TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Communicating Chemistry: A Framework for Sharing Science: A Practical Evidence-Based Guide SN - DO - 10.17226/23444 PY - 2016 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/23444/communicating-chemistry-a-framework-for-sharing-science-a-practical-evidence PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Math, Chemistry, and Physics KW - Education AB - A growing body of evidence indicates that, increasingly, the public is engaging with science in a wide range of informal environments, which can be any setting outside of school such as community-based programs, festivals, libraries, or home. Yet undergraduate and graduate schools often don’t prepare scientists for public communication. This practical guide is intended for any chemist – that is, any professional who works in chemistry-related activities, whether research, manufacturing or policy – who wishes to improve their informal communications with the public. At the heart of this guide is a framework, which was presented in the report Effective Chemistry Communication in Informal Environments and is based on the best available empirical evidence from the research literature on informal learning, science communication, and chemistry education. The framework consists of five elements which can be applied broadly to any science communication event in an informal setting. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - Rajul Pandya A2 - Kenne Ann Dibner TI - Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design SN - DO - 10.17226/25183 PY - 2018 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25183/learning-through-citizen-science-enhancing-opportunities-by-design PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Education AB - In the last twenty years, citizen science has blossomed as a way to engage a broad range of individuals in doing science. Citizen science projects focus on, but are not limited to, nonscientists participating in the processes of scientific research, with the intended goal of advancing and using scientific knowledge. A rich range of projects extend this focus in myriad directions, and the boundaries of citizen science as a field are not clearly delineated. Citizen science involves a growing community of professional practitioners, participants, and stakeholders, and a thriving collection of projects. While citizen science is often recognized for its potential to engage the public in science, it is also uniquely positioned to support and extend participants' learning in science. Contemporary understandings of science learning continue to advance. Indeed, modern theories of learning recognize that science learning is complex and multifaceted. Learning is affected by factors that are individual, social, cultural, and institutional, and learning occurs in virtually any context and at every age. Current understandings of science learning also suggest that science learning extends well beyond content knowledge in a domain to include understanding of the nature and methods of science. Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design discusses the potential of citizen science to support science learning and identifies promising practices and programs that exemplify the promising practices. This report also lays out a research agenda that can fill gaps in the current understanding of how citizen science can support science learning and enhance science education. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academy of Sciences A2 - Steve Olson TI - The Science of Science Communication III: Inspiring Novel Collaborations and Building Capacity: Proceedings of a Colloquium SN - DO - 10.17226/24958 PY - 2018 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24958/the-science-of-science-communication-iii-inspiring-novel-collaborations-and PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Policy for Science and Technology AB - Successful scientists must be effective communicators within their professions. Without those skills, they could not write papers and funding proposals, give talks and field questions, or teach classes and mentor students. However, communicating with audiences outside their profession - people who may not share scientists' interests, technical background, cultural assumptions, and modes of expression - presents different challenges and requires additional skills. Communication about science in political or social settings differs from discourse within a scientific discipline. Not only are scientists just one of many stakeholders vying for access to the public agenda, but the political debates surrounding science and its applications may sometimes confront scientists with unfamiliar and uncomfortable discussions involving religious values, partisan interests, and even the trustworthiness of science. The Science of Science Communication III: Inspiring Novel Collaborations and Building Capacity summarizes the presentations and discussions from a Sackler Colloquium convened in November 2017. This event used Communicating Science Effectively as a framework for examining how one might apply its lessons to research and practice. It considered opportunities for creating and applying the science along with the barriers to doing so, such as the incentive systems in academic institutions and the perils of communicating science in polarized environments. Special attention was given to the organization and infrastructure necessary for building capacity in science communication. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Holly Rhodes A2 - Keegan Sawyer TI - Public Engagement on Genetically Modified Organisms: When Science and Citizens Connect: Workshop Summary SN - DO - 10.17226/21750 PY - 2015 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21750/public-engagement-on-genetically-modified-organisms-when-science-and-citizens PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Agriculture KW - Education KW - Biology and Life Sciences AB - The National Research Council's Roundtable on Public Interfaces of the Life Sciences held a 2-day workshop on January 15-16, 2015, in Washington, DC to explore the public interfaces between scientists and citizens in the context of genetically engineered (GE) organisms. The workshop presentations and discussions dealt with perspectives on scientific engagement in a world where science is interpreted through a variety of lenses, including cultural values and political dispositions, and with strategies based on evidence in social science to improve public conversation about controversial topics in science. The workshop focused on public perceptions and debates about genetically engineered plants and animals, commonly known as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), because the development and application of GMOs are heavily debated among some stakeholders, including scientists. For some applications of GMOs, the societal debate is so contentious that it can be difficult for members of the public, including policy-makers, to make decisions. Thus, although the workshop focused on issues related to public interfaces with the life science that apply to many science policy debates, the discussions are particularly relevant for anyone involved with the GMO debate. Public Engagement on Genetically Modified Organisms: When Science and Citizens Connect summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Elizabeth Stallman Brown A2 - Laurence Yeung A2 - Keegan Sawyer TI - Sustainable Infrastructures for Life Science Communication: Workshop Summary SN - DO - 10.17226/18728 PY - 2014 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18728/sustainable-infrastructures-for-life-science-communication-workshop-summary PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Biology and Life Sciences KW - Education AB - Advances in the life sciences - from the human genome to biotechnology to personalized medicine and sustainable communities - have profound implications for the well-being of society and the natural world. Improved public understanding of such scientific advances has the potential to benefit both individuals and society through enhanced quality of life and environmental protection, improved K-12 and undergraduate science education, greater understanding of human connections to the natural world, and more sustainable policies and regulations. Yet few systems of support exist to help life scientist communicators share their research with a broad range of public audiences, or engage the public in discussions about their work. Sustainable Infrastructures for Life Science Communication is the summary of a two-part workshop convened in December 2013 and January 2014 by the National Research Council Roundtable on Public Interfaces of the Life Sciences to identify infrastructure-related barriers that inhibit or prohibit life scientists from communicating about their work and characteristics of infrastructure that facilitate or encourage scientists to engage with public audiences. The workshop featured both formal presentations and panel discussions among participants from academia, industry, journalism, the federal government, and nonprofit organizations. The presentations highlighted the motivations of and challenges to life scientist communicators, theoretical approaches to science communication, examples of different types of infrastructure to support science communication, and the need for building more sustainable science communication infrastructures. This report considers communication infrastructure across a range of life science institutions, including federal agencies, academia, industry, and nonprofit organizations and explores novel approaches to facilitate effective science communication. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine TI - Effective Chemistry Communication in Informal Environments SN - DO - 10.17226/21790 PY - 2016 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21790/effective-chemistry-communication-in-informal-environments PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Math, Chemistry, and Physics KW - Education AB - Chemistry plays a critical role in daily life, impacting areas such as medicine and health, consumer products, energy production, the ecosystem, and many other areas. Communicating about chemistry in informal environments has the potential to raise public interest and understanding of chemistry around the world. However, the chemistry community lacks a cohesive, evidence-based guide for designing effective communication activities. This report is organized into two sections. Part A: The Evidence Base for Enhanced Communication summarizes evidence from communications, informal learning, and chemistry education on effective practices to communicate with and engage publics outside of the classroom; presents a framework for the design of chemistry communication activities; and identifies key areas for future research. Part B: Communicating Chemistry: A Framework for Sharing Science is a practical guide intended for any chemists to use in the design, implementation, and evaluation of their public communication efforts. ER -