Exploring the impact of a science communication lesson on undergraduate biology students' ability to communicate about culturally controversial science topics.

Better communication about science for a more general audience can promote wider engagement, trust, and understanding of science, particularly when it comes to culturally controversial science topics (e.g., vaccines, climate change, and evolution) which may be more difficult to discuss. Undergraduate students span a wide diversity of identities and career paths, so they play an important role as communicators within their various communities, some of which may have negative attitudes toward science. Further, few undergraduate students are receiving instruction on effective science communication. Thus, they feel unprepared to engage in conversations about controversial science topics. The goal of this study is to develop and test a standard for succinctly teaching science communication to undergraduate students with the hopes of helping them to engage in impactful dialogue with their peers and family. We implemented science communication instruction into an introductory biology course where students were introduced to both effective and ineffective communication strategies and given examples of each. Finally, we interviewed students to see how instruction impacted their experiences in communicating about controversial science topics. Interviews (n=6, with at least 20 more to come in the Spring) were coded by inductive thematic analysis. Based on our current analysis, three major themes arise. First, we noticed that most students avoided discussing controversial science topics with people who did not agree with them prior to receiving instruction. Many of the students also used more effective communication strategies in their conversations following instruction. Finally, students recognize that science communication skills can be beneficial within their future occupations. These preliminary findings suggest that science communication instruction may be valuable for undergraduate students and help them to more effectively communicate about science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]