Reporting Biochemistry to the General Public through a Science Communication Writing Assignment

Abstract

Students enroll in biochemistry courses for many reasons, whether it be to build a strong foundation in biochemistry content for health science-related careers or to better understand the world around them. Learning is enriched when students can identify the relevance of the content, such as through connecting course content to authentic applications. One way that students can make these connections is by practicing science communication, an increasingly important skill for students to master. Drawing upon the advantages of writing, we designed an assignment that tasked students with writing a summary of a biochemistry-related seminar in which they explained the research and related biochemistry content in the form of a scientific news article targeted for a general audience. In this article, we discuss the design of the assignment and its implementation into an introductory biochemistry course. Results from a feedback survey and our evaluation of student writing assignments suggest that students saw value in communicating science to the general public and reported being able to connect the course content to authentic applications. This assignment is applicable in other chemistry or biology courses as a means to help students develop their skills in science communication and cultivate their appreciation of science content.