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STURTEVANT, R.A.1 and FORTNER, R.W.2, 1Great Lakes Sea Grant Network at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, 2205 Commonwealth Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI, 48105; 2COSEE Great Lakes, 113 Paula Circle, Oak Island, NC, 28465. Limno-Links: Why Great Lakes scientists should engage in educational outreach.
Involving scientists in educational outreach is receiving considerable attention as funding agencies focus on the societal impacts of research that they sponsor. Funding agencies encourage, and in some cases require, PIs to show how proposed research will have broader impacts. It is important to scientists interested in the sustainability of the job force in their field to actively partner with the education community in projects and programs to help us develop solutions to education problems. Scientists benefit from close interaction with the education community, becoming inspired to do science that is more relevant to society. These scientists help educate those charged with making decisions that affect coastal resource use decisions. For many scientists, developing education and outreach activities may seem like a foreign concept. You may have thought about sharing your science with non-scientists but felt it was too time-consuming or difficult. However, scientists can be involved in ocean science education in a wide variety of ways that take advantage of their talents and take into account their time constraints. As scientists face increasing demands to demonstrate the “broader impacts” of their research, the COSEE Network is developing programs to assist scientists in pursuing educational outreach goals. |
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HAGLEY, C.A.1 and STURTEVANT, R.2, 1Minnesota Sea Grant, 2305 E 5th St, Duluth, MN, 55812; 2Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, 2205 Commonwealth Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105. Including education and outreach in your proposal - How to make it meaningful and make it happen.
More and more funding agencies are requiring scientists to make their research results available to a broader audience than the traditional primary audience. As more and more funders require an education or outreach component to scientific proposals, many scientists are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to achieve this objective: what funders are really looking for, how to find partners who understand the outreach/education world, and how to budget for this component of their proposals. This presentation will detail what some of the funders of Great Lakes research are looking for in terms of meaningful outreach and education and how organizations with outreach arms, such as state Sea Grant programs, can help you. We will provide detailed guidance to help scientists create meaningful, results-oriented education and outreach that helps communities better manage coastal resources. Specific case studies, including the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence Great Lakes, Lake Superior Streams, and Water on the Web will be used to illustrate successful partnerships between scientific research and education/outreach. |
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MCKINNEY, T.E., Directorate for Geosciences, NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA, 22230. Strategies for Successfully Targeting and Collaborating with Underrepresented Groups.
This session will guide research scientists, professors and outreach educators through strategies and methods to successfully target and collaborate with traditionally underrepresented groups by actively engaging K-12 teachers and students, undergraduate and graduate student populations from urban, rural and tribal communities and diverse backgrounds (i.e. gender, ethnic and cultural). The key components are: (1) increasing participation in science by underrepresented populations; (2) identifying minority educational organizations and associations with high minority participation; (3) providing recommendations for recruitment of underrepresented populations; and (4) targeting methods that help break down the invisible barriers to developing meaningful collaborations. In summary, this session will provide participants with opportunities for discussion; pose challenging questions and emerging solutions for collaborating with underrepresented populations in science. |
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STEPIEN, C.A., Lake Erie Center, University of Toledo, Oregon, OH, 43618. How to Write and Submit a Successful JGLR Web Release.
IAGLR web releases are our primary vehicle to communicate the key findings of your Journal of Great Lakes Research paper to the media and general public. Web releases need to be written clearly, simply, and succinctly in language understandable to a grade 8-level newspaper reader. Please make your web release “catchy” to grab attention yet maintain scientific accuracy and clarity. Write as if to tell a story about your research to your neighbor using the 5 “Ws” – Who, Where, What, When, Why. Use the “inverted pyramid style” of writing, i.e., the most important part comes first. Begin with 2 to 5 word headline in bold. Follow with 1-2 sentences that explain the problem in an interesting way. Then, if needed, use 1 sentence to state the methods simply. The next sentence then details the most important results and findings. End with a quote from you regarding the significance of the work. Now, please be sure to send in a great web release for all of your future JGLR papers! In this presentation, we will provide fun examples of our most successful web releases from the past year. Also see www.iaglr.org for “Preparation of a Web Release”. |
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JENTES BANICKI, J.E., Ohio Sea Grant College Program, 1314 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH, 43212. Simplifying Research Language: How Great Lakes scientists can soften their language to better relay information to the public.
