Must See: TED Talks - Communicating your Science

Posted by Stephanie Robert

Image courtesy of polareducator.org 

Communication is critical in science. The ability of scientists to share their work with the scientific community, as well as with the general public is a central aspect of what we do. However, few scientists get formal training in science writing and communication. Fortunately, there are many free resources available online to help teach us how to effectively communicate our science. One of my favorite online resources for discovering new ideas is TED.com. If you haven’t already discovered TED talks, they are short, powerful talks that cover almost any topic imaginable – including science communication. And the speakers chosen for these talks are usually great communicators themselves, so it’s a great resource to learn from some of the best.

 A new find I have recently come across is Melissa Marshall and her TEDtalk “Talk nerdy to me” (see below for link).  This short TED talk is a lighthearted message from non-scientists to scientists about effectively sharing our work. Melissa Marshall, a communications teacher at Penn State University, stresses the importance of scientists and engineers being able to effectively share their work.  As she says, “science not communicated is science not done”. In this talk, Marshall highlights the importance of 1) Revealing why your science is relevant to your audience, 2) Avoiding jargon and making your ideas accessible, and 3) Dropping the bullet points and using illustrations instead to paint a picture and tell your story. The trick, according to Marshall, is to understand that the general public is interested in your work and wants to hear about it, but it must be communicated in a clear and interesting way. She ends with a mathematical formula to solve the problem of effective communication…watch her 4-minute talk to see what it is! She also has a TEDBlog, in which she goes into more detail about getting your audience excited about your work (http://blog.ted.com/2012/10/11/6-tips-on-how-scientists-and-engineers-can-excite-rather-than-bore-an-audience/).

Here are a few others to watch:

Judy Swan: In praise of technique

http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/In-Praise-of-Technique-Judy-Swa

Nancy Duarte: The secret structure of great talks

https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks

Melissa Marshall: Talk nerdy to me

 

What I'm Working On: Managing a Classroom

Posted by Randall Hall

My Classroom at Carver High School

Prior to September 2014, I had literally no experience managing a classroom. Since then, I have completed a Classroom Management course through my Master's Program at UAB and spent more than 150 hours teaching and managing students in my new career as a full-time English Language Arts teacher at Carver High School.

The three main learning points I have taken from my experiences are that teachers who are effective classroom managers (1) possess excellent organization skills, (2) communicate expectations clearly, and (3) "model" appropriate skills and behavior for their students on a consistent basis.

As to (1), all teachers - but especially new teachers - must maintain an organized classroom in order to promote a productive learning environment. Aspects of this element of good teaching include creating a student-centered classroom through desk arrangement, ensuring student work is promptly graded and placed in each student's separate portfolio, and meticulously recording information about each student's performance and behavior. Without documentation and data, a teacher cannot assess their students' academic and behavioral performance, so it is imperative that teachers maintain a highly organized classroom in order to be as efficient and effective as possible.

As to (2), I have concluded that communication of expectations to students (and their parents) is critical when it comes to both their academic work and their behavior. I did not do a good enough job of making my expectations clear when I was a student teacher, and - as a result - I dealt with behavior problems that were caused by students being unaware their actions - while perhaps considered appropriate in other teachers' classrooms - would not be considered acceptable in my class (for example, use of cell phones or eating during class). After I was hired at Carver, I spent the entire first day informing my students of my expectations and the consequences for falling short of them, and I have been pleased with both their behavior and academic performance thus far.

Finally, as to (3), the major thing I have learned this year as a student and new teacher is that teachers must "model" everything for their students. This idea is evidenced in my use of the "I Do, We Do, You Do" method of instruction, but it also extends to behavioral lessons as well. Just as I model for my students how to write a well-organized essay if I expect them to be able to do it, I must also model respectful, responsible, and resourceful behavior if I expect them to display it. I must hold myself to the highest standard of professionalism and be a "role model" for them both inside the classroom and in the community in large.

In sum, I have made it my career goal to not just instruct my students in a manner that improves their reading and writing skills, but to also inspire them to make good decisions so they can one day independently improve their future - both academic and professional. By modeling for them the skills and behaviors they will need to succeed in life, I can hopefully mold my students into compassionate citizens who exhibit a lifelong love of learning.

