DEVELOPING AS A SCIENTIST: EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATING SCIENCE IN MODERN SOCIETY - 2023/4

Module Overview

In this module students will undertake a programme of training and development activities in communicating science. The communication of science to colleagues and to the lay public has never been more important. Efficiently and effectively communicating findings is important to prevent the confusion and to highlight the impact of the findings in their relevant fields. In addition, public investment in science requires increasing engagement of scientists and researchers with the general public, and in a “post-truth” era it is ever more important that findings are well explained and not misrepresented.

The communication methods investigated may include:

• Academic journals


• Industrial news outlets and “trade” journals


• Press releases


• Lay statements


• Webinars


• Podcasts


• Blogs


• Social Media

The learning on this module will directly support the student in developing their skill in delivering the scientific article and oral presentation of the Dissertation module. Students will use their dissertation project as the basis for the work they develop in this module, alongside a wider range of appropriate materials.

Module provider

School of Biosciences

Module Leader

CRABTREE Mark (Biosciences)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

 

Students will discuss and be expected to evaluate production of and critically review the efficacy of some of the following communications methods (list is not exclusive):

• Academic journals


• Industrial news outlets and “trade” journals Press releases


• Lay statements Webinars Podcasts Blogs


• Social Media

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate team-based communication skills, professionalism and presentation skills. Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:




RESEARCH PROJECT (BLOG)
Coursework
Weighted (50%)


REFLECTION
Coursework
Weighted (10%)


COMMUNICATION
Coursework
Weighted (10%)


SEMINAR
Oral-type examination or presentation
Weighted (30%)




Formative assessment & feedback

In-class feedback, discussion and online engagement with discussion boards and blended material. Feedback will be continuous and will enable the student to revise and refine their communications skills.

Module aims

• Expose students to a wide range of communications methods which are vital to communicating science to different stakeholders.
• Engage students in producing media to meet the requirements of different communications media.
• Provide a structured framework to enable the student to engage in professional development in communications and to support completion of the research project.
• Introduce students to academic publication and the requirements of following a journal's "instructions to authors" which is essential for completion of their dissertation write-up in the form of a research paper.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

T

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Provide a team-based learning environment where student work together to investigate, evaluate and analyse different communications methods and processes of producing the communications methods.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Flipped classroom workshops in which students will be provided with authentic scientific communications tasks and who will work together as teams to develop communications strategies in order to communicate with a range of different stakeholders.


• Blended online classroom materials and assessment areas to support the development of different communications styles.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: BMSM021

Other information

Resourcefulness & Resilience: Students will be provided with guidance, both direct (wellbeing & resilience workshop) and indirect (further workshops & tutorials), to further develop their resiliency and reflective skills (Learning Outcome 6).

Global & Cultural Capabilities: This pillar is implicitly addressed in workshop discussions and teamwork with a diverse cohort of students and staff (Learning Outcome 6).

Sustainability: This pillar may be addressed indirectly in workshop discussions and presentations.

Digital capabilities: Students will enhance their digital and literacy skills throughout the module, building on their learning at FHEQ levels 4, 5 & 6, with two major outputs, namely an ‘elevator-pitch’ presentation and a blog (Learning Outcomes 1-4).

Employability:  Students will indirectly gain employability skills through the further development and fine-tuning of their critical thinking, literacy and communication skills, building on their learning at FHEQ levels 4, 5 & 6 (Learning Outcomes 1-6).

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.