Writing-to-Learn in Introductory Materials Science and Engineering

Writing to Learn (WTL) enables students to apply content knowledge to “real-world” situations via writing, which promotes deeper thinking and compels students to explain concepts in their own words. The subsequent peer review and revision processes provide additional learning opportunities as the students give and receive feedback and critically assess their work. In this talk, we describe the effectiveness of WTL assignments and their impact on student learning of introductory materials science/engineering. Using pre/post assessments and analysis of writing products, we examine student gains in conceptual understanding and critical reasoning. Our research suggests that the polymer recycling WTL assignment was effective in promoting understanding of stress-strain behavior of polymers, but that further support is needed to help students connect polymer microscopic properties to macroscopic behavior.¹ The effectiveness of WTL assignments associated with other key concepts including ductile vs. brittle failure, interpretation of phase diagrams, and corrosion as it relates to the Flint water crisis will also be discussed.
1.S.A. Finkenstaedt-Quinn, A.S. Halim, T.G. Chambers, A. Moon, R.S. Goldman, A.R. Gere, and G.V. Shultz, J. Chem. Educ.94, 1610 (2017).