SCIENCE 7020 - Communicating Science
North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2024
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code SCIENCE 7020 Course Communicating Science Coordinating Unit Sciences, Engineering & Technology Faculty Office Term Semester 2 Level Postgraduate Coursework Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 3 Contact Up to 5 hours per day Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y Incompatible SCIENCE 3200, SCIENCE 4020 Assessment Blog posts, oral presentations, written assignments Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Dr Sara Krivickas
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Show awareness and understanding of the background, fundamentals and theory of traditional and emerging media and how these relate to the communication of science.
2. Produce written communication suitable for a variety of media and publications.
3. Demonstrate oral communication skills from speeches to soundbites.
4. Demonstrate online communication skills from blog posts to videos.
5. Demonstrate an appreciation of the scope and diversity of science communication.
6. Demonstrate responsible, ethical and respectful attitudes as the field undergoes disruptive change fuelled by rapid technology advancement.University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth
Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.
1-4 Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills
Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.
1-5 Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness
Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.
1-6 Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency
Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.
6 Attribute 7: Digital capabilities
Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.
2, 4 Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.
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Learning Resources
Recommended Resources
The Little Penguin Handbook (3rd Australasian Edition) (Lester Faigley: Longman; 2014)
Sharing Knowledge: A Guide to Effective Science Communication (Julian Cribb, Tjempaka Sari Hartomo: CSIRO Publishing; 2002) (Link to e-book from Barr Smith Library available on MyUni)
Writing for Science (3rd ed; Heather Silyn-Roberts: Pearson, 2012) (Available from the Barr Smith Library)
Writing Scientific Research Articles: Strategy and Steps (Margaret Cargill, Patrick O’Connor: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) (Available from the Barr Smith Library)
Other required/recommended texts will be based on OER (open education resource) principles and will be available for free download online.
Other reading material as provided by lecturers and/or made available on MyUni.Online Learning
It is important that all students maintain active communication channels with the course coordinator and course teaching staff throughout the course. The primary communication channels from staff to students are email and MyUni for course-related announcements, teaching material and additional resources.
The University's online learning management system, MyUni (https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au), will be used to provide students with a variety of learning resources, including (but not limited to) the following:
* Lecture notes
* Assessment information
* Marking rubrics
* Links to other websites that may assist learning, or provide further information
All learning resources will be provided electronically, and no printed copies will be supplied.
MyUni will also be used on a regular basis to post announcements about assessment deadlines and other information related to the course and to send students emails to their University-provided student email account. -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
The course consists of 1 x 3 hour morning “lecture” block and 1 x 3 hour afternoon “workshop” block (or equivalent) for most days of the course. The workshops will serve to reinforce the topics covered in lectures. Some free afternoons have been built into the course structure to allow students time to assimilate knowledge and prepare for summative assessment tasks.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
Learning activity Contact time Non-contact time Lectures 3-hour lecture block per day 2 hours preparation per lecture block
(includes preparation for workshops)Workshops 3 hours per day
(or equivalent)Blog posts - Approximately 1 hour per day Writing assignment - Approximately 10 hours spread over
the duration of the coursePresentations - Approximately 10 hours spread over
the duration of the courseTotal hours per week Up to 6 contact hours per day Up to 5 non-contact hours (on
average) per dayLearning Activities Summary
Lecture content:
• Background, fundamentals and theory of traditional media
• Background, fundamentals and theory of emerging media
• Writing skillso Construction, use of appropriate language, editingo Writing styles – formal and informal• Oral communication skills – approaches, techniques, advice
• Online communication and emerging online social media – use in communicating science, approaches to using these techniques
• Radio, print and television media – different approaches for communicating science through different media, advice on how to manage aspects of these media outlets
Several guest workshops will be run by visiting experts in one or more facets of the course objectives to support the lecture material. -
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
ssessment Task Task Type Due Weighting Learning Outcome Blog Posts Summative Every 2-3 days throughout course
50% 1, 4, 7, 9 Oral Presentation 1 Summative Second Monday of course 5% 1, 3, 5, 7 Oral Presentation 2 Summative Third Monday of course 15% 1, 3, 5, 7 Writing Assignment Summative Approx. end of July 30% 1, 2, 7, 9 Assessment Detail
Blog post assignments (50% of the overall course grade)
Students will be required to produce 9 blog posts (approximately 1000 words each) every second or third day during the course, analysing, evaluating and exploring a scientific issue or controversy from more than one perspective. The blog posts may incorporate video and/or other media content and will allow students to develop and demonstrate their understanding of online media as a communication tool. Students will receive regular online formative feedback for these blog posts, enabling them to chart their progress and improvement as the course progresses. At the end of the course, each student’s collection of blog posts will be marked summatively as one body of work.
Oral presentations (20% of the overall course grade)
Students will be required to make two oral presentations during the course – the first on the course’s second Monday, and the second on the course’s third Monday. This will enable students to put into practice the communication skills they have been developing as well as demonstrate proficiency in the various technology and media available in presenting a topic to a live audience, engaging online participants and publishing appropriate records of the event online. Assessment for both presentations will involve peer marking. The ability of a student to incorporate feedback by peers after delivery of a presentation will be addressed.
Oral presentation 1(5% of overall course grade) will be a 2-minute review (plus time for questions) of a scientific paper. Oral presentation 2 (15% of overall course grade) will be a 15 minute presentation on a scientific topic of the student’s choosing.
Writing assignment (30% of the overall course grade)
The writing assignment (word count approx 2000) will enable students to demonstrate their understanding of and ability to communicate science through the written word in the form of a text article. Students will be provided with a list of topics (based on more complex scientific issues) from which to choose. Students will be expected to explore a number of viewpoints in the assignment. The writing assignment will be due approximately two weeks after the second oral presentation.Submission
Extensions for Assessment Tasks
Extensions of deadlines for assessment tasks may be allowed for reasonable causes. Such situations would include compassionate and medical grounds of the severity that would justify the awarding of a supplementary examination. Evidence for the grounds must be provided when an extension is requested. Students are required to apply for an extension to the Course Coordinator before the assessment task is due. Extensions will not be provided on the grounds of poor prioritising of time. The assessment extension application form can be obtained from:
Late submission of assessments
If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Final results for this course will be made available through .
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Student Support
- Academic Integrity for Students
- Academic Support with Maths
- Academic Support with writing and study skills
- Careers Services
- Library Services for Students
- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
- Students with a Disability - Alternative academic arrangements
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Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
- Academic Credit Arrangements Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy
- Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy
- Copyright Compliance Policy
- Coursework Academic Programs Policy
- Intellectual Property Policy
- IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy
- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
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Fraud Awareness
Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.
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