Postgraduate Course: Global Challenges and Science Communication/Engagement Practices (BIME11200)
Course Outline
| School | Deanery of Biomedical Sciences |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course will be in two parts.
Part 1 will focus on global challenges e.g. scientific and societal issues related to the following: climate change, threats to biodiversity, global health issues, advancements in technology such as in Artificial Intelligence, robotics; in a context of fake news, pseudoscience and social media amplification.
Part 2 will focus on practices which science communicators can utilise such as data visualisation, story-telling, visual communication, citizen science, effective use of social media and policy engagement.
In both aspects of the course, students will learn how to conduct effective literature reviews and present their findings.
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| Course description |
Students will learn about some of the global challenges 'wicked problems' which require effective communication. For example, communication of scientific and societal issues related to the following: climate change, threats to biodiversity, global health issues, advancements in technology such as in Artificial Intelligence, robotics; in a context of fake news, pseudoscience and social media amplification.
A selection of guest speakers/videos from within and beyond the university will be selected to provide 'provocations' to students with regards to the above topics.
Students then have an opportunity to explore, with practitioners, some of the practices utilised by science communicators such as data visualisation, story-telling, visual communication, citizen science, effective use of social media and policy engagement.
Case study examples will be utilised to demonstrate aspects of effective practice (including evaluation) for activities and projects.
Students will learn how to conduct effective literature searches in both the academic and grey literature and present their findings in a short summary.
Learning will be facilitated through a mixture of formative and summative tasks.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Flexible |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Mini literature search presentation - students will review the literature and identify and summarise 3 papers which focus on the communication of/ engagement with contemporary global topics- 40%
Mini literature review on assigned papers related to global topics for communication and engagement, challenging contexts and innovative practices- 60%
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| Feedback |
Students will receive formative feedback in seminars.
Students will receive summative feedback on the assignments.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will be able to identify, critically analyse and discuss contemporary issues and topics (for example climate change, advances in AI, fake news) and the challenges which they pose for effective communication and engagement.
- Students will gain an understanding of effective practice in science communication, public engagement and informal learning (including effective evaluation) and be able to critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of activities and projects.
- Students will be able to conduct effective literature searches in the academic and grey literature and present their findings in class.
- Students will be able to produce mini literature reviews which demonstrates their understanding of the structure and function of a literature review.
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Reading List
Indicative reading: lists will be updated regularly.
Anderson J. and Dudo A. (2023). A view from the trenches: Interviews with journalists about reporting science news. Science Communication (Ahead of Print).
Yammine S. (2020) Going viral: how to boost the spread of coronavirus science on social media. Nature. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01356-y [Last accessed 06/03/23]
Whitmarsh L., Poortinga W. & Capstick C. (2021), ¿Behaviour change to address climate change¿, Current Opinion in Psychology 42, 76-81.
Travers H. et al. (2021), ¿Delivering behavioural change at scale: What conservation can learn from other fields¿, Biological Conservation 257.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical and reflective thinking, ability to synthesise and summarize information and recognise connections, knowledge of where to source examples of effective practice within and beyond grey literature, creative problem solvers and passion to engage locally and globally. |
| Keywords | Global challenges,science communication practices |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Elizabeth Stevenson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3258
Email: E.Stevenson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Katherine Shaw
Tel: (0131 6)50 8349
Email: K.Shaw@ed.ac.uk |
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