From Corrector to Collaborator: The Range of Instructor Roles in Writing-Based Natural and Applied Science Classes

• Published in: Journal of research in science teaching Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 3 - 25
• Main Authors: Chinn, Pauline W. U., Hilgers, Thomas L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2000; Wiley
• Subjects: Content Area Writing; Course Objectives; Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; Educational sciences; Exact and natural sciences; Higher Education; Science Instruction; Teacher Effectiveness; Teacher Student Relationship; Teaching methods; Teaching Styles; Writing Instruction; USA; Writing; Teaching method; Natural Science; Applied Science
• ISSN: 0022-4308; 1098-2736
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(200001)37:1<3::AID-TEA2>3.0.CO;2-Z

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