This course will introduce the importance of effective science communication in today’s rapidly changing political, social and media landscape. The interactive course will help participants better communicate their science and why it matters to non-specialist audiences such as policymakers; journalists; corporate, government and non-profit managers; teachers and even your grandparents. Course includes a basic introduction to science communication with weekly topics, lectures, group discussion/projects and exercises. Students will learn to hone their main messages and ‘so-what’ for their evidence-based research projects; develop and practice talking points; practice presentation delivery; distinguish styles between scientific writing for journals and other outlets; create visuals for scientific literacy and graphical abstracts; learn how to harness social media and Web-products; learn the fundamentals of press releases; practice on-camera interviews; and record short, topic-based videos. Guest lectures will provide insight into what journalists look for in a science story; behavior-driven decisions about science in a post-truth world; challenges with topics such as energy, climate change, public health and sustainability; and the role of philanthropy in scicomm. The course will culminate with a final project ‘press package’ of all related materials.

 

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) interns Connon Thomas and Emily Hall, were among ten students that annually participate in a summer internship based at the College of Charleston, and take Carolyn’s science communication class as part of their training. To learn more about the REU program click here and check out the 2016 class blog.

Contact Carolyn for to learn more about 1-2 day Undergraduate and Graduate Student Workshops.