In the previous post, the focus was on the Nature of Science, and how this is important to not only ensuring that students are thinking critically about the content they are learning, but also how this could become a gateway into other methods of increasing scientific literacy in STEM classrooms. This post will continue to explore some of those other methods. Although literacy is a term most commonly associated with reading and reading comprehension, it encompasses much more than that. According to Alberta Education, literacy can be defined as “…the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with language to acquire, construct and communicate meaning in all aspects of daily living.” (Alberta Education Fact Sheet) This is certainly a broad definition. Alberta Education continues to provide examples of what literacy looks like throughout curriculum. Some examples for Mathematics from the Fact Sheet include:
Similarly, some examples Alberta Education provides from the Fact Sheet of literacy in Science include:
There are, most definitely, other ways that literacy is involved in Mathematics, Science, and other STEM subjects, but in this post, I will focus on aspects pertaining to writing in particular. Check out this post of mine if you are looking for aspects pertaining to communicating research, or, if you are wanting information and resources pertaining to presenting/oral literacy, check out this post. As writing/communicating through written word is crucial throughout all aspects of our lives then, just as any other skill, the best way to hone it is to practice it. We cannot expect students to be experts in writing about science or math if they have never practiced it before. While most skills from humanities courses certainly transfer (sentence/paragraph structure, writing conventions, spelling, punctuation, articulation, etc.), the methods of communicating are different between different subjects. For example, in descriptive writing, students are practicing their abilities to include describing words and phrases. In persuasive writing, voice is of utmost importance - can you take a stance and convince your reader? In scientific writing, the goal is to communicate thoroughly yet succinctly. In mathematical writing, you need a mix of both descriptive and succinct writing: you want to communicate enough so that your process is clear, but not so much that your paper becomes an entire book. Since these processes differ from processes learned in other courses, then students need the chance to learn and build these skills, just as they learn how to write a persuasion piece or a short story. In a 2013 article from The American Biology Teacher, Balgopal and Wallace outline the literacy process of ‘Writing to Learn’ (or WTL, for short), which revolves around the importance of the thinking process, rather than on creating a perfect written piece. (Balgopal & Wallace, 2013). They further go on to state that: “…iterative WTL activities can support students’ developing scientific literacy skills, especially if they involve engaging in socio-scientific issues,” (Balgopal & Wallace, 2013) and that: “Asking students to explore relevant scientific issues through multiple perspectives allows them to gain a better understanding of the concepts.” (Wallace et. al., 2004, as cited by Balgopal & Wallace, 2013). The good news is that there is no end to the abundance of ways that you can include a writing component in a STEM class that your students will enjoy. Check out the following page as a starting point for some ideas of activities and resources that you can implement in your class.
Some of my favourite ideas for getting students writing are described below.
I wrote for my university newspaper as an Undergraduate student for two years, and it never ceased to be a thrill when I unfolded the newspaper and eagerly flipped to my column to see my article in print. There is a sense of pride knowing that your work is seen by a larger audience than just your classroom teacher (and perhaps classmates), which inspires you to put my very best work forwards each month (at least, it did for me!). This method is actually a great one for a number of reasons: students are regularly practicing their writing and researching skills, they are learning new and exciting STEM concepts, they are (hopefully!) passing their excitement on to their peers, and they have the opportunity to receive peer feedback on their work as it is read by many each week/month. What I would suggest: provide students with a rough outline of what subject they have to write about each iteration. This could be in synchronous alignment with the content being covered in class, or it could pertain to current events/celebrations (Earth Day, etc.), or even just giving a broad subject (like: marine life). Then, leave the rest of the topic open for students to choose (and check with their teacher/editor beforehand!). You could also use this as an opportunity to incorporate more of the WTL process involving socio-scientific issues, outlined by Balgopal and Wallace, above. This strategy also ties into the Nature of Science discussed in the last post; giving students the freedom to wonder about things in the natural world, and research about something that interests them is a great way to foster engagement, and (hopefully) each article won’t feel like a chore! Students will love seeing their work shared with others! 2. Blogging This one is a very similar idea to the school newspaper, however, it is easier to implement on a class-wide scale, rather than a select few who may volunteer. Blogging provides a way for students to write about any number of things that they have learned in class. I would suggest the same framework as outlined above, giving students some freedom in the topic choice, but I think this method would work just as well if you gave students set topics to write blogs about. Here is a list of blogging tools from eLearning Industry that are good to use in the classroom. Be mindful and ensure that you look into whatever tool you choose, to check that you can moderate posts and security. Or, if you choose not to have students actually post their work online, they can still write their posts as if they would be displayed on a blog, but just email them to you instead. This would also be a good time to have a brief refresher with students about digital literacy - a great starting point for this is Media Smarts. Once again similar to the school newspaper, blogging allows students to share their work with a larger audience. Depending on the settings and configurations that you choose for the blog, students can either share their blogs with just the teacher, with each other, or with the broader school community, such as parents and friends! Check out this article from Emerging EdTech for more of the pros of blogging in the classroom. 3. Journalling Another option for getting students to flex their scientific/STEM writing skills is journalling. This is something that was used in one of my university math courses, and it was a great learning experience. Keeping a log/journal for a math/science class may feel strange at first, but as students continue to get used to the process, it likely won’t take long for them to embrace the idea. If your students are new to the idea of journalling, or if you are just introducing it for the first time, it is a good idea to include writing prompts, to give them an idea of where they should start. Over time, this will likely become a more natural process, but initially, they may need more guidance. Final Thoughts One thing to keep in mind is that whatever method you choose may be a new process for students - if they aren’t familiar with scientific or mathematical writing, they may need some ideas of what it should look like. Provide students with sample works, links to blogs or other articles so that they can get a sense of what is expected of them. If this is something new to the classroom, understanding that it will take time to get it right, and that what works for one teacher may not work for another. Happy writing! ReferencesAlberta Education Fact Sheet
Sriparna. (2018). Lesson plans: critical thinking and writing activities in the science classroom. Owlcation. Accessed on November 24, 2020 from https://owlcation.com/academia/Writing-in-the-science-classroom Balgopal, M., Wallace, A. (2013). Writing-to-learn, writing-to-communicate, and scientific literacy. The American Biology Teacher: University of California Press. Accessed on November 26, 2020 from https://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article/75/3/170/20659/Writing-to-Learn-Writing-to-Communicate-amp Pappas, C. 2013. How to use blogs in the classroom. eLearning Industry. Accessed on November 26, 2020 from https://elearningindustry.com/how-to-use-blogs-in-the-classroom Media Smarts. (n.d.) Digital and media literacy. Media Smarts. Accessed on November 26, 2020 from https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy Thomson, M. (2018). Why your students should blog: 6 powerful benefits. Emerging EdTech. Accessed on November 26, 2020 from https://www.emergingedtech.com/2018/04/why-your-students-should-blog-6-powerful-benefits/
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |