MONTREAL, April 5 (UPI) -- Introductory science courses -- and how they're taught -- can make or break a student's decision to enter a scientific field, Canadian researchers say.
Courses can even affect a student's decision on whether to pursue higher education at all, researchers at Montreal's Concordia University said.
"The language, fundamentals and scope of science gateway courses can be akin to a foreign culture," Calvin Kalman, principal of Concordia's Science College, said. "Students can have great difficulty reading scientific texts -- even when they are written in their native language -- and they must also cope with complex knowledge taught by their professor."
In a recent study, Kalman had students practice what he calls "reflective writing," in which students digest, analyze and write down their thoughts on assigned material before classroom discussions, a Concordia release said Wednesday.
"Reflective writing gets students to initiate a self-dialogue about texts and ask: 'What do I understand?' and 'What do I not understand?'" Kalman said.
Teaching and learning is most successful when a student's outlook on a course is close to that of his professor, he said.
"Students are often looking for basics to pass courses, but that doesn't engage them," he said. "Unless they come to class prepared to ask questions, students end up serving time."
Kalman encourages professors to go beyond PowerPoint presentations and lectures to promote critical thinking both inside and outside the classroom.
"Bolstering student understanding of basic science courses can improve retention rates in this field," he said.
