Science Communication

1. Science Communication Natalie Rowley & John Wilkie, School of ChemistryHEA STEM Conference, 12 April 2012

2. Contents • HEA UK Physical Sciences Subject Centre Graduate Chemists Skills Report • Science Communication and the Media module • Evaluation • Acknowledgements

3. HEA UK Physical Sciences Centre: Skills Required by New Chemistry Graduates Chemical terminology Fundamental chemical principles Principles of thermodynamics Kinetics of chemical change Inorganic compounds and reactions Organic compounds and reactions Analytical techniques Safe handling of chemical materials Manipulative practical skills Skills with chemical instrumentation Planning and design of experiments Interpretation of experimental data Numeracy and computational skills Report writing skills Oral presentation skills Information retrieval skills Problem-solving skills Team-working skills Time management/organisational Independent learning ability Hanson and Overton, 2010

4. Development Deficit: • Time Management • Oral Presentation • Team-Working • Information Retrieval • Numeracy and Computational Skills • Independent Learning Ability • Problem Solving

5. Aims • to develop the ability of students to communicate complex scientific ideas to a lay audience • to enable the students to develop their team working skills • to enhance specific areas of scientific understanding through cooperative, enquiry-based learning and research-informed teaching

6. Science Communication and the Media • Plenary (1h) • Taster Sessions (8 x 15 mins) • 4 Workshops (ca. 3h) • Interim feedback session (30 mins) • 2 Lectures (1h) • Festival of Science (3h)

7. Plenary: “Communicating Chemistry” • Dr Stuart Cantrill (Alumnus and Chief Editor, Nature Chemistry)

8. Taster Sessions: School of Chemistry • Dr Paul Anderson “The Chemical Storage of Hydrogen” • Prof Jon Preece “Nanoscale Chemistry” • Dr Peter Slater “Fuel Cells for Local Power Generation” • Dr Jim Tucker “Fluorescent Sensors for DNA”

9. Taster Sessions: “Birmingham Heroes” • Dr Elizabeth Blackburn “Solids and Supersolids” • Dr Ulrich Günther “New Diagnostic Opportunities Arising From Cancer Metabolomics” • Prof Richard Palmer “Organising Atoms” • Dr Gary Thorpe “Novel Chemiluminescent Reactions for Clinical Analytical Applications”

10. Workshops (ca. 3h) • “Introduction to Filming Videos” • “Evaluating Videos” • “Introduction to Video Editing” • “Writing and Evaluating Press Releases”

11. Lectures (1h): • “Information Retrieval and Getting Your Message Across” • “Producing Web Pages, Press Releases, Referencing and Plagiarism”

12. Assessment: • 5 Minute Video (group) 50% • Student-derived criteria • Website (group) 30% • Press Release (individual) 20% • Student-derived criteria • (Peer Assessment)

13. Evaluation: • Internal: Module evaluation • External: Peter Hartley, Bradford (NTF and Professor of Education Development)

14. Module Evaluation • Students were evaluated based on their response to Likert-style questions and open-ended questions before and after the module • Changes in student’s attitudes / perceived confidence were analysed

15. Tracked Changes in Attitudes / Perceived Confidence (N  18): • I would be able to promote my skills in an interview (+8, -3, same 6) • I am confident I can explain complex scientific ideas to non-scientists (+7, -1, same 9) • I feel able to present myself with confidence (+7, -2, same 9) • I feel confident working in a group (+6, -1, same 11)

16. I am confident in my communication skills (+5, -3, same 9) • I am confident in tacking unfamiliar problems (+4, -2, same 12) • I am able to take responsibility for my own learning (+4, -3, same 10)

17. I enjoy working as a member of a team (+4, -5, same 8) • I can demonstrate the ability to solve problems (+2, -5, same 9) • I can identify examples of how reflection has improved my previous performance (+2, -5, same 8)

18. Examples of Positive Feedback: • “Have never been on film before, the whole experience has been unfamiliar yet exciting” • “Overcame personal differences to work well in a team” • “Learning to work efficiently with others and identify key skills of the individuals of the group” • “This module has shown that I can easily simplify things”

19. Feedback from External Evaluator: • Not all students were convinced of value to the course • More Chemistry topics are needed • Some students felt that their satisfaction directly related to their group experience • Perceived module as rather “isolated”

20. Module was interesting and “fun” • Additional skills and insights which help with employability, career choice and job interviews • “Better understanding of the scientific process” • “Better understanding of communication”

21. Changes in Light of Feedback • All references to the word “media” have been removed • The module has been contextualised from the outset, both in terms of employability skills developed and its position within the curriculum

22. All of the taster sessions were delivered by colleagues from School of Chemistry • The filming and editing workshops have been combined to reduce the student focus on technology

23. The number of lectures has increased to allow emphasis of the communication skills being developed • The website component of assessment has been replaced by individual scientific summaries to enable further practice at written communication

24. Latest Module Evaluation • Changes in student’s attitudes / perceived confidence have been analysed

25. Tracked Changes in Attitudes / Perceived Confidence (N  41): • I am confident in my communication skills (+25, -4, same 12) [5] • I feel able to present myself with confidence (+24, -4, same 13) [3] • I am confident I can explain complex scientific ideas to non-scientists (+18, -9, same 14)[2] • I can demonstrate the ability to solve problems (+17, -5, same 19)[9]

26. I can identify examples of how reflection has improved my previous performance (+15, -5, same 19)[10] • I would be able to promote my skills in an interview (+14, -4, same 22)[1] • I feel confident working in a group (+13, -6, same 22)[4]

27. I enjoy working as a member of a team (+12, -5, same 24) [8] • I am confident in tacking unfamiliar problems (+12, -5, same 24) [6] • I am able to take responsibility for my own learning (+7, -8, same 26)[7]

28. Further Funding from National HE STEM • Custodian for practice transfer adoption of this module • Running workshops to train colleagues from other Institutions

29. Acknowledgements • School of Chemistry: • Dr Paul Anderson • Dr Melanie Britton • Dr Liam Cox • Dr John Fossey • Dr Anna Peacock • Prof Jon Preece • Prof Peter Slater • Dr John Snaith • Prof Richard Tuckett • Dr Jim Tucker • National HE STEM • School of Chemistry • School of Biosciences • UoB Alumni fund • School of Biosciences • Dr Jerry Pritchard • Dr Julia Lodge • School of Physics • Dr Elizabeth Blackburn • Prof Richard Palmer • School of Cancer Studies • Dr Ulrich Günther • Dr Gary Thorpe • (WMCHI&E) • Prof Peter Hartley • (Bradford) • Dr Stuart Cantrill • (Nature Chemistry) • Steve Hull & Stephen Gray • JISC Digital