Introducing commencing students to “being a scientist” – A review of a new compulsory academic literacies course

Abstract

The Bachelor of Science program at The University of Adelaide was reviewed by an external expert panel in 2007. One of the key recommendations to come from this review was the requirement to introduce a common compulsory course in the first year of study focussing on the development of academic literacies. This new course (‘Principles & Practice of Science I’) was offered for the first time in Semester 1, 2011. Students were introduced to the idea of what it means to “be a scientist” through discussion of the broad array of scientific endeavour, the integrated nature of scientific disciplines, the importance of scientific process and critical thinking. Academic writing was used as the key vehicle for assessment of the desired learning outcomes. This presentation will focus on some of the tools and activities used in ‘Principles & Practice of Science I’ to develop student’s academic writing skills.