Scientists and Public Engagement – STAGE (CARDET)
Schema della sezione
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Title: “The role of Public Engagement in Scientists' Professional Development – the role of Scientists”
Author's of module: Centre for Advancement of Research and Development in Educational Technology LTD (CARDET), Cyprus
The module consists of two activities in a workshop format, entailing both group work (2,5 hours) and a single activity entailing individual work (1,5 hours).
In this module, participants will have the opportunity:
- to evaluate the impact of public engagement,
- to explore ways of integrating public engagement as part of their professional development,
- to execute strategic initiatives.
Duration of course: 4 hours
Target group: Scientists, Researchers, Early Career Researchers, Faculty members involved in science communication activities, Science communicators, Science communication students
Expertise needed per target group: The target groups need no prior expertise.
Objectives:- Evaluate the impact of public engagement on professional growth by analysing benefits and addressing challenges
- Recognise the impact public engagement has on continuing professional development through goal-setting and planning
- Execute a strategic public engagement initiative by applying theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios and selecting appropriate methods for successful implementation
Assessment:
Participants will choose one of the following ways to present their work:
- Self-Reflection Paragraph: write a paragraph of 100 words including the following key points:
- 5-minute Elevator Pitch: imagine you are in an elevator with a friend or scientist colleague having 5 minutes to inform him/her as to what you have learned during the activities.
- Tweetstorm: Write an X (Twitter) thread (up to 20 threads) to inform others of the key takeaways you learned during the activities.
For each of the above, participants should respond to the following questions:
- How do your individual values shape and influence your approach to public engagement?
- Which skills crucial for effective public engagement have you recognised, and what specific strategies have you identified to overcome challenges in public engagement?
The course consists of 3 basic activities:- Evaluate the Impact of Public Engagement on Professional Growth
- How scientists can make public engagement part of their professional development.
- Implementing Public Engagement Initiatives
Tools: All handout materials can be used in a digital or printed format.
For more information, please, click here.
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Core ideas – Content:
- Participants in this activity will critically evaluate the effects of public engagement on their professional development
- Participants gain a deeper understanding of how public engagement can positively impact their professional growth by analysing benefits and strategically addressing challenges
Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Objectives:
- Assessing personal and professional benefits of public engagement, including the skills developed and the knowledge gained through such a process
- Identifying and addressing the challenges/barriers that hinder scientists' participation in public engagement
A detailed description of the activity’s implementation:
Begin the activity by discussing the importance of public engagement for scientists and researchers. Emphasise the value it adds to personal and professional growth, including developing essential skills and knowledge.
In the first two exercises, participants engage in self-reflection;
- First, they reflect on their career journey, focusing on personal experiences with public engagement and then compile a list of skills and knowledge acquired through past public engagement activities.
- Then, in small groups, participants share insights into their challenges in engaging with the public and suggest practical solutions (including ideas and best practices) to address the identified challenges.
- Finally, three case studies featuring global examples of public engagement in diverse climate change topics, where participants working in pairs, analyse and discuss how challenges in public engagement were overcome in these case studies and what skills were crucial for success.
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Lecture: Watch the following video (ERC, 2022) and discuss in the plenary/write the value Public engagement adds to personal and professional growth.
Mariska Kret, Alpa Shah and Jonathan Tennyson, the winners of the ERC Public Engagement with Research Awards 2022, reveal their tips of engaging with the public! -
Reflection: Individually, participants map their career journey to reflect on personal experiences with public engagement.
Handout 1: My Carreer Journey - Exercise 1
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Individually, participants list the skills and knowledge gained through previous public engagement activities (Handout 2: Exercise 2).
Participants can also use the publication “Benefits of Public Engagement for Researchers” for this activity as an inspiration, as it includes first-hand experiences of researchers and gives an idea of the positive benefits of engaging with the public.
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1) Participants in groups of 2-3 (for example trhought MS Teams, ZOOM etc.) discuss personal challenges they perceive in engaging with the public during their career journey and identify common barriers.
2) In a (online) plenary discussion, all participants share the challenges they discussed and propose practical solutions to address the identified challenges.
