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y¢ INNOVATION ABSTRACTS xo-3*

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CAN Published by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development
Wilh support from the WA K Kellogg Foundation anol Sid] We Richardson Foundation

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LEARNING BIOLOGY THROUGH WRITING

Students need more practice in writing and critical thinking. Carol Booth Olson, Director of the
Thinking/Writing Program at the University of California at Irvine, says that "While students have little
difficulty forming opinions and making judgments, an alarming number of students lack the ability to
explain and defend these opinions and judgments in writing. Research suggests that they are simply not
given enough practice in undertaking critical thinking and writing tasks."

With these concerns in mind, we sought to change the instruction in our beginning biology courses. Our
students were to be assigned a number of short essays that would require them to understand the material
in a reading assignment and respond to a question in which they must analyze some part of that
assignment. In addition, the essays were designed to (1) give students practice in writing, (2) train them to
answer essay questions, and (3) show them that writing is important in courses other than English. Larry
Kirkpatrick and Adel S. Pittenbrigh’s, "A Writing Teacher in a Physics Classroom," (1984) stimulated the
development of a new version of the lecture quiz.

Previously, general education biology students were given a [5-minute quiz every other week, and
biology majors were given a quiz each week. Now the biology majors have the traditional quiz alternated with
a one- to two-page essay based on a question given them four days prior to the due date, and the general
education students are given one or five essay questions to be conrpleted prior to the date of the quiz. On the day of
each quiz, the students face two possibilities: either their essays are collected and graded and no in-class
quiz is given; or a quiz is given and the essays are collected, but not graded. Several quiz points are given
to any student completing the essay. This encourages students to wrile the essays and to study the rest of
the material. (Not only do the "take home" essays free more time for class lecture and discussion, but they
provide some very entertaining reading.)

Students receive the format for answering the questions with the first assignment. They are directed to
write their answers as though they were explaining to a fellow student who had not understood the
assigned reading. The answer is to begin with a key sentence that makes a broad statement about the
answer that is to be more fully explained in the body that follows. The body is to expand upon and clarify
the key answer and include specific examples from the lectures and/or from their reading where appropriate.
As the semester progresses, the students are required to include more analysis and evaluation in their
responses. The questions are designed to force the students to consider how different parts of a reading
assignment are connected or how material can be applied to a new situation (e.g., designing a new drug).
The more conscientious students often seek other sources of information, such as library references or their
local pharmacist. (Sample questions for the two classes are listed below.)

Several acceptable answers for each essay are posted to demonstrate to students that there is not just one
way of answering each question and to allow them to compare their work with others’. A grammatically
poor composition receives less credit than does a well-written one, but the grading emphasis is on the
coherence and logic of the arguments presented. Positive comments to those well-written parts of the essay
are instrumental in building, students’ confidence in their ability to write successtully.

Note: (1) Requiring, these essays does not increase the amount of time the instructor spends yrading.
Instead of a quiz of five or six short answers, there ts normally a single page from cach student. (2) Given
the nature of the essay questions, there isa yreater diversity amony the answers. This much more enjovable
And entertaring fo read these essays than lo correct a more tracttonal quiz. [Vo those instructors who are
content with machine-graded exams and quizzes, tt should be said: that instituting this type of writing
assignment will increase the time commitment to grading. However, writing is such an integral part of
learning that it is difficult to imagine a respectable transfer course that does not include some writing
assignments and/or essay exams. |

The essay assignments serve the general education students and the biology majors in different ways.
The general education students’ performance on essay exam questions has improved. It was first apparent

 

GS Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

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