Chemistry programs value skills such as written/oral communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and self-management as important outcomes for graduates. These learning outcomes coincide with what are considered transferrable skills. Transferrable skills are skills that are learned in the course that are useful and often necessary to succeed in the workforce. However, it is often the case that there is a lack of coordination across courses in the curriculum that would promote student achievement of these outcomes. Through analyzing students’ lab reports we hope to gain a deeper understanding on how chemistry instructors help students develop intended learning outcomes as they progress through the curriculum. For this project we are focusing on written communication skills in lab reports in eight chemistry courses. The courses range in difficulty from the introductory level to an advanced senior-level course. The ELIPSS written communication rubric was used to characterize the level of skills observed in reports. The nature of TA comments and the degree to which students used the TA feedback to make improvements was also documented. Preliminary analysis indicates that without specific feedback, there is little improvement in general communication skills although improvements are observed in graphing and presentation skills.

Analysis of written communication skills in lab reports across the curriculum

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.