Developing Science Literacy in Non-SME&T Majors

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The problem of science illiteracy is a national problem. Although university undergraduate programs have done an admirable job at educating SME&T majors, they have not provided majors outside of these fields with an adequate technical background. One of the reasons for this failure is that students are not transferring the skills taught in preparatory classes to their science classes. In order to reach the student body, either a multitude of science classes must be targeted, or, alternatively, a class that essentially enrolls all students. Two classes that meet this requirement are beginning Math and English. A large number of NSF projects have already targeted math classes. This project instead is working to revise the beginning English class to incorporate materials that will prepare students to understand the concepts and methods taught in science classes. This is a novel approach, that to our knowledge, has not yet been attempted on the scale that we propose. This untried approach may prove quite effective and the materials we are constructing can be incorporated into introductory English classes in both two- and four-year institutions with minimal disruption. The pedagogical method presented in this proposal can be easily incorporated in current English classes and offers a vehicle to teach science reasoning skills in a less threatening environment than the Math or science class. This approach should be particulary effective with minorities and women whose math and science anxiety levels are high.