“I am here because I wanted to shine”: how poetry can be used to better understand undergraduate students’ first-year chemistry or related course experiences

Illingworth, Sam; Radhakrishnan, Mala L.

Abstract

In this study we investigate how first-year chemistry/biology undergraduate students’ original poetry can be used as a reflective tool for others to understand their course experiences. By inviting students from an integrated first-year chemistry/biology course to write poetry about their experiences, we use poetic content analysis as a qualitative research method to analyze the students’ responses to an open-ended prompt. In analyzing the poetry, four major categories emerged: knowledge, community, emotions, and identity, each of which includes examples that reflect and enhance our understanding of well-documented milestones and ideas in the literature regarding first-year student academic experiences, therefore highlighting the extent to which poetry can be useful in this regard. In presenting these findings we also demonstrate how such an approach might be used by others to better understand student experiences, including those related to learning, belonging, and/or identity in their introductory chemistry or related courses.

Citation

Illingworth, S., & Radhakrishnan, M. L. (2023). “I am here because I wanted to shine”: how poetry can be used to better understand undergraduate students’ first-year chemistry or related course experiences. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 24(3), 868-881. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2rp00276k

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 24, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Mar 10, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Mar 16, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 16, 2023
• Journal: Chemistry Education Research and Practice
• Print ISSN: 1756-1108
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 868-881
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d2rp00276k