Increasing Undergraduate Cell Biology Literacy through Writing-to-Learn Activities Administered through On-line Educational Platforms

为了提高攻读细胞或普通生物学入门课程的本科生的科学素养，科罗拉多州立大学(一所研究密集型大学)、明尼苏达州立大学穆尔黑德大学(一所四年制教学大学)和白土部落社区学院(一所两年制学院)正在各自的机构将以写促学(WTL)活动纳入这些课程。在以写为学的模式中，学生被分配了写三篇相关文章的任务，以回应关于社会相关主题的阅读作业。使用了两个不同的电子平台(Writing@CSU和电子黑板)来支持写作活动。WTL模式最初是通过CCLI项目0930978开发的，在规模较小(10-30名学生)的大学课程中进行了测试，通过对学生写作的分析发现，在提高学生的科学素养和在面临与科学研究有关的挑战时利用科学数据的倾向方面，该模式是成功的。当前项目的目标是确定是否以及如何：1)细胞生物学课程中的WTL活动帮助学生获得更高的科学素养，以及更多的科学内容知识；2)使用两个可访问的在线学习平台所提供的更大的灵活性和利用潜力，使教师更容易将与STEM相关的写作活动(如WTL)引入他们的课程，因为它帮助克服了出现的管理和评估挑战。智力价值：通过记录WTL活动在大型(150名学生)细胞和普通生物学课程中的影响，这项研究将增加关于高阶思维技能发展的知识库，如解决问题和决策，以及在大型基础生物学课程中对学生学习结果和决策技能的影响。这项研究还在探索教职员工如何有效地实施WTL活动，并利用现有的在线教育平台评估其效果。科罗拉多州立大学开发和测试的概念清单正被用来确定教学干预对分子化学、细胞代谢和蛋白质合成等学科总体知识增长的影响。更广泛的影响：这个项目总共涉及700多名本科生，其中大约30人是参与其中的部落学院的美国原住民学生，他们来自三个非常不同的机构。这两所大学都采取了增加写作课程数量的举措。科罗拉多州立大学开设了写作课程(WAC)，每年有来自美国各地的用户访问超过一百万次。该网站的编辑是咨询委员会的负责人，并通过这个在线资源帮助传播项目结果和产品(写作提示、规则和修改后的概念清单评估工具)。调查结果正通过大学专业发展研究所、期刊文章、会议报告和链接到WAC信息中心网站的教学维基进行传播。

In order to increase the scientific literacy skills of undergraduate students enrolled in introductory cell or general biology courses, Colorado State University (a research-intensive university), Minnesota State University Moorhead (a 4-year teaching university), and White Earth Tribal & Community College (a 2-year college) are integrating writing-to-learn (WTL) activities into these courses at their respective institutions. In the writing-to-learn model students are assigned the task of writing three related essays in response to reading assignments on socially relevant topics. Two different electronic platforms (Writing@CSU and Electronic Blackboard) are being used to support the writing activities. The WTL model was originally developed through CCLI project 0930978, tested in small (10-30 students) college courses and found to be successful, as measured by analysis of student writing, in increasing students' scientific literacy and tendency to draw on scientific data when faced with STEM related challenges. The goals of the current project are to determine if and how: 1) WTL activities in cell biology courses help students achieve greater science literacy, as well as, increased science content knowledge and 2) the greater flexibility and leveraging potential offered by the use of two accessible Online learning platforms makes it easier for faculty to introduce STEM-related writing activities such as WTL into their courses by helping overcome the management and assessment challenges that arise. Intellectual Merit: By documenting the effect of WTL activities in large (150+ students) cell and general biology courses this study will add to the knowledge base concerning the development of higher order thinking skills, such as problem-solving and decision-making, as well as on student learning outcomes and decision-making skills in large foundational biology courses. The study is also exploring how faculty members can efficiently implement WTL activities and assess their efficacy using existing online educational platforms. Concept inventories, developed and tested at Colorado State University are being used to determine the impact of the instructional intervention on overall knowledge gains in such subjects as molecular chemistry, cellular metabolism, and protein synthesis. Broader Impacts: This project involves a total of over 700 undergraduates, about thirty of them Native American students at the tribal college involved, from three very diverse institutions. Both of the universities involved have initiatives to increase the number of courses with writing components. Colorado State University houses Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), which is visited over a million times a year by users from around the U.S. The Editor of this website heads the Advisory Board and helps disseminate project findings and products (writing prompts, rubrics, and modified concept inventory assessment tools) through this Online resource. Findings are being disseminated through university Professional Development institutes, journal articles, conference presentations, and an instructional wiki linked to the WAC Clearinghouse Website.