Skip to main content
ScIU Indiana University Bloomington

ScIU in the Classroom

ScIU Social Media Undergraduate Internship

Each semester, ScIU offers an undergraduate social media internship where students can earn course credit through MSCH-X472  (Media School), ASCS-X373 (College of Arts and Sciences), or as an independent study under their lab PIs. In this this internship, you will learn how science communicators are using different social media platforms to disseminate scientific information, learn how to distill and disperse information from primary research articles to audiences of all levels across multiple digital formats, and assist with the facilitation of ScIU’s social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, with daily posts and interactions with our audience. Interns work with the Social Media Chair to create and implement campaigns; develop content calendars on a weekly and monthly basis for the blog’s posts and public engagements; monitor analytics with the social media team to identify viable ideas; create engaging blog and social media content; assist in the general distribution of blog post releases and media alerts; and write blog posts as special guest contributors! For more information please contact popps@iu.edu or sciucomm@iu.edu. Applications for Fall 2024 are now closed.

 

Science in a Digital Age

COLL-X 311 #38900 3-Week Winter Intersession (11/30/2020 – 12/18/2020)

ScIU bloggers Lana Ruck, Jennifer Sieben, and Chloe Holden will be teaching a winter intersession course this year! In this entirely online course, students will learn how science communicators are using platforms, such YouTube, TikTok, podcasts and more, to broadcast important scientific information. Additionally, students will learn from IU’s own ScIU Blog writers and editors how to distill and disperse information from primary research articles to audiences of all levels across multiple digital formats. By the end of the three weeks, students will have a complete, peer-reviewed blog post that they can submit to ScIU for publication and use as a writing sample in their portfolios!

 

Class Activities

The activities below were developed in collaboration with professors at IU and teachers in the Bloomington area. We hope they will expand your students’ understanding of science, increase their ability to communicate about scientific concepts, and encourage them to think critically about what they read.

If you use one of our lesson plans or find your own ways to incorporate ScIU into your classroom, please share your experience with us! We will revise these resources based on your feedback, and are eager to post your success stories on our website.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

This exercise will familiarize students with the literature review process, the basic components of a scientific paper, and how to read a scientific paper. They will learn how to seek out quality sources and relate scientific findings to the people who conducted the research, emphasizing the importance of appropriately citing sources.

  • To prepare students for this task, ask them to consider which sources of information are reliable, and which should be avoided. Clarify how one can tell the difference between a reliable and a potentially unreliable source (e.g. by using the publisher’s information, determining whether the article was peer reviewed, thinking about whether the article is the original article, a response, or an opinion-based commentary, etc.). As a supplement, you could compare and contrast the results from a Wikipedia search with those from a more reliable search engine (e.g. Google Scholar or Web of Science).
  • Another potential, related topic is the difference between primary and secondary sources. Talk with students about the importance of finding primary sources of information. Describe some of the issues that arise when secondary or tertiary sources are used (e.g. less reliable or accurate information, or misinterpreted results).
  • Ask students to select and read a ScIU post related to your course material and ask them to think about some follow-up questions in group or pairs. It may be useful to prompt them: What were you left wondering about? What remained un-answered? You could also create a list of follow-up questions and provide them to your students. Starting with the sources in the post, ask students to conduct a literature review to answer their questions, remembering the previously-discussed guidelines for finding appropriate sources.
  • Once students have found answers to their questions, ask them to explain what they learned in paragraph form. Ask students who the authors of the ScIU post were, who the authors of the supporting articles were, where those authors work, etc. to illustrate that scientists – people – are behind each finding. Discuss the importance of giving each of these people credit for their work, then explain how to properly cite them in their write-up.

Suggested posts:

 

SCIENTIFIC WRITING STYLE

This exercise will clarify students’ understanding of formal scientific tone and demonstrate how written information can be tailored to different audiences. Describing and explaining concepts in appropriate detail is an important skill for students conducting their own research and forming connections within and outside academia.

  • Ask students to read a post, as well as the peer-reviewed publications cited in the post. Ask them to compare and contrast the two. Some potential questions could include: How did the authors explain the topic? Which was easier to understand? Which was more informative? Did it seem that the authors were speaking to different audiences? Why?
  • Explain to students that different writing styles are appropriate and useful for different contexts.
  • Ask students to develop a list of points to consider when writing for a lay audience (e.g. when writing a blog post) or for a more experienced audience (e.g. when writing a scientific manuscript or lab report).

