Using the research article as a model for teaching laboratory report writing provides opportunities for development of genre awareness and adoption of new literacy practices.

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Title: Using the research article as a model for teaching laboratory report writing provides opportunities for development of genre awareness and adoption of new literacy practices.
Authors: Kelly-Laubscher, Roisin F.1,2 Roisin.kelly@uct.ac.za, Muna, Natashia1, van der Merwe, Mathilde1
Source: English for Specific Purposes. Oct2017, Vol. 48, p1-16. 16p.
Subject Terms: *English language writing, *Teaching methods, *Professional peer review, *Literacy, Literary form
Abstract: The retention and success of students from under-represented groups in University science programmes remains a global issue. Despite increased enrolments, these students still have the greatest rate of attrition. One of the factors that affect success is an inability to navigate the specialized literacies required within the culture of science. Here we present an intervention to develop the disciplinary literacy practices and genre awareness of first year biology students, using the pedagogical genre of the laboratory report. This is one of the most common genres in undergraduate biology and is modeled on the genre of the research article. To help students learn to write laboratory reports, we designed an intervention that included a lecture series around the reading of a research article, a quantitative literacy workshop on data communication and a peer-review workshop. Students received feedback on their reports and had several opportunities to rewrite them. To assess the success of the intervention, the first and final drafts of 20 students' reports were compared and a subgroup of these students was interviewed. Analysis of the reports revealed that most students made significant progress in terms of genre acquisition and development of genre awareness. The interview data confirmed that the intervention brought about enhanced understanding of the genre and notably created opportunities for students to adopt new science-relevant literacy practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of English for Specific Purposes is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+language+writing%22">English language writing</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+methods%22">Teaching methods</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+peer+review%22">Professional peer review</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literacy%22">Literacy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literary+form%22">Literary form</searchLink>
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  Data: The retention and success of students from under-represented groups in University science programmes remains a global issue. Despite increased enrolments, these students still have the greatest rate of attrition. One of the factors that affect success is an inability to navigate the specialized literacies required within the culture of science. Here we present an intervention to develop the disciplinary literacy practices and genre awareness of first year biology students, using the pedagogical genre of the laboratory report. This is one of the most common genres in undergraduate biology and is modeled on the genre of the research article. To help students learn to write laboratory reports, we designed an intervention that included a lecture series around the reading of a research article, a quantitative literacy workshop on data communication and a peer-review workshop. Students received feedback on their reports and had several opportunities to rewrite them. To assess the success of the intervention, the first and final drafts of 20 students' reports were compared and a subgroup of these students was interviewed. Analysis of the reports revealed that most students made significant progress in terms of genre acquisition and development of genre awareness. The interview data confirmed that the intervention brought about enhanced understanding of the genre and notably created opportunities for students to adopt new science-relevant literacy practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of English for Specific Purposes is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1016/j.esp.2017.05.002
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Professional peer review
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              Text: Oct2017
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