I use the "response paper" idea in an Education class for science
teachers, usually starting with a question like "What does it mean to be
science-literate?" or questions about "how scientists know". I think
these kinds of questions are very appropriate in introductory science
courses of all kinds. Any question dealing with the effect of scientific
knowledge or of technology would work- students too often have not had
the opportunity to actually think about the implications of, say,
herbicide-resistant corn plants or gene therapy, or even eco-tourism.
This kind of assignment allows them to do that, express themselves, and
see the discussion as legitimate, and science courses as more than
memory-work.
And of course, it doesn't have to take precious "lecture-time", which
seems to be a common reason for not discussing this sort of thing.
You can keep the assignment very reasonable, and just let the students
take off. They will!
Char A. Bezanson (bezanson at stolaf.edu)
School Nature Area Project
St. Olaf College
Northfield, MN 55057
On Sat, 1 Feb 1997, Anne Heise wrote:
> What sort of topics do students post essays and responses about? I have
> only heard of this being done in English classes, w/ the same good
> results that you have seen. Thanks for the idea!
>> Anne Heise
> Washtenaw Community College
> Ann Arbor MI
>>
