American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is now accepting applications for the summer session of our online course, “The Art of Science Communication”
The ASBMB Public Outreach Committee is proud to offer “The Art of Science Communication”, an online course available for ALL scientists and STEM professionals. The next session starts on JUNE 5.
Overview: The goal of the course is to provide participants with fundamental training in science communication, focusing in particular on how to present science to a non-expert audience in a formal setting such as a public lecture. Using a combination of video lectures, background material, and virtual mentoring sessions and discussions, the course covers the important components of what makes for a successful presentation, such as messaging, generating interest, and engaging with the audience. Armed with this knowledge, participants will be able to utilize the skills learned during the course in their professional lives.
Course dates:
SUMMER SESSION: June-July, 2017 (applications accepted starting May 1)
FALL SESSION: October-November, 2017 (applications accepted starting September 4)
Schedule: The course is 8 weeks long: 6 weeks of content, 2 weeks for preparation and delivery of final presentations. Click here for the course syllabus.
Format: Before the course begins, participants are expected to record themselves giving a short (~5-10 minute) presentation on a scientific topic (preferably their research topic). The presentation should be an actual that might be given in an informal setting to members of the lay public (NOT a scientific/expert audience). These "Before" videos will be used as reference points for the weekly discussions and homework assignments, and will serve to mark participant progress.
During each week of the course, participants will watch a set of video lectures on a particular theme, and review background reading and external links. Weekly homework assignments will help participants understand the context of the material being presented. There will also be MANDATORY weekly discussion sessions (conducted via Skype and Google Hangout) with one of the course leaders, during which participants discuss that week's content and review assignments. Discussions will be led by members of the ASBMB Public Outreach Committee along with previous course participants. We expect participants will spend 3-4 hours on the course weekly.
The final project for the course is another recorded presentation, completed after going through all of the course content. Participants will receive an official certificate of completion from the ASBMB upon finishing the course.
Cost: $25 for ASBMB members, $100 for non-members (join ASBMB here!)
Questions? Contact us at outreach@asbmb.org