The Chemistry writing project at UCT: from teaching communication skills to writing as a tool for learning

Abstract

This paper describes the application of action research in a project aimed at the development of the communicative skills of increasingly diverse second-year Chemistry students. A pilot study, which included portfolio assessment of the writing of a random sample of these students in three writing tasks, showed that the communicative problems experienced by students whose home language is not English were closely linked to their conceptual difficulties. Furthermore, the existing curriculum did not accommodate their specific learning needs. A programme of writing assignments in the second-year Chemistry curriculum was therefore designed expressly to promote deep learning by structuring the tasks around some of the fundamental concepts presented. Two writing tasks were mediated in workshops designed to illustrate relevant concepts, and issues arising from the first writing assignment informed the design of the second workshop. The writing project was incorporated as an integral part of the second year Chemistry curriculum. Feedback from students was used to inform and improve the design of future writing tasks and workshops. The focus was on writing as a tool for learning chemistry and the project was regarded as a step on the path to acquiring scientific literacy. Research revealed that the most significant factor in producing a good piece of writing was not language skills as such but an understanding of the material. Students who were able to engage with the concepts could write about them in a coherent manner. Poor understanding of the materials led to the production of reports, which were simply a collection of statements linked together. Thus students' writing can serve as an assessment tool to gauge their understanding of the material. The mainly positive perceptions of academics and students, despite the onerous nature of the writing tasks, indicated that they perceived the value of the exercise.