What Happens When Undergraduate Biology Students Meet with Professional Scientists to Discuss Research? An Exploratory Investigation into Scientific Discourse, Motivation, and Sense of Belonging.

Engagement in scientific discourse is an essential part of becoming a scientist. In this exploratory study, we aim to examine the scientific discourse (and resulting benefits) between undergraduate biology students and professional scientists. We developed a novel method for engaging in scientific discourse, grounded in the theory of legitimate peripheral participation, where undergraduate biology students participate in communities of practice within their own departments.

Annotations Serve as an On Ramp for Introductory Biology Students Learning to Read Primary Scientific Literature.

Learning to read primary scientific literature (PSL) is an important part of developing scientific literacy skills. First-year students entering college often have little previous exposure to PSL and therefore face initial barriers in learning how to engage with PSL. Annotations have been shown to be a useful tool in undergraduate education and have potential for guiding students in developing higher-level reading strategies.

How do STEM graduate students perceive science communication? Understanding science communication perceptions of future scientists.

Increasingly, communicating science to the public is recognized as the responsibility of professional scientists; however, these skills are not always included in graduate training. In addition, most research on science communication training during graduate school, which is limited, has been program evaluation or literature reviews and does not report on or seek to understand graduate student perspectives. This research study provides a comprehensive analysis of graduate-level science communication training from the perspective of STEM graduate students.