Writing for the Public: Crafting a Story

Posted by Lesley McCollum

There are plenty of issues to tackle for writing a journal article manuscript, but structure is not one of them. We are all too familiar with the IMRAD structure. If you want to write about your research for the public though, go ahead and throw those rules out the window. Academics read journal articles to learn information - it doesn’t matter the article is dull and tedious to read, its purpose isn’t to entertain. The rest of the public however, has plenty of sources for information, and will stick with one that is both informative and entertaining. So while a story for the public doesn’t have the rigid rules of the IMRAD format, structure is still key to a story’s success. Here are a few ideas for structuring your story:

Inverted pyramid

The inverted pyramid is the most traditional structure for news stories and can be applied to telling a science story. The style starts with the big picture, then narrows to more specific detail. It’s efficient for providing readers with the most interesting and important information up front, then expanding into further detail as the article progresses. It lets readers get the information they are looking for, then decide if they

want to learn more or move on.

Zig zag or Parallel stories

Reading about scientific research can be dense. Try alternating between details of a study and anecdotes from the researchers. Were multiple people working on the same question which led to an interesting collaboration or competition? Structure your article as two parallel stories that meet later on. You’ll hear more about incorporating narrative in a future post, but this style helps connect readers to your story and keep them interested.

Chronological

Writing a story in chronological order may sound boring, but it makes sense and is easy for readers to follow. This could be from a historical perspective, or the researcher’s individual story. Often in research, one experiment leads to another that ultimately leads to the findings that you are writing about. Or a conversation sparked an idea that led to the important experiments. Use that progression of events to structure your story.

What story structure do you find most effective for writing about science for the public?

[Image from Flickr user ClaraDon used under Creative Commons Licensing]

What I’m Working On: How Microbes Contribute to Health

Posted by Katie Alexander

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) labeled bacteria

As a member of the Elson lab at UAB, I examine the relationships between a certain cell type, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and the microbiota. Tregs are major players in immune tolerance and homeostasis, the policemen of the immune response. They are essential in anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Recently, researchers have shown that certain species of bacteria effectively induce Tregs and anti-inflammatory responses (1). Conversely, other types of bacteria encourage pro-inflammatory cells to thrive and can damage the immune system. During IBD, the microbiota becomes unbalanced, and the bacterial species associated with inflammation tip the scales in their favor, ousting the beneficial bacteria. This is also what happens when a person is infected with the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C.diff).

Additionally, bacteria can interact with components of our food directly. A recent report by Suez et al. (2) outlined the relationship between non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) and the microbiota. NAS are ubiquitous in the Western diet, with saccharin and aspartame being some of the most commonly used. Interestingly, our bodies do not recognize NAS and therefore cannot absorb or use them as energy sources. For that reason, numerous health officials have considered these sweeteners harmless, or in the case of a person with diabetes, beneficial. Suez and colleagues demonstrated that NAS interact closely with intestinal bacteria, causing shifts in the balance of good and bad bacteria. In fact, mice subjected to a diet supplemented with NAS were susceptible to increased glucose intolerance. This finding was recapitulated in a small-scale human study. It is obvious that microbes affect countless aspects of human health, and therefore further research into understanding how to maintain a healthy population of microbes will contribute profoundly to overall human wellbeing.   

References:

  

Atarashi K. et al. Induction of colonic regulatory T cells by indigenous Clostridium species. Science. 2011. Jan 21:331(6015):337-41.

Suez J. et al. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. Nature. 2014 Oct 9:514 (7521):181-6.

What I'm Working On: Better Health, Better Care, at Lower Costs for our Veterans

Posted by Tonya L. Breaux-Shropshire

As recent media coverage has shown, few issues are as important to this country as healthcare for veterans. What most people don’t see, however, when they read the headlines, is the research that takes place behind the scenes on new solutions to our vets’ most common medical problems. For example, hypertension is the number one reason for a primary care visit, and that is one of my areas of research as a Veterans Administration (VA) Quality Scholar Fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine. In particular, I facilitated first steps in how to boost blood pressure control in hypertensive veterans by using quality improvement tools, such as a process map, SWOT analyses, check sheets, and evidence-based interventions like “a hypertension bundle.” This bundle, which has been successful in one patient aligned care team (PACT) in the Primary Care Clinic at our VA Hospital, employs the electronic medical record, medication adherence assessment, and appropriate nontraditional care visits to achieve greater patient engagement, hence superior care for vets. What is more, the bundle could potentially lower costs by helping vets avoid expensive emergency room visits for what could be routine care.

