Using Simplex (an online writing tool) to assist students when simplifying complex ideas towards various audiences: a pilot project

Abstract

Professional skills development is an increasingly emphasized part of the undergraduate curriculum. Both physiology instructors and students of STEM place a high importance on effective communication of scientific information to a variety of audiences. However, it can be difficult for students to simplify technical jargon and ensure a clear message. Simplex alpha is an online writing tool to identify scientific jargon and assist the writing simplification process. The goal of this pilot project was to evaluate whether Simplex alpha assisted students when reducing scientific writing, improving knowledge retention, and increasing the effectiveness of communication. Participants in this study included 129 undergraduate science majors from Michigan State University. Each participant was given the same scientific abstract to rewrite and assigned to one of three groups. Group A utilized the Simplex alpha online tool, Group B was provided minimal feedback, and Group C was given no feedback. A knowledge assessment was completed, and participants were later asked to rate five random rewritten de-identified abstracts as to their perceived “effectiveness” based on the writing prompt. Group A performed slightly better on the knowledge assessment than groups B and C (89.3% vs. 88.3% vs. 86.9%). More participants in Group B simplified the abstract to the lowest grade levels vs. Groups A and C. There was a statistically significant difference in the effectiveness scores between the groups as Group B slightly outperformed Group C, while Groups B and C significantly outperformed Group A (P=0.004). Students using the Simplex alpha tool were highly complementary to its ease of use and the benefits of identifying technical jargon for simplification. However, Group A did not achieve as favorable “effectiveness” outcomes as those participants in Group B and Group C (minimal and no feedback respectively). It is not known whether the tool itself or the time spent attempting to simplify writing can be of greatest benefit. Further attenuation of the methods may need to be evaluated. Department of Physiology, Michigan State University This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.