O'Keeffe Kayleigh, Bain Reggie
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.
Department of Physics, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204.
J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2018 Mar 30;19(1). doi: 10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.1420. eCollection 2018.
The ability of scientists to effectively communicate their research, and scientific ideas in general, with a variety of audiences is critical in both academic and non-academic careers. There is currently a dearth of formal and informal science communication training opportunities for graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This curriculum paper introduces ComSciCon-Triangle, a graduate student-organized science communication workshop for graduate students in STEM at research universities in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, region. Started in 2015, this annual workshop aims to empower graduate students to be more engaged in communicating their research with the public as well as with fellow scientists. Each workshop consists of interactive panel discussions with invited science communicators (science writers, academics, filmmakers, etc.), informal networking opportunities with invited guests and other attendees, and hands-on sessions for improving oral and written communication skills. Analyzing pre- and post-survey data from all ComSciCon-Triangle attendees from 2015 to 2017, we find that workshop attendees feel significantly more confident in their ability to communicate scientific ideas with both the general public and with other scientists, and more confident submitting a written piece to a popular science publication or journal. We discuss how ComSciCon-Triangle serves as a model for local science communication workshops "for graduate students, organized by graduate students."
科学家与各类受众有效交流其研究成果及一般科学观点的能力，在学术和非学术职业中都至关重要。目前，针对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域的研究生，缺乏正式和非正式的科学传播培训机会。本课程论文介绍了“三角科学传播大会”（ComSciCon-Triangle），这是一个由研究生组织的、面向北卡罗来纳州罗利-达勒姆地区研究型大学的STEM研究生的科学传播研讨会。该年度研讨会始于2015年，旨在使研究生更有能力与公众以及同行科学家交流他们的研究成果。每次研讨会都包括与特邀科学传播者（科学作家、学者、电影制作人等）进行互动小组讨论、与特邀嘉宾和其他与会者的非正式交流机会，以及提高口头和书面沟通技巧的实践环节。通过分析2015年至2017年所有“三角科学传播大会”与会者的会前和会后调查数据，我们发现，研讨会与会者在与公众和其他科学家交流科学观点的能力方面明显更有信心，并且在向科普出版物或期刊提交书面文章时也更有信心。我们讨论了“三角科学传播大会”如何成为“由研究生为研究生组织的地方科学传播研讨会”的典范。
