Connecting the Dots between Active Learning and Science Communication in the Graduate Classroom

Abstract

Active learning and science communication have previously been separated in the literature. A science communication course was developed for graduate students within a Geosciences department to educate students on how to communicate about the research they are completing while pursuing their degree. This course used active learning techniques throughout the education of the material to engage students. This article aids in bridging the gap between active learning and science communication in this graduate level science communication course. The initial premise of this study was to see how graduate students connected using active learning techniques to enhance their science communication. However, through class observations and one-on-one interviews, it was found that students did not realize the methods that were being used in class for instruction were active learning techniques. Students were not connecting the dots with the information that they were learning about communication was given to them in active learning formats. Those active learning formats could also be used to enhance their own communication techniques when discussing the research that is being conducted. Conclusions from this work generate methods of how active learning can be incorporated in science communication to improve how students learn how to talk about their research which also contributes to the advancement in the scholarship of teaching and learning around science communication.