Neuroscience Writing Plan
The Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience (UPN), one of the most popular STEM fields at Boston University with over 400 students majoring in the discipline, collaborated during 2021-2022 with the Writing in the Disciplines program to create Boston University’s first Writing Plan.
Made possible by a gift from CAS and University Advisory Board member Jennifer Simpson (CAS 2000), the Neuroscience Writing Plan emerged from a year-long series of in-depth conversations among faculty about writing in this discipline. These conversations not only examined the current curriculum and teaching practices in Neuroscience, but also explored and prioritized the UPN’s aspirations for enhancing the communication and writing skills of its students.
Participants in the collaboration included a Faculty Consultant from the Writing Program, Dr. Jessica Kent, and four Neuroscience faculty members, Drs. Kristen Bushell, Kyle Gobrogge, John Tullai, and Director Mario Muscedere.
“Transformative Experience”
Describing the work as a “transformative experience,” Dr. Kent led the Neuroscience team through a process that ultimately helped the group to envision, according to the Plan’s executive summary, “opportunities for further improvements to the way we teach writing in the UPN.”
The Writing Plan’s 35-page document (with 60 additional pages of survey data) powerfully manifests Neuroscience’s commitment to supporting students writing by
- Emphasizing teaching writing genres that are crucial for professional success (e.g., the academic journal article and grant proposal),
- Focusing on coordinating pedagogical practices,
- Committing to a longitudinal study of student writing through surveys and analyses of student writing,
- Developing writing resources for the Teaching Writing site to share with other Neuroscience and STEM faculty, and
- Pursuing further collaborations with the CAS Writing Program, including a new co-taught course on Writing in Neuroscience (NE 370) that foregrounds science journalism.
“Investment in Writing”
The Neuroscience Writing Plan asserts that “we [in the UPN] see continued investment in our writing curriculum as a high priority for the UPN in the coming years.” As a result of this collaborative work, not only will the Writing Plan have a direct impact on students and faculty in Neuroscience, but it will also “serve as an exemplar to other [academic] units within and beyond BU.”
For further information about the Neuroscience Writing Plan, please contact David Shawn, Associate Director for Writing in the Disciplines.