Year
2016
Institution
University of East Anglia
The interdisciplinary team that has created and delivers science communication opportunities and pedagogy within undergraduate science curricula at the University of East Anglia (UEA) has developed a Level 6 module in Science Communication and published their findings on the assessment of student skill development.
They are led by Professor Kay Yeoman in the School of Biological Sciences (BIO) at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Together with Professor Laura Bowater from the Norwich Medical School and Dr Helen James, a Reader in BIO. Kay and Laura also published the module textbook ' Science Communication: a practical guide for scientists' which has been adopted by other Science Communication courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
To further embed understanding of societal impact in the curriculum, Helen established the Level 5 module Biology in Society with Dr Richard Bowater, a Reader in BIO. The cross-disciplinarity of the team is strengthened with Mr Peter Simmons, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Environmental Sciences at UEA, who brings social science research expertise in science, risk and environmental communication.
The teaching and practice of Science Communication is supported by external organisations. Ms Rachel Jarrold-Hunter, is Assistant Principal of the Sir Isaac Newton 6th form in Norwich, Dr Jenni Rant, leads the Science, Art and Writing Trust and Dr Ken Farquhar established the company ' Do Different'; they are all honorary UEA lecturers and offer projects, mentoring and networking opportunities for students.
Impact of work
The Science Communication module, its pedagogy and teaching materials has been presented at teaching conferences and has subsequently been used by other universities as a framework to develop their own Science Communication modules, which have proved popular with their undergraduate students.
In addition, Richard established the iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) initiative at UEA, developing teams of undergraduate students to participate in multi-disciplinary research projects that involve public engagement/science communication components. The iGEM initiative, how it relates to the employability agenda and tips on getting an iGEM team started has been published.
Plans for the future
The team intend to conduct a baseline survey on the extent to which science communication and societal issues in the sciences are taught within undergraduate degree programmes. They will also run a series of workshops across the UK and in Europe, to encourage embedding of science communication into the curriculum.
They are led by Professor Kay Yeoman in the School of Biological Sciences (BIO) at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Together with Professor Laura Bowater from the Norwich Medical School and Dr Helen James, a Reader in BIO. Kay and Laura also published the module textbook ' Science Communication: a practical guide for scientists' which has been adopted by other Science Communication courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
To further embed understanding of societal impact in the curriculum, Helen established the Level 5 module Biology in Society with Dr Richard Bowater, a Reader in BIO. The cross-disciplinarity of the team is strengthened with Mr Peter Simmons, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Environmental Sciences at UEA, who brings social science research expertise in science, risk and environmental communication.
The teaching and practice of Science Communication is supported by external organisations. Ms Rachel Jarrold-Hunter, is Assistant Principal of the Sir Isaac Newton 6th form in Norwich, Dr Jenni Rant, leads the Science, Art and Writing Trust and Dr Ken Farquhar established the company ' Do Different'; they are all honorary UEA lecturers and offer projects, mentoring and networking opportunities for students.
Impact of work
The Science Communication module, its pedagogy and teaching materials has been presented at teaching conferences and has subsequently been used by other universities as a framework to develop their own Science Communication modules, which have proved popular with their undergraduate students.
In addition, Richard established the iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) initiative at UEA, developing teams of undergraduate students to participate in multi-disciplinary research projects that involve public engagement/science communication components. The iGEM initiative, how it relates to the employability agenda and tips on getting an iGEM team started has been published.
Plans for the future
The team intend to conduct a baseline survey on the extent to which science communication and societal issues in the sciences are taught within undergraduate degree programmes. They will also run a series of workshops across the UK and in Europe, to encourage embedding of science communication into the curriculum.