Course Catalogue

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This course looks at some of the best (and the worst) ways in which scientific concepts and findings have been communicated to the public. It gives students an appreciation of the general level of literacy amongst the population (both scientific and general), the different aims that science communication might have, and the tools to evaluate whether any given piece of science communication has been carried out effectively. It also includes practical advice on how to create presentations, videos and written communication, and the chance to put this into practice. The course includes links to related further material found in the training course for Let's Talk About [X], the University's multidisciplinary undergraduate research conference.

The course will consist of 5 x 1-hour classes as well as 6 x 1-hour seminars. Multiple different seminar times will be available.

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1. Summative (15%): Taking into account any constructive feedback from peers from your formative submission, refine and resubmit your formative critique (see section 22, below), along with 100 - 200 words explaining how conducting this critique has informed and helped you develop your own plans for the upcoming final summative assessment (i.e. your own piece of science communication).

2. Summative (85%): Create a short piece of communication on a scientific topic of your choosing, along with a 150-word commentary justifying the choice of communication techniques or approaches you have used. The topic of your piece could be a standard scientific topic, or a newly discovered research finding you've recently learned something about. 

The format for your piece of communication is up to you. The following are suggestions, but you are welcome to discuss other submission formats with the course staff:

- a written press release for print
- an announcement on TV / radio
- a poster
- a short podcast segment
- a webpage with text and infographics
- a presentation to a hypothetical novice classroom or conference audience of non-specialists

As submissions could come in a variety of formats, the class will be invited to discuss and co-create assessment criteria before starting, in collaboration with the course staff.

Length limits:

■ Audio / video pieces should be no more than 5 minutes long.

■ Written pieces should be no more than 1000 words.

■ Poster pieces should fill no more than one A1 poster, with the main contents typeset at 30 pt font.

This course will aim to:

■ help students appreciate the difference between effective and ineffective science communication

■ provide an understanding of general science literacy amongst the public

■ demonstrate a variety of rhetorical tools and techniques for communicating complex concepts

■ give a practical foundation for the creation of video, audio or written science communication materials

By the end of the course, students should be able to

■ Critique attempts at science communication found in a variety of public-facing media

■ Effectively communicate a scientific concept or finding to a general audience

■ Justify their own choice of approach to communicating scientific concepts or findings

Students must submit 75 % of the course's summative assessment.