Science Educational Outreach Programs That Benefit Students and Scientists

• Published in: PLoS biology Vol. 14; no. 2; p. e1002368
• Main Authors: Clark, Greg, Russell, Josh, Enyeart, Peter, Gracia, Brant, Wessel, Aimee, Jarmoskaite, Inga, Polioudakis, Damon, Stuart, Yoel, Gonzalez, Tony, MacKrell, Al, Rodenbusch, Stacia, Stovall, Gwendolyn M, Beckham, Josh T, Montgomery, Michael, Tasneem, Tania, Jones, Jack, Simmons, Sarah, Roux, Stanley
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 04.02.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Audiences; Biology and Life Sciences; Communication; Community; Community-Institutional Relations; Funding; Graduate students; Humans; Hypotheses; Inquiry method; Middle school students; Middle schools; Outreach services; People and Places; Research and Analysis Methods; Science education; Science Policy; Scientists; Skills; Social Sciences; Students; Studies; Teaching
• ISSN: 1545-7885; 1544-9173; 1545-7885
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002368

Both scientists and the public would benefit from improved communication of basic scientific research and from integrating scientists into education outreach, but opportunities to support these efforts are limited. We have developed two low-cost programs--"Present Your PhD Thesis to a 12-Year-Old" and "Shadow a Scientist"--that combine training in science communication with outreach to area middle schools. We assessed the outcomes of these programs and found a 2-fold benefit: scientists improve their communication skills by explaining basic science research to a general audience, and students' enthusiasm for science and their scientific knowledge are increased. Here we present details about both programs, along with our assessment of them, and discuss the feasibility of exporting these programs to other universities.