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Distribute case studies (Handout 3: Case Studiesfeaturing examples of public engagement from worldwide, covering a diverse range of topics demonstrating the cross-sectoral nature of climate change issues.
Participants analyse and discuss in pairs/prepare individually (worldcloud, thinking map):
- How were public engagement challenges overcome, and what skills are required?
- What impact do they have on professional growth?
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FOREWORD BY PROFESSOR ALAN THORPE CHAIR OF THE RESEARCH COUNCILS UK EXECUTIVE GROUP
...This publication is part of our efforts to encourage researchers to engage with the public and embed public engagement in the higher education and research sectors so that it is valued as an important activity. To this end, RCUK, the Funding Councils and the Wellcome Trust established the Beacons for Public Engagement initiative to inspire culture change in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) and help researchers in overcoming barriers that they may encounter in engaging with the public.The initiative’s National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement provides support to researchers through sharing best practice and highlighting opportunities for training and funding (please visit www.publicengagement.ac.uk for more information). Further opportunities to support researchers engaging the public are available on the RCUK website. www.rcuk.ac.uk/per
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Core ideas - Content: Participants in this activity will create personal plans for integrating public engagement into their professional activities. This includes setting goals and identifying ways they can get involved in public engagement.
Duration: 60 minutes
Objectives:
- Analyzing your needs and setting personal goals for incorporating public engagement into your professional practice
- Creating personal plans for effective public engagement, incorporating templates and structured considerations
Tools: All handout materials can be used in a digital or printed format.
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Participants use the Padlet to share their current Environmental Studies or Climate Change research topics and foster a plenary brainstorming discussion on how they would integrate public engagement into their professional activities.
Sources of Environmental Studies:
Best-practice 25: Climate of Change
Best-practice 32: Tackling Climate Change in Cities: the Role of Best Practices
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Participants choose one topic from their scientific or personal interests and establish at least three (3) SMART goals (Handout 4: Setting SMART Goals tool) for incorporating public engagement into their professional practice.
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Participants research to inform their public engagement plan for valuable insights.
- Conduct desk research on the selected topic to address the need to engage the public.
- Explore existing successful initiatives to understand audience preferences and shape the implementation of their plan.
- Consider the communication channels (Digital Platforms, In-Person Engagement, other official channels).
- Plan the next steps.
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Core ideas – Content: Participants actively apply theoretical knowledge to practical scenarios in this activity, gaining hands-on experience in implementing public engagement initiatives. The emphasis is on selecting appropriate methods for successful implementation, bridging the theoretical understanding and real-world application for effective public engagement.
Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Objectives:
- Applying a step-by-step guide when implementing public engagement initiatives in professional development practice
- Implementing part of your personal plan for public engagement and reflecting on your practice using a rubric/checklist
Assingment: Google Slides or PowerPoint for the PechaKucha presentations
Sources of materials:- Best-practice 25: Climate of Change
- Practical resource 22: Engaging the Public onClimate Change
- Practical resource 28: Is climate changeactually being taken seriously?
- Practical resource 43: Toolkit for sciencecommunicators and trainers
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Participants choose one of the SMART objectives set in Activity 2 of this Module and design their public engagement initiative individually.
To do so, participants explore the “Public Engagement Guide” on implementing public engagement initiatives for professional development (page 19).
“The guide for the Climate Of Change campaign” can also help inspire public engagement initiatives in the Environmental Sciences and Climate Change filed.
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Participants use the following two checklists to reflect on their personal plan practice:
1. Preparing for a Public Engagement: Checklist: to reflect on the overall plan2. Toolkit for science communicators and trainers: to ensure clear and effective communication focusing on the 12 indicators of quality in science communication.
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Participants create a PechaKucha* presentation (Pecha Kucha, 2012), following the 20X20 rule, to present to the plenary their personal initiative plan.
*Each presentation consists of 20 slides, each shown for only 20 seconds before automatically progressing to the next one. This results in a total presentation time of 6 mins and 40 secs.
(Pecha Kucha, 2012):
Pecha Kucha is a simple presentation format devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham where you show 20 slides or images, each for only 20 second. The images or slides advance automatically to keep you on time and you can only talk about each slide or image while it’s being displayed.
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