creating curiosity and inspiring inquiry

© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists

Cultivating curiosity and inspiring inquiry

Mary Williams, ASPBMarch 2016

@PlantTeaching

© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists

What plant science stories have reached the public in the past year?


Tasmanian fires Indonesian fires

Food

Climate change

Oddities

Capsaicin in hot peppers

California drought

Plants in space


Climate change

Food

GMO

Oddities

Plants in space

Mosts…OldestRarestTallestSmallest

?


We like stories about people


A Race to Save the Orange by Altering Its DNABy AMY HARMON, New York Times July 27, 2013 CLEWISTON, Fla. — The call Ricke Kress and every other citrus grower in Florida dreaded came while he was driving. “It’s here” was all his grove manager needed to say to force him over to the side of the road. The disease that sours oranges and leaves them half green, already ravaging citrus crops across the world, had reached the state’s storied groves.

The Stress TestBy Dana Goodyear , New Yorker February 29, 2016Yoshiki Sasai was known as “the brainmaker.” One of Japan’s foremost developmental biologists,….


More than ever, science must be central to all our lives Venki Ramakrishnan, The Guardian 27 Feb 2016……When David Bowie died, his face was emblazoned across the front page of every newspaper with a national outpouring of grief. But when Fred Sanger, who ushered in a new age of biology and was one of the few people to win two Nobel prizes, died a couple of years ago, it was largely relegated to smaller pieces on the inside pages.

The reason people care about David Bowie is that he touched their lives, experientially. ... If people are going to care about science, they need to care about the experience of doing science. That may be difficult to achieve, but emphasis on practical usefulness will get you nowhere.

Talking about science isn’t enough – we have to connect people to science and scientists


Who is the audience?

Rarely engaged, only minor interest

Super engaged, information seeker


Health

Environment

Gardening

Anti-GM

Pro-science James Wong@Botanygeek


Teachers and students


Who do you want to reach with your science communication?


Successful science communicators

Ed YongNational Geographic

Amy HarmonNew York Times

Nathanael JohnsonGrist

If you want to be a full-time, professional writer consider a MS in journalism / science writing


If you'd like to take to the soapbox and contribute a guest post, please email [email protected].

Agricultural Biodiversity WeblogAll under one leaf (UK Plant Science Federation)Annals of Botany BlogBiology FortifiedGARNet (UK Arabidopsis Research network)Global Plant CouncilIn defense of plantsJohn Innes Student Voice CommitteeKew Science blogMorsels for the Mind (Within each post, scroll down to Beautiful Botanicals)Phytogen (Australian Society of Plant Scientists)Roots and Shoots (Plant science summaries from eLIFE)Roots and Shoots blog (Danforth Plant Science Center)The Botanist in the KitchenDr. M Goes Wild (Jonathan Mitchley, University of Reading)Awkward Botany (Daniel Murphy)Plant Scientist (Sarah Shailes)PhD and the Single Mom (Jen Ro)New Under The Sun (Johnna Roose)The Quiet Branches (Ian Street)

Create or contribute to a blog

http://agro.biodiver.se/

http://blog.plantsci.org.uk/

http://aobblog.com/

http://www.biofortified.org/blog/

http://www.garnetcommunity.org.uk/

http://blog.globalplantcouncil.org/

http://www.indefenseofplants.com/

https://johninnessvc.wordpress.com/

http://www.kew.org/discover/blogs/kew-science

http://www.scilogs.com/six_incredible_things_before_breakfast/

https://www.asps.org.au/publications/phtyogen/phytogen-blog

https://medium.com/roots-and-shoots

http://www.danforthcenter.org/news-media/roots-shoots-blog

https://botanistinthekitchen.wordpress.com/

http://drmgoeswild.com/blog/

http://awkwardbotany.com/

https://plantscientist.wordpress.com/

http://phdnthesinglemom.blogspot.co.uk/

http://newunderthesunblog.wordpress.com/


“Learn how to write. Practice makes perfect and it is an essential tool in communication. Science is in desperate need of a new voice, one that can synthesize and disseminate its story in new and interesting ways.

We spend so much time preaching to the choir that we forget that there is a whole world of people out there that have no clue (and may not even trust) what scientists are doing. Learning how to write clear, concise, and compelling stories can help science reach greater audiences.”

-Matt Candeias-In Defense of Plants


Science communication is becoming more and more visual

Create images / graphics / videos

Andy BrunningChemistry Teacher>150,000 followers on facebook>14,000 followers on twitter

Alex WildCurator of Entomology at the University of Texas/Austin


Can you make a really great illustration for your next poster / paper?


twisteddoodles


Why bother trying to communicate about science?

The public funds science and has a right to learn from and about it

An educated public should make better decisions

Carl Sagan once said, “Science is an absolutely essential tool for any society. And if the scientists will not bring this about, who will?”

