Resources and Updates

Public Engagement with Science Tips

• How learning occurs

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition Section II describes how learning occurs. Chapter 2 focuses on how experts differ from novices. Experts often notice meaningful patterns and organization structures in information that novices do not. Experts should remember that content knowledge is different from pedagogical knowledge – what comes easy to them might be difficult for a novice. Helping novices recognize patterns in new information assists understanding. Chapter 3 describes how new learning is based on prior knowledge. People learn by using what they already know to construct new understanding. When designing your activity, consider what your participants will bring to the project. What prior knowledge, opinions, and conceptions do they have? How will that affect your design?

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Science, and School

Key Findings from How People Learn

 

• In-person opportunities

Communicating research and findings to the public is a fundamental component of Broader Impacts. Below you will find best practices and other recommendations to ensure your public engagement activity or learning environment is the best that it can be. Learn about how to maximize your impact on your target audience.

Exploration Project Framework

• Virtual recommendations

Below you will find resources that will guide the process of converting your projects to an online format. It provides best practices and tips that will improve the quality and accessibility of your content.

 

• Networking

Below you will find a pdf of the partners and programs that are willing to help you find your BI identity.

Names and Faces

• Why the introduction is important

Demonstrating that scientists are human through stories of life both inside and outside the lab is important for building trust and establishing personal connections with the audience. When a scientist shares a story of how they got interested in science or why they are studying that particular research through a first-person narrative — without use of institutional affiliations — non-scientists are more likely to view them as authentic.

Constructing and Influencing Perceived Authenticity in Science Communication

Communicating science can benefit from scientist ‘being human’