Advancing public engagement in science by implementing ‘The Science Communicator’s Toolkit’

by Sumbul Jawed Khan and Saurja Dasgupta

Last year, we began creating ‘The Science Communicator’s Toolkit’ to formalize our decade-long commitment to science communication and public engagement in science. The development of this 3-module course covering science writing,science-art, and social media use for public engagement was funded by Research!America and the Lasker Foundation. As part of this project, we tested some of the core principles of our course modules in the real world – through writing and sci-art workshops, and even launched a science-comics exhibition to model effective public engagement in science. We were fortunate to receive the Public Engagement Microgrant again this year, which allowed us to expand our public engagement activities beyond course development and serving as a popular science publication.

Popular Science Writing workshop

The online popular science writing workshop was enthusiastically received last year, and went beyond a on-off workshop. The workshop cohort started their own science communication/outreach interest group, and one participant from that cohort has since joined the Club SciWri team. Although this workshop was targeted at practitioners of science – primarily STEM PhD students, postdocs, and research staff – we received an overwhelming response, with 66 applicants from 12 countries, representing 47 institutions. Interestingly, only about 42% of the applicant pool had written for the general public before, but 84% saw science writing as a viable profession, data that speaks to the broad interest in science writing. By screening these applications, which consisted of short writing prompts, we selected 22 participants. These participants had a busy couple of months ahead of them.

The workshop was divided into two online sessions, with an intervening time of four weeks for the participants to write their popular science article. Participants were required to pick the topic of their piece before the first session. The first session was run by Dr. Saurja DasGupta, a Contributing Editor at Club SciWri since 2019, and an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. Saurja started with the importance of science communication, especially in the post-Covid society where public trust in science and scientists has plummeted. He also highlighted how the ability to communicate science across disciplines and to the non-expert is a professional skill set in academia, industry, and government. Saurja introduced key aspects of writing an effective popular science article such as using compelling hooks to reel the reader in at the very beginning of the article, crafting engaging analogies to simplify abstract ideas while maintaining scientific accuracy, creating a thought-provoking ending, and most importantly, customizing the narrative according to the target audience. The participants were then taken through guided prompts, through which they learned how to summarize their article (to be written) in a 280-character tweet, or 5/3/1 sentence, and to craft a suitable analogy for explaining the science. Through this exercise, participants were able to declutter their thoughts, identify the central ideas they want expand on, and clarify the core concepts of their article. They were also able to generate an approximate outline for their articles, which they would write in the next four weeks. These articles were reviewed by an expert panel of reviewers. Additionally, participants were grouped so that each article was also reviewed by peers in their group. A five-point rubric was used to score the articles; these were: 1) Scientific rigor and accuracy, 2) Clarity, 3) Narrative quality, 4) Appeal to general reader with minimal scientific background, and 5) Proper source attribution.

While the objective of the first session was to orient participants toward drafting their pieces, the second focused on detailed feedback from both editors and peers. This session began with short presentations by professional science communicators (and Club SciWri editors), Dr. Ananya Sen (University of Michigan) and Dr. Rohini Subrahmanyam (Indian Institute of Science), who shared their journeys in science communication – how it evolved from hobby to career, and what the current professional landscape looks like. They outlined the key skills needed to succeed in professional science communication, and shared resources for professional growth. Following these presentations, the cohort were divided into groups, each group led by a Club SciWri editor. Special emphasis was given on how to strike a balance between scientific depth and topic breadth, and on preserving scientific rigor while simplifying a concept. These discussions reinforced the importance of clarity, structure and audience awareness. By combining editorial guidance, peer interaction, and professional insight, the online workshop provided participants with a well-rounded training in science communication. The success of the workshop was evident by pre- and post-workshop surveys, which showed that confidence in writing for the general audience rose from 32% to 87%, and 100% of the participants would recommend the workshop. We were happy to select 8 of the 22 submitted workshop articles for publication on our platform, of which two have already been published. The articles will have original cover art created by Sci Art interns at Club SciWri. We will hold the next workshop in the fall of this year.

Science Comics Exhibition

A picture is worth a thousand words (as they say); therefore, we put key concepts in our science-art module to test through a science-comics exhibition. ‘A Pilgrimage to Life’s Beginning’ – 3-piece, 70-panel science comics exhibition on the origins of life was launched last year at the University of Notre Dame by Saurja and his artist collaborator and Club SciWri alumnus, Argha Manna. The panels brought to life scientific research trying to understand the chemical steps that transmuted nonliving matter to the first living cells, and identify the locations on the Earth where life could have been born. Since its launch, this exhibition, in its different forms, has been viewed by over 1,500 people in six cities in the US and India. Following its launch, it was exhibited again at Notre Dame, but this time for college football fans who visit the campus for Saturday home games. This audience, therefore, ranged from ages: seven to seventy, and most of them with little science background – the perfect audience to test the effectiveness of this unique format. Saurja took this exhibition abroad starting with Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, a top-ranked research institute in India. This exhibition traveled to Mumbai and then to Pune as part of a national science journalism conference. Notably, this exhibition was exhibited on National Science Day (Feb 28) in IISER Pune, India, this year. The exhibition has been displayed at other local venues, including the local public library, sometimes as an accompaniment to Saurja’s public lectures, which strategically uses artwork from this project. In just one year, this science-art project has made a significant impact on public engagement and has been recognized with multiple awards from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the RNA Society, and New England Biolabs. All of this was possible because of early support from the University of Notre Dame and Research!America.

We look forward to expanding our public engagement initiatives and can’t wait to see where it leads us.

Authors-

Cover image- created on ChatGPT