Aug 10, 2021
The next generation of science communicators
By Erin Chang
More than we may have ever expected, we have come to rely on science journalism to chart our course forward as individuals and a collective. Last year, as fear and confusion about the pandemic lingered in our minds, science journalism became the bridge between researchers and the public, providing the information we needed to stay safe. Science journalists play a crucial role in conveying the complexity and severity of pressing science issues — from wide-scale global crises to localized problems facing individual communities. Recognizing the importance of science journalism — and writing in science education — 826 Boston was excited to continue its partnership with The NOVA Science Studio to inspire the next generation of science communicators.
Run by the education team from PBS’s NOVA, the NOVA Science Studio focused on teaching underrepresented students how to discover and share the science stories that matter to them. The program was split among five national cohorts, including one led by 826 Boston. Beginning in January, 826 Boston began the student recruitment process for its cohort, reaching out to families, teachers, and local organizations. Four students were selected, participating in weekly lessons facilitated by Greg Hufford, 826 Boston’s STEM literacy specialist. During each lesson, students stepped into the shoes of science journalists, investigating the intersection between science and their own lives and studying important science stories from the past.
Students began the year by watching the NOVA documentary, Poisoned Water, in which citizen scientists of Flint, Michigan revealed not only the lead polluting their water, but also a complacent government, unresponsive to emergencies. The Flint water crisis story was referenced often in early science communication lessons as it reveals how deeply interwoven science is among social issues. Hufford believes that one of the biggest takeaways for students in the program was recognizing “the place [science communication] can serve in society and thinking about how they can start to leverage skills for their own purposes and own communities.”
Indeed, as the weeks progressed, students worked to find connections between the science interests they held coming into the program, with the societal issues they saw plaguing the larger world around them. Many students became interested in the impact of the pandemic on the environment, specifically urban wildlife. A workshop featuring environmental educator Nicole Jackson and youth climate activist Tonyisha Harris enabled students to explore this connection further, as well as learn more about environmental preservation and justice. At just the halfway point of the program, 75 percent of students responded with “very true” when asked whether they could see new science connections in the world around them.
Lessons also emphasized the principles of science communication — that is, how students can effectively convey the science connections they are forming. Leveraging its expertise as a writing organization, 826 Boston has been able to provide students with specific guidance in their journeys to find their unique voices and stories. One student reported, “[I have learned] how to better communicate the ideas about science that I have and how to better structure those ideas.” A workshop early in the year also helped shed light on the process and responsibilities of conveying complex topics in an engaging, yet objective way. In the workshop, science journalist Katherine J. Wu and documentary filmmaker Tianyao Ma discussed the importance of transparency and objectivity in science communication.
But what happens when these principles fail? An important component of NOVA Science Studio’s science communication curriculum was teaching students about science misinformation — including how, when, and why it occurs. While relatively harmless in some cases, science misinformation, especially during a pandemic, can have dangerous repercussions. Since the beginning of the program, students gradually accumulated tools to help recognize science misinformation. For example, one student said that an important thing she learned was to “make sure to do lateral reading to make sure that your sources are not only accurate but also relevant.” When students were asked at the halfway point of the program whether they can better recognize science misinformation online, 100 percent responded with “very true.” Recognizing science misinformation was only half the work: students also focused their efforts on combating common false science claims. In one activity, for instance, students created a script in which they debunked common science myths, and despite different approaches in tone and style, all students displayed skills in being able to effectively counter science misinformation claims while communicating the actual facts.
“[I have learned] how to better communicate the ideas about science that I have and how to better structure those ideas.”
While science communication is the cornerstone of The NOVA Science Studio, video production is the means through which students ultimately shared their science stories. The capstone project of the program was a short video about a topic related to the student’s community and the underlying science. Before students even began their projects, they were already quite familiar with the techniques needed to create compelling videos thanks to the help of Justin Thomas, the video production associate of the 826 Boston cohort. Thomas believes that over the last few months, students have learned “video production is like a big puzzle and they get to decide which piece goes where.” Indeed, through various filming activities, students saw firsthand how variations in different video elements can piece together to form different narratives and tones. One student stated that she learned how “dark lighting can convey a gloomy mood while overpowering lighting can make [it] harder to see the person in the video.” Another student said he learned “how to correctly take shots and how to focus based on the different distances from what I am filming.”
Near the end of April, students officially began working on their final capstone projects. Assembling a science story while simultaneously creating a video is no easy feat, but they were more than ready for the challenge. As Thomas said at the start of the project, “I’m [as] excited for them to do the project and see that they have these skills as I am to see their finished productions.” After brainstorming many different topics, students eventually chose to focus on the fast fashion industry and its negative consequences, including environmental destruction and forced labor.
Throughout the video, students wove in quotes from an interview they conducted with Dr. Nikolay Anguelov, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. In detailing the harmful effects of fast fashion, students incorporated facts and statistics accumulated from weeks of research. When talking about environmental destruction, for instance, students stated: “The Sustain Your Style magazine even called fast fashion ‘the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry’”. Students ended the video with a powerful message to the audience: “This gives us a choice: buy clothes for the sake of buying, or think carefully about its possible effects on the world before entering one of these stores…The choice is up to you.”
All of us at 826 Boston and NOVA are extremely proud of these students for all the work they have put in to create their final video, which will be able to be viewed on NOVA’s website in the fall. As one student said at the end of the program, “Working as a team to create a video was a new but interesting experience for me, but it was very rewarding in the end when we got to see the product of our hard work.” Indeed, seeing the strides students made over the past few months has made us excited for the future of science communication. The role of science communicators has become indispensable during the pandemic and will only become more important as we — as a society — work to tackle other issues, from clean water access to the negative consequences of fast fashion. It’s comforting to know that these students will be the leaders of the next generation of science communicators.
