Other Chemistry Commons^™

The Role Of Written And Verbal Expression In Improving Communication Skills For Students In An Undergraduate Chemistry Program, Brian P. Coppola, Douglas S. Daniels

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Proofreading, editing, and critique, the customary assessment tools scientists use to evaluate professional journal articles, grant applications, and any other writing, can be applied equally well in introductory science instruction. Such feedback is, in fact, crucial to growth and development. When learning anything new, students and faculty alike rely heavily on sources other than themselves (‘external editors’) to assess their understanding as they develop self-assessment skills (or ‘internal editors’). Although they rarely describe it in these terms, faculty nonetheless assume that students have developed and refined their internal skills by the time they take examinations and write term papers. Unfortunately, …