Communicating About Science: A Project to Improve Scientists' and Engineers' Communication Abilities

National Communnication Association, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This project addresses the challenge of educating scientists and engineers in the professional and personal communication skills they need to meet career demands of the 21st century. The intention of the project is to address one of the nation's central concerns; the ability of scientists to engage in policy-critical communication about their work; work that is critical to the health and well being of U.S. society. Experts in communication, the rhetoric of science, instructional development, and training will work collaboratively with scientists and engineers in two areas of concern previously identified by the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy as well as others in the science community (1995); 1. Scientists and engineers; ability to communicate among themselves interpersonally and in teams, and their ability to solve problems and work across scientific and other disciplines. 2. Scientists and engineers; ability to communicate about science to larger audiences with an emphasis on lay and public constituencies and non-scientists. The two challenges will be addressed by the accomplishment of two short term objectives and one long term goal: A first short term objective is producing curriculum recommendations for the communication training of scientists and engineers; A second short term objective is developing a proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Graduate Education to: 1. articulate a new set of priorities and approaches to address the most effective and appropriate ways of communicating about science; and, 2. produce and disseminate communication training resources for aspiring (graduate and post-doctoral) scientists and engineers. A long term and perhaps some intrinsic goal is forming critical partnerships and building a foundation for future relationships between the communication discipline and scientists and engineers to work collaboratively on challenges in communicating about science These activities will begin with a briefing meeting to be held in November 2001 at the NCA national convention. A facilitated workshop will follow in Winter/Spring 2002 that will produce curriculum recommendations and a plan for a full grant proposal to explore possibilities for creating new communities of communication colleagues and scientists. Following the spring workshop and within the 2002 calendar year, the full grant proposal will be submitted to NSF. The proposal will focus on furthering the development of collaborative relationships between communication and science and developing training resources of various sorts to implement the curriculum recommendations. The proposal will also address the dissemination of the curriculum recommendations and training resources.