Science Communication Course Research Articles

To make a long story short: A rubric for assessing graduate students’ academic and popular science writing skills

Abstract Graduate students are future scientists, and as such, being able to communicate science is imperative for their integration into the scientific community. This is primarily achieved through scientific papers, mostly published in English; however, interactions outside of academia are also beneficial for future scientists. Therefore, academic writing courses are prevalent and popular science communication courses are on the rise. Nevertheless, no rubrics exist for assessing students' writing in academic and science communication courses. This article describes the development and testing of a rubric for assessing advanced L2 STEM graduate students’ writing in academic (abstract) and popular science writing (press release). The rubric was developed as part of a longstanding academic writing course, but was modified to include a module on science communication with the lay public. Analysis of student needs and the literature inspired a pre-pilot that assessed 16 descriptors on 60 student works. A subsequent, adjusted pilot version on 30 students resulted in adaptations to fit each genre and course goals. In the third round, a modified, final rubric tested on 177 graduate students was created that can be used for both assessment and comparison of the genres. This rubric can assess scientific genres at the graduate level and can be adapted for other genres and levels.

Infusing Traditional Knowledge and Ways of Knowing Into Science Communication Courses at the University of Hawai‘i

ABSTRACT We describe a philosophy and process by which cultural awareness and traditional ways of knowing were incorporated into courses on communicating ocean sciences for college and graduate students in Hawai‘i. The result is a culturally relevant framework that contextualizes the course for Hawai‘i audiences while also enabling students to better understand the host culture. We offer an overview of the similarities and differences between Western and Native Hawaiian worldviews as they relate to science, exploration, and explanation. Our approach focused on two main elements of science communication and pedagogy in Hawai‘i: (1) people and relationships, and (2) place and culture. As the foundation for all scientific endeavors—Western or Native Hawaiian—people and relationships were used as a natural and critical starting point for bringing cultural context to science education and communication. Similarly, the significance of place in Native Hawaiian and other traditional knowledge systems and the importance of allowing space for viewing science through a cultural lens were explicitly explored throughout the course. Open class discussion, understanding different cultural approaches to education, and personal interaction with Native Hawaiian scholars and experts were all important elements in students' development of cultural awareness and sensitivity in teaching science, as evidenced by course evaluations. Although our courses focused on ocean sciences, this commentary offers ideas on how traditional ways of knowing might be incorporated into communication or education courses in any science discipline.

Making ecology relevant to decision making: the human‐centered, place‐based approach

Making ecology relevant to decision making: the human‐centered, place‐based approach

Twenty years of teaching science communication: A case study of Imperial College’s Master’s programme

In September 2012, graduates of Imperial College's science communication Master's courses gathered to celebrate 21 years of the programme. The MSc in Science Communication was the first of its kind in the UK and one of the first Master's courses in the world to offer a combination of practical and theoretical studies of science communication across a range of media. This commentary reflects on the longevity of the programme, the reasons for its success, and the opportunities and challenges facing science communication courses today.

How Do People Think About the Science They Encounter in Fiction? Undergraduates investigate responses to science in The Simpsons

In this study, students and staff involved in an undergraduate science communication course investigated people's responses to a science-rich episode of the animated sitcom The Simpsons. Using focus groups, we sought to find out if and how the episode influenced our 34 participants’ perceptions of science, but our results problematised the very notion of influence. People's responses to the science in the episode varied widely, and sometimes in contradictory ways, from some participants seeing no science at all in the episode to others seeing science as the ideological focus of the entire story. Participants’ discussions were shaped and influenced by a myriad of factors, including their relationship to science and their personal and religious beliefs, but also historical discourses, political discourses, experiences watching other television programmes and other factors. We draw on the work of Roman Ingarden to suggest that people fill in or ‘concretise’ the ambiguities and gaps in a fiction text in ways specific to their personal, social, geographical and temporal context, resulting in different interpretations of the text's meaning with each fresh viewing. We conclude that a deficit model which assumes that people absorb fiction's content in a linear, passive and credulous manner is an inappropriate characterisation of how people process the science in fiction.

