Abstract
This article describes the development of the FOCUS project and specific pedagogical strategies to improve understanding of the language of chemistry. The importance of language comprehension skills for success in learning chemistry has recently been highlighted by Pyburn et al. (2013). The FOCUS project has involved the construction of a database of student writings (from foundation to Ph.D. level) to create a corpus that can then be analysed for the occurrence of key words in context. Using the principles of concordance and data-driven learning (where student becomes language researcher) a number of teaching activities have been developed to enhance the understanding of subject-specific language for both home and international students studying on a foundation level Chemistry course.
Highlights
Mathematical ability is often considered to be an important indicator for student success in chemistry (Rixse & Pickering 1985) but more recently Pyburn et al (2013) have highlighted the significant contribution of language comprehension skills to student achievement
They demonstrated that comprehension skill correlated with general chemistry performance and partially
In this article we describe the development of the FOCUS project and the use of data-driven learning (DDL) as a tool to enhance language understanding and demonstrate how it can be used to successfully support and enhance student learning in chemistry
Summary
Mathematical ability is often considered to be an important indicator for student success in chemistry (Rixse & Pickering 1985) but more recently Pyburn et al (2013) have highlighted the significant contribution of language comprehension skills to student achievement. Ac.uk/foundation.focus) and the use of data-driven learning (DDL) as a tool to enhance language understanding and demonstrate how it can be used to successfully support and enhance student learning in chemistry. The tool includes a word cloud feature to identify common collocations and guide users into useful explorations about their chosen keyword (see Figure 1). The usage of the term is demonstrated in a wide variety of different contexts so improving their understanding of their subject-specific language and deepening the student’s understanding of what the word “pressure” and associated terms mean The value of this teaching activity is enhanced by the use of authentic chemistry texts and the fact that it promotes learner discovery of the connections between words and their meaning. The design cycle of activity identification, development and review with the Foundation students was effective
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