OOS 27: Equity-Focused, Evidence-Based Approaches to Teaching and Assessing SciComm in Higher Education

Session Organizer(s)

• Bethann Merkle

  Communication and Engagement Section past chairperson; Public Engagement at Annual Meetings subcommittee member, Ecological Society of America
  Laramie,

Moderator(s)

• Bethann Merkle

  Communication and Engagement Section past chairperson; Public Engagement at Annual Meetings subcommittee member, Ecological Society of America
  Laramie,

Volunteer(s)

• Aanuoluwapo Olajide

Ecologists face a moral imperative: share research effectively and inclusively, so it is incorporated into individual and society-level decisions. To inform public policy, we must reach, and resonate with, varied stakeholders (e.g. funders, practitioners, educators, policymakers, diverse public(s), media). This is a complex challenge. We’re faced with “alternative facts”, short attention spans, and information overload. Worse, a growing body of research shows people are not persuaded by data and do not distinguish scientific evidence from other views. Instead, decisions are informed by lived experiences, peer influences, and personal identities. Indeed, examples abound of policy decisions made contrary to scientific advice. Regrettably, research also documents that most scientists are still trained to remain neutral, avoid advocacy, and expect science will be transmitted by someone else. Further, too many ecologists are still trained to see social issues such as justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) issues as distinct from science and science training. Thus, this organized oral session highlights three key themes: decolonizing STEM through scicomm, evidence-based teaching of scicomm, and assessment of scicomm teaching/training that is publication-quality. While we work to transform higher education through overhauling tenure and promotion processes and making training and scholarship more equitable and inclusive, we are currently faced with the publish-or-perish paradigm. So, speakers in this session will speak to ways that scicomm can be integrated throughout ecology training programs and be assessed in ways that lead to publications and grant funding. This OOS is an adapted approach to a short course that was accepted, then cancelled during the ESA 2020 annual meeting: Making Science Matter: Leveraging the Science of Science Communication to Address the Moral Imperative of Effectively Sharing Ecology. This OOS is also paired with a workshop proposal which will focus on hands-on approaches to applying the themes of the OOS in higher ed classrooms.

Presentations:

• ON DEMAND

  A framework to make science communication more inclusive
  

  Presenting Author: Mónica Feliú-Mójer – Diversity and Communication Training, iBiology
• ON DEMAND

  Breaking through the barriers of academic reward and recognition systems to support inclusive scholarship, teaching, and engagement
  

  Presenting Author: Julie Risien – STEM Research Center, Oregon State University
• ON DEMAND

  Promoting engagement and inclusivity in science learning through performing arts integration
  

  Presenting Author: Jamē McCray – National Wildlife Federation
• ON DEMAND

  Reclaiming SciComm: Inclusive approaches to grad student training
  

  Presenting Author: Evelyn Valdez-Ward – Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
• ON DEMAND

  Reconnecting with our story-telling ancestors: Decolonizing STEM through SciComm training
  

  Presenting Author: Madhusudan Katti – Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University
• ON DEMAND

  Science communication for all: Integrating science communication in undergraduate curricula
  

  Presenting Author: Sara Yeo – Department of Communication, University of Utah