Identifying the Essential Elements of Effective Science Communication: What do the experts say?

Experts in science communication were asked to identify the essential elements of a science communication course for post-graduate students. A Delphi methodology provided a framework for a research design that accessed their opinions and allowed them to contribute to, reflect on and identify 10 essential elements. There was a high level of agreement among these experts that the audience comes first, and their statements signalled the importance of developing empathetic skills to engage an audience. Science communication courses should focus on the audience and how to access their needs, priorities and imagination. They signalled a need for dedicated science communication courses where students need to develop a broad understanding of the scientific and social issues rather than narrowly focusing on technical media skills development.

New AGU Mass Media Fellow Initiated College Science Communication Course

Marissa Weiss, this year's AGU Mass Media Fellow, feels so strongly about communicating science that she and a fellow graduate student started a course on the subject. Three years ago, she and the other student in the biogeochemistry and environmental biocomplexity program at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., developed—with the aid of mentors—a semester‐long science communication class.The course has since become a regular offering at Cornell, where Weiss defended her dissertation in ecology this past August. A soil ecologist, Weiss showed in her thesis research that nitrogen pollution can cause slowing of soil decomposition because of a declining abundance of microbes that break the soil down.

Pragmatic support for taxonomy‐based annotation of structured digital documents

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop support for the annotation of educational resources within a digital library and their subsequent integration with distance learning course materials in a virtual learning environment.Design/methodology/approachA toolset for supporting the annotation of structured course materials was developed in participation with subject librarians, lecturers and library cataloguers.FindingsThe transparency of support provided by the system was found to be an important factor influencing the acceptance of the toolset. The approach was to facilitate rather than automate the annotation tasks of the subject librarians, lecturers and cataloguers.Research limitations/implicationsThe tools developed were used in two pilot applications: one for an undergraduate health and social care course, and the second for a postgraduate science communication course. The implications of the research are not limited to these domains, and further applications of this approach and the toolset would help to further generalize and refine the work done.Originality/valueThe value of the work described here is in identifying the benefits of transparent support tools for multi‐disciplinary teams involved in the production and deployment of online course materials. Here the benefits of metadata annotation are highlighted by enabling the subject librarians, lecturers and cataloguers to see how the annotations are made and the consequences of those choices.

Design and Implementation of a Structured Course in Science Communication for Traditional Small‐Group Tutorials

SUMMARY This paper describes the replacement of traditional tutorials with a science communication course for Aquatic Bioscience students at The University of Glasgow. Our aims were: (a) to raise the standard of written and oral skills; and (b) address equity issues arising from the way in which our established tutorials were conducted. The content of each tutorial was at the discretion of individual tutors and students had criticized this arrangement because of differential experiences, workloads and outcomes. To tackle both issues, we proposed that tutors should use their tutorials to teach a common course on science communication. The type of course planned was ideally suited to teaching and learning in small groups, as the promotion of critical thinking and the development of attitudes and interpersonal skills were major considerations. Evaluation showed that students appreciated the concept of equity implicit within a common course. The emphasis on learning core skills was recognized as essential preparation for further study and future employment in a competitive market. Some tutors expressed concern at loss of ‘academic freedom’, and there were some difficulties with assessment procedures and in learning to teach in unfamiliar territory.

Science Communication Course Directory Published

Science Communication Course Directory Published

Science Communication Course Directory Published

Science Communication Course Directory Published

CSFR Begins Project on Secrecy and Openness in Technical Communication

CSFR Begins Project on Secrecy and Openness in Technical Communication

Science Communication Course Directory Published

Science Communication Course Directory Published

The Directory of Science Communication Courses and Programs

(1979). The Directory of Science Communication Courses and Programs. The Journal of Environmental Education: Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 33-34.

Directory of Science Communication Courses Available

Directory of Science Communication Courses Available