Institute for Communication Research
Risk Communication Health Communication Organizational Communication Communicating Science Evaluation Research
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Health Communication
Organizational Communication
Communicating Science
Evaluation Research
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Science comprises biological and physical sciences, behavioral sciences, and applied fields such as technology, engineering, medicine, and environmental science (Friedman, Dunwoody, & Rogers, 1986). According to a study by the National Science Foundation (2002), 70% of Americans do not understand science.
Description
• Science communication is the discipline that aims to improve the uptake of scientific information by lay audiences (website for the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, 2006).
• A major goal for those that study science communication is to decrease the gaps in knowledge of science between scientists and the general population and to increase the willingness to learn about science and technology in a generally “science unfriendly environment” (Ekanem, 2003, p. 203).
Challenges
• Not only are scientists having difficulty communicating to the general public, they are also experiencing an increasing difficulty in communicating with each other (Nature Neuroscience, 2000).
• In National Science Foundation (NSF) surveys conducted since 1979, about 90% of U.S. adults report being very or moderately interested in new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions and technologies.
• However, only half of NSF survey respondents knew that the earliest humans did not live at the same time as dinosaurs, that it takes the Earth one year to go around the Sun, and that electrons are smaller than atoms (Orbach, 2005).
• People are eager to hear from scientists to satiate their appetite for clear explanations of how science impacts their daily lives (Shapiro, 2001). Unfortunately, “42% of scientists do not engage in any form of public outreach” (Orbach, 2005, p. 2).
Opportunities
• Model Development: An updated and overarching model is necessary for the field of science communication to advance for the benefit of the general public, the media, and scientists alike.
• Development and implementation of a science communication course would help to disseminate the importance of communicating science.
• Grant Possibilities:
o REESE: collaborate with OU’s K20 Center to examine authentic research experiences; transferring and sustaining these research experiences and teaching for conceptual understanding through lesson study; and a professional learning community that provides meaningful experiences for learners. Then, examine the overall impact of the three-prong professional development model on secondary rural science teacher quality and student success.
o National Center for Research Resources (NCRR): to improve K-12 and the general public's understanding of the clinical trial process and of the safeguards provided for patients participating in these trials as well as the health science advances stemming funded clinical and basic research.
o National Cooperative Highway Research Program: to develop a guide for successfully communicating the value of transportation research projects and programs.