Suggested posts:

 

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION WITH A GENERAL AUDIENCE

This exercise will encourage students to critique scientific writing, and improve their ability to communicate about science with a general audience. This will be especially helpful for students conducting undergraduate research and/or considering careers in science.

  • Ask students to read a series of posts – the topic(s) of these posts don’t need to relate to your course, as the basic science communication concepts should apply across fields.
  • Ask students to identify the overall organizational scheme of each post. It may be helpful to give them a list of components to identify. For example, they might look for a “hook,” introductory paragraph, evidence-based claims, transitions between claims, conclusion, and takeaway message.
  • Next, ask students to identify identify what they liked and didn’t like about the author’s explanation of the topic. Was the topic easy to understand, based on what the author wrote? How could the topic have been explained better? Could the post have been organized differently for more effective communication?
  • Using what they learned about effective science communication, students should write their own blog post about a topic they find interesting, or a topic related to your course. They should organize their post similarly to the ScIU post(s) that they thought were most helpful to their own understanding, and avoid any negative aspects of post(s) that they found less effective.

Suggested posts:

 

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

This exercise will push students to think about science as a process, not as a course subject or set of facts about a particular topic. It will encourage them to think about the many unknowns that remain in all scientific fields, and to question what they might otherwise accept as fact.

  • Ask students to read a post that details a set of experiments, methodology, or series of questions with evidence-based answers.
  • Ask students to identify one or more of the research questions described in the post, and summarize the series of steps the authors took to answer that question.
  • Ask students how they think the work described in the post could be expanded. What questions remain? How could these questions be tested? What do they think they might find?

Suggested posts:

 

CAREERS IN SCIENCE

This exercise will inform students about careers in STEM. They will learn about “real people,” who are not too different from them, who are making advancements in basic and translational research. Ideally, students will see their own potential as future scientists and continue to consider careers in science as they further their education.

  • Ask students to read a post that details the life of a scientist. While they are reading, ask them to write down their thoughts: What does a scientist do every day? What are a scientist’s goals? How does the work that scientists do affect the lives of those around them?
  • Encourage your students to reach out to scientists, like the authors of these posts, to learn more about careers in science and how they can get on track to pursue those careers.
  • A quick note: Our blog posts are written by graduate students here at IU, so our posts will largely reflect scientists in academia. It would be helpful to remind your students that scientific careers exist outside academia as well. You may want to mention organizations that hire research scientists in your field (e.g. the National Institutes of Health, government organizations, or nonprofits).

Suggested posts:

 

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS

This exercise will engage students in the scientific process by putting them face to face with scientists at IU. By discussing the appropriate ways to approach authors in class and/or through peer review, students will hone their abilities to correspond professionally with new contacts – a useful skill in academic fields and the job market.

  • Find a post (or a series of posts) that is relevant to your course, contact the authors, and ask whether he or she would be willing to meet with students from your class. All of our authors are graduate students here at IU, and many would be happy to speak with your students!
  • Ask your students to read the post(s), then come up with their own follow-up questions. They should then reach out to the authors of the post and set up an interview. Questions could include: What motivated you to conduct research in this field? How were you personally involved with the project described in the blog post? What will be your next steps? Did this project spark any ideas for new, related projects? How will the results from these studies affect the public?

Suggested posts:

 

SCIENCE, POLITICS, AND SOCIETY

This exercise will encourage students to think critically about how science fits into broader social and political contexts. Students will be asked to consider the social consequences and political stakes of scientific findings. Rather than writing political or ideological commentaries, or discussing “only the facts,” they will be encouraged to consider both the scientific and political aspects of an issue.

  • Ask students to read a post on a new scientific method or finding from the blog that they find interesting and socially relevant.
  • Have them discuss why they find the scientific issues interesting, and list the ways that the author engages the reader about the topic. Ask them to discuss why the issue is important to society more broadly.  Prompt them to note any divergences between their views and the author’s view. Where there are discrepancies, ask them how the author could have addressed those issues.
  • Instruct the students to research alternative reasons why the scientific method or finding warrants scientific or social interest. They could also look into current and past political debates that are relevant to their topic.
  • Using what they learned about this specific issue, have students write a blog post about why this scientific issue is contentious within and/or outside of the scientific community. Encourage them detail the different reasons that the different camps present to justify their stance and the relevant scientific studies.  If the student wishes to express their own opinion, make sure that they do so explicitly and with appropriate justification.

Suggested posts:

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
College of Arts + Sciences

Are you a graduate student at IUB? Would you like to write for ScIU? Email sciucomm@iu.edu