Research into hypertension is not new for the VA system, which has led the way to blood pressure treatment and control. As early as the 1960’s, for example, the VA conducted pioneering studies to determine that blood pressure was a disease that needed to be treated to prevent heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and death. In addition, VA conducted one of the first studies that determined that step care, or medication intensification starting with one medication, is required for blood pressure (BP) control. Admittedly, much more needs to be done to improve primary care and access to care for vets. Yet, on many fronts, we are making real progress, including the availability of user-friendly resources, such as the My Healthy Vet program (https://www.myhealth.va.gov/index.html), TeleHealth (http://www.telehealth.va.gov/ccht/), and the Get Well Network (http://www.getwellnetwork.com/). Today, VA blood pressure control rates and target goals are higher than national goals, and I think that make sense, given the strategic and human importance of keeping our vets healthy. In fact, at the Birmingham VA, we recently improved blood pressure control over and above the VA target goal rate within 6 months. You might not read about that in the headlines, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t working 24/7, for better health, better care, at lower costs, for our veterans.

Tips & Tricks: Composing with Music

Posted by Stephanie M. Robert

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.”  
 –Victor Hugo

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Most of us, when considering a productive environment for writing, would think of a quite location, free of noise and distraction. However, over the many years I have been writing and studying, when an important deadline looms, I head straight to the closest coffee shop, full of music, conversation, and movement. Although it seems counterintuitive, this is the type of environment in which I do my best work. Any many others feel the same, as evidenced by the many people sitting around me at the coffee shop currently typing away on their laptops.

The realization that I work best in a loud coffee shop rather than a silent library made me wonder - is quite REALLY ideal when it comes to writing?

The world we live in is an amazingly vibrant place. Our senses are constantly being inundated with information. To avoid a system overload of sorts, our brains have developed the ability to focus attention on certain things in the environment, while blocking out, or ignoring others. This ability to focus our attention on one thing, while ignoring competing stimuli is called selective attention. Without this ability, we would detect even the smallest changes in our environment and as a consequence, would never be able to focus on anything. However, when we sit in a quiet room and try to work, it is almost as if our brains are primed, waiting for something to ignore. And when something unexpected happens – a loud noise or sudden movement, concentration is broken.

It seems then, that we must occupy just enough of our brain to focus on the task at hand. This is where music can help. Music allows one part of our brain to work on ignoring the noise, while allowing higher cognitive functions – those that are needed during writing – to work effectively. Of course, there are many other benefits to music like improving mood, providing inspiration, and blocking unwanted background noise. Many research studies have looked at the effect of music on performance, and many have shown a positive effect. One in particular found an improvement in mood and cognitive performance scores of people who listened to their preferred music during high-cognitive demand work (Lesiuk). So it seems there may be some benefit to popping in those earbuds when you need to focus.

It is important to choose a style of music that allows you to be most productive. I prefer classical music and find lyrics overly distracting while working. My go-to source is a website called focus@will (https://www.focusatwill.com). The founders of focus@will designed a system that incorporates the current published literature in neuroscience and psychology, to provide music that maximizes focus and productivity.  If you want to check them out, there is a free membership if you sign up. They also have a Science section that further explains the research behind how music can enhance focus and concentration.

What about you? When you sit down to write, do you prefer quiet, or a little noise?

References

Lesiuk, T. (2005). The effect of music listening on work performance. Psychology of Music. 33(2): 173-191.
https://www.focusatwill.com/wp/science/science-primer/

https://www.focusatwill.com/wp/science/literature/

Writing for the Public: Alphabet Soup in the High School Classroom

Posted by Randall Hall

As a graduate student in the UAB School of Education and an English Language Arts student teacher, I am always interested in learning new strategies to improve students’ reading and writing skills. Back when I was in high school (at the end of the last millennium - which is not as long ago as it sounds), we were taught to simply read and annotate our (usually large and leather-bound) text and then organize our analysis into a five paragraph essay. Now that I am back in high school as a teacher, I can report that things have changed. In fact, in the modern ELA classroom, there are far more acronyms for “reading strategies” than there are actual books (which have been routinely replaced by handheld devices in many school districts).

