Redesigning a "Writing for Chemists" Course Using Specifications Grading

Autor/inn/en	McKnelly, Kate J.; Morris, Michael A.; Mang, Stephen A.
Titel	Redesigning a "Writing for Chemists" Course Using Specifications Grading
Quelle	In: Journal of Chemical Education, 98 (2021) 4, S.1201-1207 (7 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (McKnelly, Kate J.) ORCID (Morris, Michael A.) ORCID (Mang, Stephen A.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0021-9584
DOI	10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00859
Schlagwörter	Content Area Writing; Chemistry; Curriculum Development; Undergraduate Students; College Science; Instructional Effectiveness; Student Attitudes; Grading; Scoring Rubrics; Evaluation Criteria; California (Irvine) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schriftliche Übung; Chemie; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Unterrichtserfolg; Schülerverhalten; Notengebung; Schulnote; Scoring formulas; Auswertungsbogen
Abstract	The Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine(UCI), instituted an upper-division "Writing for Chemists" course in fall 2017 that fulfills part of UCI's writing graduation requirement. During the 2019-2020 school year, the course was redesigned using a specifications grading system with the following goals: (1) to teach students how to develop their own writing practice, while mastering chemistry discipline-specific writing conventions;(2) to provide students with frequent and constructive instructor and teaching assistant (TA) feedback by providing ample revision opportunities;(3) to increase transparency in how students can achieve course SLOs; and (4) to provide students with consistent and clear assessment rubrics. This specifications grading approach uses a high-pass, low-pass, unsatisfactory system predicated on whether students meet a certain number of criteria for each assignment. Achievement of student learning outcomes (SLOs) was assessed using criteria instead of points so that instructors and students could more objectively measure student learning. Standardized rubrics and a student grade tracker helped students understand the relationship among meeting criteria, achieving SLOs, and earning grades. Students completed surveys at the end of the course to determine if their writing habits and attitudes toward writing changed. After the course, students self-reported increased propensities to prewrite and edit, and several students mentioned that they appreciated the transparency of the specifications rubrics and the control the specifications system gave them over their grades. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01