The art of talking about science: beginning to teach physiology students how to communicate with nonscientists

Abstract

The ability to clearly disseminate scientific knowledge is a skill that is necessary for any undergraduate student within the sciences. Traditionally, this is accomplished through the instruction of scientific presentation or writing with a focus on peer-to-peer communication at the expense of teaching communication aimed at a nonscientific audience. One of the ramifications of focusing on peer-to-peer communication has presented itself as an apprehension toward scientific knowledge within the general populace. This apprehension can be seen in a variety of venues, including the traditional media, popular culture, and education, which generally paint scientists as aloof and with an inability to discuss scientific issues to anyone other than other scientists. This paper describes a curriculum designed to teach Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology students the tools necessary for communicating complex concepts that were covered during the semester using approachable language. Students were assessed on their word usage in associated writing activities, the student's ability to reduce complexity of their statements, and performance in an informal scientific presentation to a lay audience. Results showed that this pedagogical approach has increased students' ability to reduce the complexity of their language in both a written and oral format. This, in turn, led to evaluators reporting greater levels of understanding of the topic presented following the presentation.

Flipped Science Fair: Engaging Middle-School Students in STEM while Training Researchers in Science Communication

“…Questions related to communicating with a general audience and learning about resources for effective science communication showed the largest positive difference in score, indicating the greatest improvement. Overall, the results showed that the Flipped Science Fair achieved its goal of increasing the presenters' ability to comfortably and effectively present their research to the general public (Bass, 2016;Bernard and Michaut, 2013;Brownell et al, 2013;Leshner, 2003;Moni et al, 2007;Oliveira et al, 2019;Petzold and Dunbar, 2018;Ufnar et al, 2012).…”

“…Science communication to the general public is a skill that requires a lot of practice and careful attention to language, tone, and diction. Unfortunately, few undergraduate and graduate science curricula offer opportunities to practice these skills, and most scientists do not receive formal training in science communication (Bernard and Michaut, 2013;Brownell et al, 2013;Moni et al, 2007;Oliveira et al, 2019;Petzold and Dunbar, 2018). Science outreach events represent a unique opportunity for students to receive informal training in science communication to the public.…”

Analysis of Inclusivity of Published Science Communication Curricula for Scientists and STEM Students

“…We found n = 81 published science communication trainings that met our data set requirements. The trainings represented n = 33 programs primarily targeted toward undergraduate students ( Squier et al ., 2006 ; Watson and Lom, 2008 ; Walton and Baker, 2009 ; Halverson and Tran, 2010 ; Cronje et al ., 2011 ; Brownell et al ., 2013a ; Lemus et al ., 2014 ; Goldina and Weeks, 2014 ; Whittington et al ., 2014 ; Train and Miyamoto, 2017 ; Alder, 2018 ; Aune et al ., 2018 ; Beason-Abmayr and Wilson, 2018 ; Begley, 2018 ; Clement et al ., 2018 ; Grzyb et al ., 2018 ; Kimber et al ., 2018 ; Lancor and Schiebel, 2018 ; Lopes et al ., 2018 ; Mayfield et al ., 2018 ; Mehltretter Drury et al ., 2018 ; Petzold and Dunbar, 2018 ; Pruneski, 2018 ; Rauschenbach et al ., 2018 ; Schwingel, 2018 ; Kothari et al ., 2019 ; Vollbrecht et al ., 2019 ; Hoover et al ., 2020 ; Métris, 2020 ; Garza et al ., 2021 ; Kelp and Hubbard, 2021 ; Wack et al ., 2021 ; Wrighting et al ., 2021 ), n = 34 programs primarily targeted toward graduate students ( Trumbull, 2002 ; Stamp and O’Brien, 2005 ; Laursen et al ., 2007 ; Trautmann and Krasny, 2009 ; Crone et al ., 2011 ; McBride et al ., 2011 ; Webb et al ., 2012 ; Bishop et al ., 2014 ; Goodwin et al ., 2014 ; Kohler et al ., 2014 ; Kuehne et al ., 2014 ; Neeley...…”

The Sustained Scientist in the Classroom Partnership: A Model for Innovative STEM Graduate Training Programs

“…Yet, it is the responsibility of scientists to help the lay audience understand the importance of science in their everyday lives, and to assist our policy makers in developing sound scientifically-supported decisions. Unfortunately, few graduate student or postdoctoral training programs offer formal training in science communication (Bernard and Michaut, 2013;Brownell et al, 2013;Petzold and Dunbar, 2018). In a recent article, Benedetti and Crouse (2020) suggested that outreach programs that provide training for graduate students and postdocs may be an important mechanism to provide this training in science communication.…”