Becoming a better communicator will always help you, no matter what you do

The more you write, the better you write, and scientists have to write


Exposure to scientists transforms children’s perceptions

http://ed.fnal.gov/projects/scientists/

To me, a scientist is bald and has hair coming out of the sides of his head. . . . Scientists live in their own world and the rest of society puts them there.

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Exposure to scientists transforms children’s perceptions

http://ed.fnal.gov/projects/scientists/

To me, a scientist is bald and has hair coming out of the sides of his head. . . . Scientists live in their own world and the rest of society puts them there.

I know scientists are just normal people with a not so normal job. . . . Scientists lead a normal life outside of being a scientist. They are interested in dancing, pottery, jogging and even racquetball. Being a scientist is just another job which can be much more exciting.

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Teachers and students

Q. How is teaching

different from science

communication?

Think about this, then share your ideas with your neighbors


• Students don’t really have a choice • Their learning will be assessed

Many students preconceive plant science as “boring”


How can I engage students and motivate them to learn?

1. Make learning relevantProvide context

2. Make lecture periods easy to stay awake inProvide structureTeach in chunksIncorporate active learning and problem solving

3. Demystify assessmentProvide clear learning objectivesEvaluate on higher-order skills when possible


Climate change

Food

GMO

Oddities

Plants in space

Mosts…OldestRarestTallestSmallest

?1. Make learning relevant


2. Make it easy to stay awake

Outline•Topic 1•Topic 2•Topic 3

Provide outline and structureWhat we did before

What we’re doing next….


2. Make it easy to stay awake

Outline•Topic 1•Topic 2•Topic 3

Helps audience see that progress is being madeProvides “on ramps”

Provide outline and structure


Repeat key points, creatively

“Rule of three”


2. Teach in chunks

Miller, S., Pfund, C., Pribbenow, C.M. and Handelsman, J. (2008). Scientific Teaching in Practice. Science. 322: 1329-1330.


Class discussion questions

1. Plant vacuoles are large, 90% of cell volume, which pushes the chloroplasts to the periphery of the cell. Why is this an advantage?

2. Draw and explain why chloroplasts have a double membrane (inner and outer)…note each membrane is a lipid bilayer. In which bilayer might one look for peptidoglycan? It turns out that glaucophytes (a type of freshwater algae) do retain a peptidoglycan layer. Why is this strong evidence in support of endosymbiosis?

3. Chloroplast genomes are small (~145 kb). Where did most of the genes in the original photosynthetic prokaryote go?

Courtesy of Judy Brusslan, Cal State Long Beach


http://www.lifescied.org/content/8/2/89.full


Think – Pair (- Share)

https://youtu.be/qQra4baNwP8

Q. How is teaching different from science communication?

Interactive teaching with Chandralekha Singh


“Flipped classroom”

Solving problems, thinking, creating, and working with new ideas are essential for learning


Remember, finding solutions and solving puzzles is fun

Asking students to learn pathways rather than synthesize them is like starting the game of Cluedo by opening the envelope


Practical guides for evidence-based teaching and learning (free)


3. Demystify assessment

Photo credit: David Muir

Should a teacher be a “Sage on the stage”

or“Guide on the side”


Great teachers•Define learning objectives •Communicate and practice learning objectives•Assess based on learning objectives


Great teachers•Define learning objectives •Communicate and practice learning objectives•Assess based on learning objectives

Students hate surprises

If you want your students to learn to walk on a tightrope, Tell them the learning objective (to be able to walk on a tightrope)Practice the learning objective (use class time to practice this skill)Assess them on their ability to walk on a tightrope

Don’t assess them on their ability to do a flip!


Learning objectives (examples)Concepts•Define the primary functions of the five classic plant hormones•Evaluate the different roles plants can play in an ecosystem•Distinguish the role of osmosis and pressure in the movement of water in the plant body•Identify three ways that excessive heat affects agricultural yields

Competencies•Interpret genetic evidence and assemble it into a genetic pathway•Identify positive and negative controls for an experiment•Write a lab report in the style of a journal article•Write a three page review article that includes ten primary references


Bloom’s Taxonomy, and action verbs

DesignEvaluateContrastInterpretExplainList


Learning objectives

Pre-class assignmentTopic:

By the end of this lesson students will be able to:

Key concepts

Engagement strategy Post-class assignment


Summary: Make connectionsProvide context

When teaching, provide structure, opportunities for engagement, and clear, assessable learning goals

Cultivate curiosity and inspire inquiry


Education / careers workshops and symposia at conferences

SEB BrightonJuly 2016

Plant Biology Austin, TexasJuly 2016

Writing workshopMedia workshop (Sense About Science)How to Publish workshopEthics, Social Media and Publishing workshopGrant Writing workshopJob Negotiations workshop….

Education and Outreach symposium

Creative Communication workshopScience with Impact symposium

Enhancing Biology Education symposium

SEB Symposium, LondonDec 2016Creativity in Science Teaching


Want more?

Email me for [email protected]@PlantTeaching