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The Opinion Editorial: teaching physiology outside the box.
Philip Poronnik1, Roger W Moni
1Educational Research Unit, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Advances in Physiology Education
|May 20, 2006
Summary
Undergraduate science students can improve public science communication skills through media training. An Opinion Editorial (Op-Ed) writing task enhanced students
Area of Science:
- Science communication education
- Undergraduate science pedagogy
Background:
- Improving public understanding of science is crucial for future scientists.
- Undergraduate science students need effective communication skills for nonprofessional audiences.
- Mass media acts as a key gatekeeper for scientific findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of media as gatekeepers in science communication.
- To frame the benefits of teaching media genres to undergraduate science students.
- To implement and assess a novel writing task (Op-Ed) for physiology students.
Main Methods:
- Developed a conceptual Media Role model.
- Designed an Opinion Editorial (Op-Ed) writing task and peer review process.
- Taught the Op-Ed genre by a professional journalist.
- Assessed student Op-Eds using faculty and peer review with a rubric.
- Collected pre- and post-implementation survey data from 230 final-year physiology students.
Main Results:
- Most students successfully replicated Op-Ed features and achieved high grades.
- Students recognized the importance of communicating science to the public.
- The Op-Ed task was perceived as challenging but improved writing abilities.
Conclusions:
- Explicit instruction in media genres, like Op-Eds, enhances science communication skills.
- The Op-Ed/Peer Review task effectively improved undergraduate physiology students' ability to write for nonprofessional audiences.
- This approach supports the development of future scientists as effective science communicators.