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#SciComm and Disseminating Science: Skills for the STEM Workplace

Communication, Literacy, Empowerment

Reflection on the Development of Workplace Skills in your students:

Students in BIO 145 engage in a 15-week, course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) based on the Tiny Earth curriculum. Tiny Earth, a program out of the University of Wisconsin, has two main objectives: 1) the discovery of new antibiotic compounds from soil-inhabiting bacteria to combat the global problem of antibiotic resistance; 2) to inspire the next generation of scientists to enter the STEM workforce. In addition to the lab work associated with the course, we focus on scientific communication using various methods, such as informal communications with the public, journal discussions with peers, formal research papers, and a scientific poster. At the end of the semester, students will have had the opportunity to present their science communication assignment (#SciComm Assignment) and poster to the public and their peers.

These are assignments that I’ve had for several years in the course, but I’ve never connected their usefulness to the workplace. All of these methods of communication are essential for scientists in workplaces, such as state and federal agencies, industry, and further professional or graduate study. Early in the semester, we discussed the purpose and audience of each mode of communication listed above and their importance. We have practice sessions for assignments presented to the public, such as communications with the public and the final poster session. Lastly, for the formal research paper, we institute a formal peer review within the class to help students understand the peer review process and provide feedback to peers. Students support one another as we’ve set community guidelines for engagement in the class.

Students welcomed the new skills, especially since I more purposefully demystified the reasoning behind these assignments. The assignments were not just busy work but directly applicable to their future endeavors. In particular, I delved deeper into their reasoning for their #SciComm project, where they communicate with the public. Because students are still finishing their writing projects, I will launch a reflective survey next week to capture students’ perceptions of their work in this area.

The combination of communication assignments allows students to have a portfolio of sorts to present to future employers. When going on interviews, the students can communicate their projects to a variety of audiences and can generate products in the workplace. One student in the course was recently hired as a full-time microbiologist and used products from this course to support her interview.

**Workplace Skills Development**
Student Blog Post from #SciComm Project	Student Presenting #SciComm Project at SIRIUS STEM Conference on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
Students in BIO 145: Diversity of Microorganisms engage in a #SciComm Project where they can choose to do one of the following: 1) Write a blog post; 2) make a video; 3) create an original piece of art. The image above is an example of a blog post by Citlalli, a BIO 145 student. You can read the blog posts on the following website: gonzalezorta.com/blog.	Ryder, a student in BIO 145, uses his artwork to communicate with conference attendee about the microbial life in the soil.

In the past, I used to assign these assignments, but did not give them much thought about how they went together. In providing a discussion where students and I could have a conversation and inquire about their knowledge of how scientists communicate their research and findings, the students learned how important it was to share results with the general public and other scientists. I could also relate this information to workforce readiness due to the inquiries from employers I’d received over the years, asking about past student communication skills in reference checks.

In addition to this framework, I collaborated with Shelby Chandar, a graduate student in Dr. Arik Davidyan’s group, to disseminate a module she created on science communication principles to the public (non-workforce related). In the end, it was really the putting together of a purposeful conversation and this collaboration, along with the products themselves, that resulted in a powerful workforce intervention.

SciComm Assignment.pdf

**Faculty Bio**
Faculty Picture	BIO
	Enid González-Orta is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, teaching microbiology. As part of her teaching repertoire, she embeds authentic learning experiences (ALEs), such as course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), into her laboratory classes.

STEM4Equity: US Dept. of Education STEMHSI P031C210012
*Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sacramento State.