SCIENCE 7020 - Communicating Science

North Terrace Campus - Winter - 2024

Communicating Science equips students with the essential skills and knowledge to effectively communicate scientific concepts to diverse audiences. This course is designed for students who are passionate about bridging the gap between science and society through effective communication and welcomes students from various disciplines, including sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Upon successfully completing Communicating Science, students will be equipped with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to excel in science communication roles and contribute to fostering public understanding of science. Students will be prepared for diverse career opportunities in science journalism, public relations, science advocacy, science policy, museum curation, and other related fields. Students will hone their written communication abilities by producing compelling content suitable for diverse publications, including blogs, press releases, and feature articles. They will also refine their oral communication skills, through delivering captivating speeches and learning how to distill complex ideas into concise soundbites. Off-campus excursions to science exhibitions will provide students with firsthand experiences in science communication outside written and oral forms. Students will observe and analyse different communication strategies employed in these settings, enhancing their understanding of engaging diverse audiences and making complex scientific concepts accessible and relevant. By successfully completing these assessments, students will demonstrate their ability to communicate science effectively, responsibly, and ethically.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code SCIENCE 7020
    Course Communicating Science
    Coordinating Unit Sciences, Engineering & Technology Faculty Office
    Term Winter
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 5 hours per day
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Incompatible SCIENCE 3200, SCIENCE 4020
    Course Description Communicating Science equips students with the essential skills and knowledge to effectively communicate scientific concepts to diverse audiences. This course is designed for students who are passionate about bridging the gap between science and society through effective communication and welcomes students from various disciplines, including sciences, humanities, and social sciences.

    Upon successfully completing Communicating Science, students will be equipped with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to excel in science communication roles and contribute to fostering public understanding of science. Students will be prepared for diverse career opportunities in science journalism, public relations, science advocacy, science policy, museum curation, and other related fields.

    Students will hone their written communication abilities by producing compelling content suitable for diverse publications, including blogs, press releases, and feature articles. They will also refine their oral communication skills, through delivering captivating speeches and learning how to distill complex ideas into concise soundbites. Off-campus excursions to science exhibitions will provide students with firsthand experiences in science communication outside written and oral forms. Students will observe and analyse different communication strategies employed in these settings, enhancing their understanding of engaging diverse audiences and making complex scientific concepts accessible and relevant. By successfully completing these assessments, students will demonstrate their ability to communicate science effectively, responsibly, and ethically.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Sara Krivickas

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

    1. Show awareness and understanding of the background, fundamentals and theory of traditional and emerging media and how these relate to the communication of science.
    2. Produce written communication suitable for a variety of media and publications.
    3. Demonstrate oral communication skills from speeches to soundbites.
    4. Demonstrate online communication skills from blog posts to videos.
    5. Demonstrate an appreciation of the scope and diversity of science communication.
    6. Demonstrate responsible, ethical and respectful attitudes as the field undergoes disruptive change fuelled by rapid technology advancement.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    1-4

    Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills

    Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.

    1-5

    Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness

    Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.

    1-6

    Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency

    Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.

    6

    Attribute 7: Digital capabilities

    Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.

    2, 4

    Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

    Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.

    1, 6
  • Learning Resources
    Recommended Resources
    The Little Penguin Handbook (3rd Australasian Edition) (Lester Faigley: Longman; 2014)

    Sharing Knowledge: A Guide to Effective Science Communication (Julian Cribb, Tjempaka Sari Hartomo: CSIRO Publishing; 2002) (Link to e-book from Barr Smith Library available on MyUni)

    Writing for Science (3rd ed; Heather Silyn-Roberts: Pearson, 2012)  (Available from the Barr Smith Library)

    Writing Scientific Research Articles: Strategy and Steps (Margaret Cargill, Patrick O’Connor: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) (Available from the Barr Smith Library)

    Other required/recommended texts will be based on OER (open education resource) principles and will be available for free download online.

    Other reading material as provided by lecturers and/or made available on MyUni.
    Online Learning
    It is important that all students maintain active communication channels with the course coordinator and course teaching staff throughout the course. The primary communication channels from staff to students are email and MyUni for course-related announcements, teaching material and additional resources.

    The University's online learning management system, MyUni (https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au), will be used to provide students with a variety of learning resources, including (but not limited to) the following:

    * Lecture notes
    * Assessment information
    * Marking rubrics
    * Links to other websites that may assist learning, or provide further information

    All learning resources will be provided electronically, and no printed copies will be supplied.

    MyUni will also be used on a regular basis to post announcements about assessment deadlines and other information related to the course and to send students emails to their University-provided student email account.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The course consists of 1 x 3 hour morning “lecture” block and 1 x 3 hour afternoon “workshop” block (or equivalent) for most days of the course.  The workshops will serve to reinforce the topics covered in lectures.  Some free afternoons have been built into the course structure to allow students time to assimilate knowledge and prepare for summative assessment tasks.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.



