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From Corrector to Collaborator: The Range of Instructor Roles in Writing‐Based Natural and Applied Science Classes
Author(s) -
Chinn Pauline W. U.,
Hilgers Thomas L.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2736(200001)37:1<3::aid-tea2>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - psychology , mathematics education , pedagogy , natural (archaeology) , science education , archaeology , history
This study of writing‐intensive (WI) undergraduate natural and applied science courses examined the relationships among instructors' course goals, instructional activities, and students' assessment of their learning of content and writing. Using multiple sources of data, investigators found that instructors held common goals but varied greatly in their instructional activities. Findings suggest that science instructors can be described along a continuum anchored by instructor as corrector on one end and instructor as collaborator on the other. Instructors who were the sole audience for a single writing assignment were correctors. Collaborators varied writing tasks, encouraged collaboration, and emphasized professional contexts for writing; they generally received highest student satisfaction ratings. Peer editing assignments that simulated critical, anonymous journal reviews affected female and male students differently. The findings support the National Academy of Science's teaching standards and assumptions concerning the crucial roles of instructors in socializing students into science communities. We discuss instructional strategies that may be more inclusive to traditionally underrepresented groups such as females and minorities. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 3–25, 2000