ABSTRACT
The scientific components within a liberal arts education, although required, can present challenging opportunities to cultivate the skills associated with the scientific process. Migrating beyond the memorization of foundational information, it is important to educate students to transition from consumers of knowledge to readers who can synthesize information. A mechanism to cultivate these critical thinking skills is to apply course-specific content and then assess for effective communication to promote intellectual capital. Scientific literacy, specifically in biology, has been approached through a variety of methods. Students pursuing a career in science must learn to read and interpret primary literature through common threads or journal club style analysis. Educational goals commonly include achieving a deeper understanding of the relationship of foundational knowledge to everyday life and instilling a culture of critical thinking across disciplines. The standards for undergraduate biology education describe the importance of iterative written scientific communication opportunities.
