Writing and Learning in View of the Lab: Why "They" Might be Right

Authors

  • Catherine Prendergast University of Illinois

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21623/1.1.2.2

Keywords:

writing, learning, science, undergraduate education, laboratory research

Abstract

To interrogate the field’s current understanding of writing as central to learning in the sciences, this study offers results from a qualitative, emic study of college students and their scientist mentors at work in an NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates. I observed that the work of this professional research laboratory mainly recruited and developed literacies, such as manual dexterity and visual acuity, other than language-based ones. Describing here the various laboratory activities that fostered higher-order thinking and knowledge transformation, I conclude that “writing to learn” research must consider how writing fits in with an ever-developing understanding of the complexity of learning.

Author Biography

Catherine Prendergast, University of Illinois

Catherine Prendergast is Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Her research and teaching are in the areas of literacy, disciplinary rhetorics, and disability studies. She is author of two monographs: Literacy and Racial Justice (2003) and Buying into English (2008), and blogs at about writing at www.firstyearcomp.com.

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Published

2013-10-31

How to Cite

Prendergast, C. (2013). Writing and Learning in View of the Lab: Why "They" Might be Right. Literacy in Composition Studies, 1(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.21623/1.1.2.2

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2013)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2013 Catherine Prendergast

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