Reflective writing is a student-centered approach widely used in science and engineering courses that helps students develop a holistic scientific mindset. We present a multiple case study in two science courses in which students engaged in reflective writing. The goal of this study was to explore relationships between students' performance found…

We describe the modifications to an instrumental analysis course which incorporated the link between science and public policy. This course combines classroom lectures, project based labs, and a writing assignment. The project based labs have a focus on health and environmental issues directly involving the local community, while the writing…

Starting from the premise that good writing requires sound thinking, this paper presents a workable process for developing and using writing assignments as thinking and learning tools within a historical and philosophical context. Though presented from the perspective of a chemist, this process is actually general in nature and links writing…

Writing plays an integral role in any disciplinary course setting. In the sciences, WAC and WID initiatives primarily focus on using writing to deepen student understanding of scientific concepts. Scholars, however, have paid less attention to how writing may facilitate an understanding of the link between concepts and their quantitative…

Calibrated Peer Review™ (CPR), a web-based instructional tool developed as part of the National Science Foundation reform initiatives in undergraduate science education, allows instructors to incorporate multiple writing assignments in large courses without overwhelming the instructor. This study reports successful implementation of CPR in a…

I was interested in whether the inclusion of a service-learning experience would affect students' attitudes and values about the environment. To investigate this question, I incorporated a service-learning project into the laboratory portion of one of the two sections of my non-majors biology course, and kept the lecture portions of the course…