Chapter 6: Investigating Process-Based Writing in Chemistry Laboratories

The “Writing Across the Curriculum” movement asserts that writing should be incorporated in all disciplines, not just English, to promote better writing skills, communication skills, and content learning (Connolly & Vilardi, 1989; Kovac & Sherwood, 2001). The Writing Across the Curriculum movement has begun to influence chemistry teaching as its benefits become more apparent (Shires, 1991), and many colleges have integrated more writing into their chemistry courses. This chapter examines how writing is incorporated into chemistry laboratory courses and how constructivist science writing in particular has been beneficial to student learning. One constructivist science writing method, the decision/explanation/observation/inference (DEOI) method, is examined in detail. The DEOI method was developed as a means of introducing constructivist writing to existing, traditional laboratory courses. This chapter investigates student and teaching assistant responses to using the DEOI method in an organic chemistry laboratory course and how the method seemed to impact student connections between theory and practice in the laboratory. The benefits and challenges of utilizing the DEOI method are discussed with an emphasis on the impact of teaching assistants implementing the method with either a process or product orientation. The implications of the DEOI method for the Writing Across the Curriculum movement in college science laboratories are then outlined.