Communicating Science

This course presents strategies for scientists to use when engaging a variety of audiences with scientific information. Students will learn to communicate their knowledge through both textual and visual strategies, as well as practice document preparation using appropriate formatting, style, and graphics. Written assignments, discussion questions, and communication exercises will provide students with a better understanding of the relationship between scientists and diverse audiences, whether in the workplace, laboratory, or other environments.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain key strategies for communicating scientific information to a variety of audiences.
• Analyze a communicative situation and its context to determine audience needs.
• Design visual and textual forms of scientific communication that meet the needs of a diverse range of audiences.
• Prepare documents using formatting, style, and graphics that are appropriate for the situation.

Software Requirements: R (preferably RStudio), document creation software (Microsoft Word, LaTeX, Google Docs, etc.)