    Learning activity Contact time Non-contact time
    Lectures 3-hour lecture block per day 1 hours preparation per lecture block
    Workshops 3 hours per day (or equivalent) 1 hour per workshop
    Blog posts - Approximately 2 hours per day
    Feature Article - Approximately 10 hours spread over
    the duration of the course
    Media Release - Approximately 2 hours
    Review - Approximately 2 hours
    Presentations - Approximately 10 hours spread over
    the duration of the course
    Total hours per week Up to 6 contact hours per day Up to 5 non-contact hours (on
    average) per day
    Learning Activities Summary
    Lecture content:

    •    Background, fundamentals and theory of traditional media
    •    Background, fundamentals and theory of emerging media
    •    Writing skills
    o    Construction, use of appropriate language, editing
    o    Writing styles – formal and informal
    •    Oral communication skills – approaches, techniques, advice
    •    Online communication and emerging online social media – use in communicating science, approaches to using these techniques
    •    Radio, print and television media – different approaches for communicating science through different media, advice on how to manage aspects of these media outlets

    Several guest workshops will be run by visiting experts in one or more facets of the course objectives to support the lecture material.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Task Type Due Weighting Learning Outcome
    Blog Posts  Formative and Summative

    Submitted every 2-3 days throughout week 1 and 2

    30% 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
    Oral Presentation 1  Summative Monday week 2 5% 1, 3, 5, 6
    Oral Presentation 2 Summative Monday-Wednesday week 3 15% 1, 3, 5, 6
    Media Release Formative and Summative End of week 3 10% 1, 2, 5, 6
    Review Formative and Summative End of week 3 10% 1, 2, 5, 6
    Feature Article  Formative and Summative End of week 4 30% 1, 2, 5, 6
    Assessment Detail
    Blog post assignments (30% of overall course grade)
    Students will be required to produce 4 blog posts (approximately 1000 words each) every second- or third-day during week 1 and 2 of the course explaining a science topic. The first two blogs will be directed with a defined topic, audience and purpose. The remaining blogs are free for students to choose their own theme. Students will be expected to include a writer’s statement, detailing the audience, message and purpose of each blog. The blog posts may incorporate video and/or other media content and will allow students to develop and demonstrate their understanding of online media as a communication tool. Students will receive regular online formative feedback for these blog posts, enabling them to chart their progress and improvement as the course progresses. At the end of the course, each student’s collection of blog posts will be marked summatively as one body of work.

    Oral Presentation (20% of overall course grade)
    Students will be required to make two oral presentations during the course –at the start of week 2, and the start of week 3. This will enable students to put into practice the communication skills they have been developing as well as demonstrate proficiency in the various technology and media available in presenting a topic to a live audience, engaging online participants. Assessment for both presentations will involve peer marking.

    Oral presentation 1 (5% of overall course grade) will be a 2-minute review (plus time for questions) of a scientific paper. Oral presentation 2 (15% of overall course grade) will be a 10-minute presentation on a scientific topic of the student’s choosing.

    Feature Article (30% of overall course grade)
    The writing assignment (approximately 2000 words) will enable students to demonstrate their understanding of and ability to communicate science through the written word in the form of a magazine/feature article. Students will be encouraged to choose a theme related to their blog posts. Students will be expected to include a writer’s statement, detailing the audience, message and purpose of the article. Students will be permitted to submit a draft for formative feedback prior to the final submission.

    Media Release (10% of overall grade)
    Students will be required to write a media release (approximately 500 words) based upon a science discovery (real or imaginary). This will enable students to develop and demonstrate their understanding of and ability to write to a defined short format to attract the attention of a media outlet. Students will be permitted to submit a draft for formative feedback prior to the final submission. Students will be expected to include a writer’s statement, detailing the audience, message and purpose of the media release.

    Review (10% of overall grade)
    Students will be required to write a review of a science exhibition (approximately 1000 words) for online or magazine publication. This will enable students to develop and demonstrate their understanding of how a science exhibition is put together and writing in a style appropriate for the audience of the publication. Students will be given the opportunity during the course to visit science exhibitions in Adelaide under the supervision of an academic or guest presenter. Students will be expected to include a writer’s statement, detailing the audience, message and purpose of the review. Students will be permitted to submit a draft for formative feedback prior to the final submission.
    Submission
    Extensions for Assessment Tasks
    Extensions of deadlines for assessment tasks may be allowed for reasonable causes. Such situations would include compassionate and medical grounds of the severity that would justify the awarding of a supplementary examination. Evidence for the grounds must be provided when an extension is requested. Students are required to apply for an extension to the Course Coordinator before the assessment task is due. Extensions will not be provided on the grounds of poor prioritising of time. The assessment extension application form can be obtained from: http://www.sciences.adelaide.edu.au/current/

    Late submission of assessments
    If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply.  A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.