Andrew Rusnak, Professor, English, Community College of Baltimore County
Executive Director, Community College Humanities Association (CCHA) 
​www.cchumanities.org
​[email protected] 

Strong writing skills are critical to success in STEM courses and careers.

Writing for STEM, English 101 & 102    

In a progressive attempt to meet the demanding needs of students majoring in science, technology, engineering, math, and the health professions, the Community College of Baltimore County is offering English 101 and 102 credited composition courses that focus content on STEM disciplines. These courses meet student requirements for English 101 and 102. The curriculum content, reading and writing assignments, and class lectures and discussions target the communication needs of STEM students without sacrificing the underlying rhetorical principles and strategies emphasized in traditional composition courses. These courses are designed to better prepare students for upper level STEM course work and specific job requirements. 

Approach

The Question...

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Conventional/Popular View of Science =
Deductive reasoning, reductionism, abstractions, positivism/empirical evidence, overwhelming objectivity, abstractionism, either/or, black and white, finite, cause and effect, concrete, left brain, “all the answers,” consciousness is a byproduct of neural activity, a human being is no more than a highly sophisticated computer, the mind can be reverse engineered, science is not relativistic, the immediate end to the “animating principle,” Locke’s empiricism.

Creative View of Science =
Inductive reasoning, subjectivity, exploration, innovation, imagination, creativity, gray matter, infinite, entrepreneurial, art, “mystery embraced,” right brain, “answers are always and forever suspect and susceptible to reinterpretation,” consciousness is a synthesis of brain, body, and environment that is always in flux, science is not value free, Feyerabend’s Against Method, Kuhn’s The [Real] Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Karl Popper’s "critical rationalism" and rejection of classical empiricism.

  

Should these two types of thinking be mutually exclusive when it comes to developing the writing and analytical and entrepreneurial thinking skills of the next generation of scientists, engineers, and health professionals?

If:

● As Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”;
● Nobel laureates in hard sciences are far more inclined to practice art, music, poetry, than “regular scientists”;
● Innovation is our greatest commodity and entrepreneurial  thinking will be required for all employees in the future economy;
● It is imperative that for employees of the future to be “value added” they need to bring their ideas to the table to increase efficiency, improve processes, and  generate improvements;
● It is the responsibility of higher ed. to prepare students for active citizenship in a culture soon-to-be even more driven by technology and its ethical implications;

Then: 
What elements are critical to the methods and content, the pedagogy, of teaching STEM students to write?