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Professional Communication Projects: Training Science Students to Communicate
Professional Communications Projects, an online publication from Louisiana State University (LSU), presents methods educators can use to teach students to communicate scientific information in the genres working scientists are expected to master. These genres include conference abstracts and presentations, scientific posters, articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, grant proposals and annual reports, project plans, and fact sheets and other public outreach documents. This publication—which is available through Pedagogy in Action, a portal maintained by Carlton College’s Science Education Resource Center (SERC)—notes that educators should identify authentic communications projects that naturally support course goals and grow organically from the content. The document offers examples of projects that can be easily adapted to any science classroom. For example, scientists who offer summer research opportunities can investigate a unit called "Developing Professional Communication Skills in an Undergraduate Research Experience Poster Session." The unit offers a comprehensive instructional framework to assist students in the development of professional-level scientific posters and includes a tip sheet for poster design and a rubric for assessing visual communication. Another curricular unit, "Building Professional Communications Skills in Microbiology," has students create and execute three PowerPoint presentations, which include procedures, diagrams, results, and explanations of those results, to help them learn, understand, and retain information.
Program Director: Randy S. Duran, Ph.D.
Award Years: 1989, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
Summary: Louisiana State University is a public research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Its HHMI-funded educational initiatives include:
- A summer undergraduate research program for LSU students and those enrolled at other universities. LSU students can continue their research throughout the year.
- New international research opportunities for 5 to 10 LSU undergraduates who have previously worked in an LSU lab. These undergraduates will conduct research in the labs of infectious disease researchers in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia. In addition to expanding students’ options for research experience, the international program is designed to introduce them to new ways of thinking about science.
- The “Scope-on-a-Rope" project, which includes equipment development, curricular development, loaner instruments, and training workshops. The Scope-On-A-Rope, a miniature, self-lighted video camera with interchangeable magnifying “objective” lenses, is used for classroom demonstrations that would normally require a microscope and other sophisticated equipment. Through a lending program, any Louisiana teacher or administrator who is involved with science curricula may request use of the instrument.
- A Careers in Life Sciences Seminar for freshman and sophomore biology majors. The course educates students on career options in the life sciences by introducing them to professionals in various fields.
- The Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS), a week-long biology “boot camp” held the week before the start of LSU’s fall classes. Students who participate in BIOS consistently score better grades in their introductory classes and also achieve a significantly higher Grade Point Average after four semesters than other LSU students, according to a University study. The program serves as a model for other universities and several other LSU departments.