Teaching Scientists to Communicate: Evidence-based assessment for undergraduate science education

Abstract

Communication skills are one of five nationally recognised learning outcomes for an Australian Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Previous evidence indicates that communication skills taught in Australian undergraduate science degrees are not developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the modern-day workplace-a problem faced in the UK and USA also. Curriculum development in this area, however, hinges on first evaluating how communication skills are taught currently as a base from which to make effective changes. This study aimed to quantify the current standard of communication education within BSc degrees at Australian research-intensive universities. A detailed evidential baseline for not only what but also how communication skills are being taught was established. We quantified which communication skills were taught and assessed explicitly, implicitly, or were absent in a range of undergraduate science assessment tasks (n = 35) from four research-intensive Australian universities. Results indicate that 10 of the 12 core science communication skills used for evaluation were absent from more than 50% of assessment tasks and 77.14% of all assessment tasks taught less than 5 core communication skills explicitly. The design of assessment tasks significantly affected whether communication skills were taught explicitly. Prominent trends were that communication skills in tasks aimed at non-scientific audiences were taught more explicitly than in tasks aimed at scientific audiences, and the majority of group and multimedia tasks taught communication elements more explicitly than individual, or written and oral tasks. Implications for science communication in the BSc and further research are discussed.

Toward curriculum convergence for graduate learning outcomes: academic intentions and student experiences

“…For example, the pedagogical approach of explicit instruction has been shown to be particularly successful in teaching transferrable communication skills in science degrees (e.g. Moni et al 2007, Mercer-Mapstone andKuchel 2015). In contrast, the development of quantitative skills in science curricula is dependent on prior mathematical knowledge of students (Matthews, Adams, and Goos 2009) and hence prerequisites for entry into the science degree program (Belward et al 2011).…”

“…Lluka andChunduri 2015, Windsor et al 2014); or on a single, specific outcome (e.g. Moni et al 2007, Hager et al 2003, Mercer-Mapstone and Kuchel 2015.…”

Collaborative Posters Develop Students’ Ability to Communicate about Undervalued Scientific Resources to Nonscientists

“…We introduced students to formal science writing through the reading of primary literature related to each specimen-based lab assignment, and to informal science writing by having them prepare a critique of a natural history museum exhibition. The addition of a unit dedicated to scientific communication might further increase the students’ skills in this area (11). In addition, presenting the posters to nonscientists in a museum or library setting would meet the goals of students practicing communication skills and increasing public awareness of the scientific resources.…”

Broadening the voice of science: Promoting scientific communication in the undergraduate classroom

“…Training future generations of scientists in effective communication is imperative. Often, no formal training in science communication is available for undergraduates majoring in scientific fields (Coil, Wenderoth, Cunningham, & Dirks, but see Mercer‐Mapstone & Kuchel, ). Thus, undergraduate students more commonly gain these skills by happenstance (e.g.…”