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Over the last year, I have personally guided students through the performance of an AIR, ANX, CTQ, DRA, DRTA, GIST, GRASP, IRI, ITI, KWL, LRD, RAFT, REAP, and an SQ3R. What do all these letters mean? Well, they are all acronyms for different reading, summarizing, and writing techniques that students are now taught in modern high schools. Educators have realized that each type of student (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.) learns differently and that each type of text (informational, literary, audio-visual, etc.) should be read differently to be best understood by various learners. Thus, each of the acronyms I set out above is a different strategy aimed at helping a student comprehend a certain kind of text in a unique and specific way.

For example, a KWL transforms learners into active readers by asking students to analyze a text (usually an informational article) before, during, and after reading it. They do this by first writing what they “Know” about the subject based only on the title of the article. Next, they write “What” they want to know about the subject of the article based on its topic sentence. Finally, they write what they “Learned” about the subject after reading the entire article. Thus, the KWL activates their prior knowledge, draws on their past experiences, forces them to make inferences and connections, and eventually guides them to concrete conclusions about the information they have read while stimulating their curiosity about what they wanted to know but did not learn.

This Alphabet Soup approach to reading instruction may seem odd to the students’ parents who are not familiar with the manifold strategies or the principles underlying them. However, I have found them to be indispensable in helping students “make” meaning on the literal, inferential, and evaluative levels of learning. If you have any reading or writing strategies to share (including any with fun acronyms), please post them in the “Write Like an Educator” section of WritingInTheZone (a new wiki seeking to “tap into the real-world knowledge and experience of graduate students, post-docs, and scholars to help writers achieve daily productivity goals). I know these acronyms may seem strange, but students seem to find their use as easy as ABC.

What I’m Working On: Epigenetics & Leadership, From the Green Light “Go”

Posted by Tandy L. Dolin Petrov

Throughout my entire life, I have suffered from a series of health issues that have called for repeated surgeries at either Children’s Hospital or other medical centers at the University of Birmingham at Alabama (UAB) in Birmingham, Ala. I recollect countless moments staring out the window of either Children’s Hospital  or  Spain Rehabilitation

Tandy Dolin Petrov and Kartik Manne

(GSA President and Vice President @ NSO 2014)

Center.   In the sanctuary of my room I would gaze at the city’s hilltop iron statute of Vulcan -- with its green light for safe roads and red light when a traffic accident had occurred – and think of all the things I would do in life. For me, Vulcan’s persistent reaching to the stars symbolized victory and the green light represented a start, and literally, the word “go” in life.

 

Today, as a doctoral student at UAB, I sometimes find myself staring at the Vulcan and realizing how lucky I am to be doing everything I dreamed. Recently, for example, I graduated from UAB with my Masters of Science in Biology.  For three years, I was able to explore the salt marshes of Dauphin Island, an out-of-the-way barrier island that borders Alabama’s Gulf Coast, on the hunt for the elusive diamondback terrapin.  My thesis focused on this keystone species and I had the remarkable opportunity of managing the UAB Terrapin Head-start Project, a conservation effort that provided a unique opportunity to study the ecology and life history of the terrapin while rehabilitating their population. 

Now, I am a 1^st year PhD student, I have moved into to a challenging new field and a new lab, where I study epigenetics, using fruit flies.  Epigenetics is the study of changes in DNA structure without actually changing the genetic code.  My goal with this research is to understand how silencing genes inhibit protein production and if the underlying mechanism can be therapy for a variety of diseases.  This abstract, fast-paced molecular world is completely different than my laid-back, sun-loving ecology realm.  Everything is high-speed and expeditious until it comes to waiting for the results.  So, I took up another venture, becoming President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA). 

Presidency is a terrifying term, or at least I thought when I first won an election to lead more than 5,000 graduate and professional students. Yet, as I quickly learned, leadership is teamwork, and I am lucky to have great team, Kartik Manne, Vice President (show with me in the above photo), Jocelyn Hauser, Treasurer (who is also the BGSA President), and Mallory Cases, Secretary extraordinaire, that keeps the GSA resilient and moving forward.  It is important for everyone to learn how to juggle full plates and to be a team.   Not only do I have a plate full of research and administration, I also teach microbiology labs in my department.  Yes, I’m a very busy individual.  But it’s what I want.  After sitting, not being able to move or run or even wiggle a toe, for so long, I now find myself constantly maneuvering forward, with one eye on Vulcan, and one eye on the road to life, looking for the green lights.