Communicating results through a press release or a public event are great ways to fulfill an outreach component within a grant and relay research results to the public. However, knowing how to convey those results in a simplified, public-friendly format can be a challenge for any scientist. Over the past ten years, Ohio Sea Grant has been successful in working with its PIs to present their research results to general audiences. Breaking down technical subjects and adding basic and corresponding visual graphics have helped researchers not only better connect with the general public, but increase their media exposure. This presentation will introduce ways Great Lakes scientists can make technical research summaries easier for non-scientists and general audiences to understand, yet not compromise the integrity of their research.
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SNYDER, F.A.1 and STURTEVANT, R.A.2, 1Ohio Sea Grant Extension, Camp Perry, Bldg 3, Room 12, Port Clinton, OH, 43452; 2Great Lakes Sea Grant Network at GLERL, 2205 Commonwealth Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105. Turn Your Research into a Spellbinding Story.
Most scientists are accustomed to presenting their research to colleagues or lecturing college or graduate students. However, this communication style is often less than fully successful when addressing other audiences. Communicating with students, teachers, reporters or the general public is much effectively thought of as a storytelling experience. The best communicators are great storytellers; scientists who strive to shape their talks into good stories when communicating to non-technical audiences and students are often the most effective and sought after speakers. This presentation focuses on key tips on how to effectively tell the three stories that are most interesting for students (Why is your research interesting and important? How did you become a scientist? What is it like to be a scientist?). These tips can be customized to tell your own particular research story. |
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FORTNER, R.W.1 and STEWART, S.2, 1COSEE Great Lakes, 113 Paula Circle, Oak Island, NC, 28465; 2Michigan Sea Grant Extension, 21885 Dunham Road, Suite 12, Clinton Township, MI, 48036. Pedagogy and Standards 101.
Results of last year’s scientist survey at IAGLR indicated that many scientists were not familiar with the constructivist approach to teaching and learning, and had only basic understanding of how classrooms interpret the terms “hands-on” instruction, “cooperative learning,” and “inquiry.” They were also unclear on what was meant by Standards and why teachers found them such an important component of instruction. This session addresses basic terminology used by science teachers to describe their professional methods, and offers insights into how people learn science. Knowledge of pedagogy [strategies, techniques, and approaches that teachers use to facilitate learning; the science and art of teaching] can facilitate scientists’ outreach into classrooms and foster collaboration with teachers. Even the best lessons, however, will not be used unless they address the standards for which teachers are held accountable. The presentation offers guidance on pedagogy, standards and how these should influence the way scientists relate to K-12 audiences. |
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DOMSKE, H.M.1 and MARTZ, M.A.2, 1New York Sea Grant, SUNY-Buffalo, 229 Jarvis Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260-4400; 2Pennsylvania Sea Grant, 301 Peninsula Drive, Suite 3, Erie, PA, 16505. Preparing For A Classroom Visit or Career Day Presentation.
Many Great Lakes researchers are also competent professors who deal with undergraduate and graduate students on a daily basis, but they may be ill prepared or uncomfortable when it comes to facing a classroom full of middle or high school students. This presentation will provide techniques and suggestions for scientists who are invited into classrooms or career day presentations, so their visit can be worthwhile and enjoyable for the students and researcher as well. A visit to a local classroom to talk about science or their career can be a challenge for a researcher, but it can be a memorable experience for young students who may not have had the chance to interact with a working scientist. Classroom visits can also help researchers hone their skills of sharing technical information with non-technical audiences. Learn how to plan your presentation and provide an exciting talk that will make students want to follow in your footsteps and become involved in a career in science. Sharing the highlights of your career as well as the pitfalls of your work will help provide students a realistic look at the work involved in Great Lakes research. The session will provide tips to reduce anxiety and better prepare researchers for a classroom visit with younger, energetic students. |
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