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]