By Sheeva Azma
From February to July, I taught a science communication course based on our free science communication add-on curriculum for high school through graduate school, undergraduate, and community college levels. This course covered many different aspects of science communication, and I was pleasantly surprised by the level of engagement and enthusiasm from the students, who stated they found the course both interesting and helpful (a double win, from my perspective!).
It all started when I created the curriculum, but then I randomly decided to teach a course based on it. All I did was write a post on LinkedIn (and one on Twitter). It was so spontaneous that I apparently got the dates wrong; the lectures ran from February 27 to July 30, and technically through mid-August, since I left some time for everyone to get in all their SciComm assignments.
The course was entirely voluntary on the part of the students, motivated by their desire to learn SciComm and the opportunity to earn a Fancy Comma credential saying they completed this course. Initially, 19 people signed up, and 11 people submitted weekly homework initially. By the end, we graduated seven students who attended the lectures (or watched them on YouTube) and completed all of the assignments…entirely driven by their own interests and passions!
The SciComm course was a monthslong experiment and journey that worked out well, which is why I can now recommend that all science educators and professors include some type of SciComm in their courses in some way. Now that we have developed free resources including curriculum materials and published video lectures, the task is not as momentous as it used to be.
What the course covered
The course began with a discussion and definition of science communication in week one, followed by a focus on science in the context of society in week two. The third week delved into public science literacy and why scientists should care about it. Subsequent weeks covered topics such as the sociology of science, how inclusive science communication increases public engagement and supports the future STEM workforce, eliminating jargon, science storytelling, and practical issues related to science communication involving the use of science to shape policy and combat misinformation. We also discussed unethical communication practices and how science can be used to improve marketing strategies. Three-fourths of the way through the course, students had the opportunity to apply their learning to create their own science communication projects.
Six months of bimonthly science communication discussions led to slow, nuanced learning
I was impressed by the level of student engagement. I did not have big dreams for this course, as I was teaching it just to see what happened if I taught the curriculum I developed; the extent of my publicizing it was writing a LinkedIn post and Twitter post, and got many dedicated respondents. Despite being a free course open to anyone interested, 19 people signed up, and about half of them remained committed throughout, submitting weekly assignments and actively participating. To complete the course and receive a certificate, students were required to attend all lectures on Zoom or watch the recordings on YouTube and complete all 12 homework assignments. As of writing this, two days after the course’s conclusion, the course has three people who completed the whole course, and several others who are working to submit their assignments to complete the course.
The course format consisted of a 30-minute or shorter lecture followed by a discussion based on the questions listed in the science communication curriculum I developed in January 2024. Over the six months, students developed a nuanced understanding of science communication and learned how to amplify their individual skills through effective communication. Six months seemed like a long time to teach something, but the slow approach seemed to boost learning: our discussions became more and more interesting and nuanced as the course progressed, with students demonstrating a surprising level of engagement in the material, especially for a course that was not required, with entirely voluntary participation.
Students found the course helpful in their scientific endeavors (and learned to use their hard science skills creatively)
Based on student feedback, I can conclude that they found the course helpful. One student shared that she found the science storytelling module particularly useful in writing her PhD thesis, which she completed by the end of the course. She noted that the course helped her construct a narrative for her research, a skill not typically taught in scientific training. One student came up with ideas for a SciComm project they wanted to execute by the end of the course which were, frankly, of surprising caliber! Others asked me if I could be a resource if they wanted to pursue SciComm projects, to which I excitedly agreed.
The courses did not take much time to develop
Based on this experience, I strongly recommend incorporating a science communication course into the science curriculum. It took me only one hour to develop each lecture and I was able to create them well in advance of the lectures, and viewed them as a way to help students understand concepts which we would discuss at the end of each lecture. Students seem to grasp and understand the material easily, and it added significantly to their strategic skills as scientists. The quality of their communication also increased as the assignments progressed.
Check out the free Fancy Comma SciComm course curriculum and video lectures
The lectures are freely available on YouTube, and the curriculum can be accessed on the Fancy Comma website.
I also had the opportunity to discuss two modules of this course focusing on politics and pursuing science in the context of society with Civic Science TV.
If you decide to use this curriculum, I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to customize it and adapt it to your specific learning needs and objectives!
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