved writing teams were able to articulate collaborative writing strategies, value the collaborative writing process, and demonstrated disciplinary ways of knowing in their final writing products.
Published Version
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