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Talented Students Program: Communicating Science
web site, an outcome of the University of Sydney Apple Australia Scholarship
This project was designed to develop science students' communication, planning and teamwork skills through giving them the opportunity to research, produce and publish multimedia coverage of the Faculty's Talented Students Program research projects.
In 2004 a new unit of study for 2nd year TSP students was introduced called Communicating Science. In this unit the students worked in small groups to produce multimedia projects that reported on different aspects of the Faculty's TSP 'Water' Project. Communicating Science students made short videos about some of their peer's research groups, and recorded radio features and wrote articles about the issues involved.
Eight TSP students did the unit in 2004, two of whom were 'auditing' the course without enrolling for credit. In 2005 the unit is running again, and we anticipate it will continue to be a part of the TSP program for years to come.
The Faculty of Science's Talented Students Program engages undergraduate students in real research projects. Each year, these projects are focussed on a scientific issue or problem of great relevance - in 2004 the theme was Water, gathering under one banner many of Australia's greatest scientific challenges.
In the TSP, 1st year students are mentored by 3rd year students throughout their research. Over one or two semesters they design, implement and complete a research project based around the broad theme. In 2004, first year students researched a wide range of topics, from the efficacy and popularity of composting toilets to the mathematics of snowflakes.
Communicating Science was based on the idea that all this talent, focussed on the TSP research theme, is a story that needs to be told - and students are the ones to tell it. Since the first year students and third year mentors collaborate on research projects, the unit targeted second year TSP students.
A series of seminars were given throughout first semester 2004 for students enrolled in the unit. These included: workshops on giving public talks, run by Prof. Ian Johnston from the School of Physics and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, well-snown radio and TV science communicator; a session on reading and reporting on technical issues in science given by Prof. Peter Harrowell from the School of Chemistry; and a seminar on the politics of science given by one of CSIRO's communication professionals. Other sessions gave students the opportunity to work on their writing, editing and communication skills.
Throughout the unit, the students worked on a series of projects in radio, video and print, and submitted these as a portfolio of their work at the end of the semester. A web site (http://www.science.usyd.edu.au/psacis/TSPweb) was produced to showcase their work
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The Apple Scholarship allowed the purchase of equipment for the students to produce their multimedia projects.
A breakdown of the equipment follows:
Laptop computers (3) $7850 Digital video cameras (3) $2700 Portable hard drives (3) $1020 Portable projector $2530 Misc (equipment, casual staff) $640 TOTAL $14740
One important factor in running the course was that the students should be given the opportunity to report on the TSP for a real audience - in other words, to submit their work for publication or broadcast. They were encouraged to aim high, though in practice the demands of their studies and the constraints of their experience meant that initial hopes of an article in the Sydney Morning Herald or a video shown on the ABC were downgraded.
However, the students produced a high proportion of published material, as the following list shows:
- Radio: one feature article and a series of short 'commercials' about water conservation broadcast on 2SER 107.3 radio
- Print: one article published in the University's Union Recorder and one article in Science Alliance, a newsletter for high schools
The unit's web site showcases the student's work: http://www.science.usyd.edu.au/psacis/TSPweb/Evaluation
At the end of the unit, the students were given two opportunities to provide feedback on the semester's activities. First, they were invited to participate in a round-table discussion of the unit, and asked to provide suggestions for future adjustments, possible improvements and new projects. Second, they were given a standard unit of study evaluation form on which they anonymously rated the unit on various criteria.
Generally the comments were very positive - the students valued the opportunity to participate in the unit and enhance their communication skills. They enjoyed working in their groups and submitting their work as a portfolio representing their combined efforts. They indicated that in the future the unit should be more focussed on 'hands-on' activity and that the seminar series tended to lean towards discussion of theoretical ideas. They all agreed that producing multimedia presentations was more work than they had imagined, but that it was ultimately rewarding.
With this feedback in mind, in 2005 and 2006 the unit will undergo a redevelopment to incorporate more active sessions throughout the semester.
| For further information contact Kaye Placing |
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