#gradscicomm: the current landscape of communication trainings available to graduate students in the STEM disciplines
National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C. December 5th 2013.
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Arts and crafts at #gradscicomm pic.twitter.com/DAudribqEi -
Over the past year, COMPASS has worked to assess the current landscape of communication trainings available to graduate students in the STEM disciplines. We’ve dubbed this project#GradSciComm, and it has included building a community-sourced database that provides some insight into the current content and capacity of workshops and courses – but this is only the beginning of the conversation. At the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C., four COMPASS staff –Nancy Baron, Brooke Smith, Erica Goldman, and Liz Neeley – will facilitate discussion among a select groupof scholars, trainers, funders, institutional leaders, and graduate students as they consider the results of our work to date and wrestle with where we go from here.
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#GradSciComm: Rolling Up Our Sleeves
This post is co-authored by Erica Goldman and Liz Neeley. As we’ve written here and here, over the past year, COMPASS has worked to asses… -
GradSciComm Slides:
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Very excited to be headed to DC for our #gradscicomm workshop!! In taxi enroute to airport – keep eye on @COMPASSonline blog for post today -
All year we’ve been hard at work on our @NSF-funded #gradscicomm project. Off to workshop today http://compassblogs.org/blog/2013/12/03/gradscicomm-rolling-up-our-sleeves/ … Follow & contribute!
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This week @COMPASSonline will be hosting our much anticipated #GradSciComm mtg. Learn how you can contribute here: http://bit.ly/187ZgzV -
Excited for the #GradSciComm meeting in DC later this week! http://compassblogs.org/blog/2013/12/03/gradscicomm-rolling-up-our-sleeves/#more-5018 … -
Building national capacity for communication skills – #GradSciComm: Rolling Up Our Sleeves http://compassblogs.org/blog/2013/12/03/gradscicomm-rolling-up-our-sleeves/ … -
I’m thrilled to help @COMPASSonline move #GradSciComm forward tmrw in DC. MT @COMPASSonline: how you can contribute: http://bit.ly/187ZgzV -
Looking forward to our @COMPASSonline gathering this week about #gradscicomm, more young scientists engaging! http://bit.ly/1be7Efw -
Me too! Plane train and automobile tomorrow but not that order.
“@LizNeeley: Very excited to be headed to DC for #gradscicomm workshop!!” -
Help @COMPASSonline build their database of #GradSciComm communication training resources for research students: http://compassblogs.org/blog/2013/12/03/gradscicomm-rolling-up-our-sleeves/ … -
#gradscicomm nice blog on efforts by COMPASS http://compassblogs.org/blog/2013/12/03/gradscicomm-rolling-up-our-sleeves/ … -
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On my way to #gradscicomm – representing my fellow grad students. @brookesimler @LizNeeley @COMPASSonline -
#gradscicomm = my lovely reward after 3 weeks of PhD comps studying, an underground bunker, and “Darkness on the Edge of Town” on repeat.
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On my way to #gradscicomm and having amazing travel karma.
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Excited about our NSF funded workshop in DC with #GradSciComm leaders: Rolling Up Our Sleeves http://bit.ly/1izHudC -
#gradscicomm participants in DC early enough tonight: I’m going to http://www.bistrotducoin.com for dinner around six. Join me?
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@LizNeeley @razoobe @mlpaulsen @RockyRohde Roger that. Should I look for the #gradscicomm face paint and Carl Sagan shirts?
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For #gradscicomm follow (2/2) @RockyRohde @LisaGraumlich @razoobe @GoodbyeShoe @tiffanylohwater @scheufele @stollkate (will make a list!)
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What a pleasure to be a part of this group. #gradscicomm @LizNeeley @brookesimler @Nancy_Baron @RBooneAK @rtankers @jackcschultz @mufferaw
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Fellow PhD Students: I’m @ intimate workshp w/ @COMPASSonline & @NSF to better serve u. We wanna know core #gradscicomm competencies. Input?
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How to reform graduate STEM education to include communications training? @COMPASSonline‘s #gradscicomm starts today! Follow the # to join.
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Join the conversation looking at the role communication skills have in graduate science education. #gradscicomm -
Here at @NASciences for 4 straight days of #scicomm. Super excited to be part of #gradscicomm today! -
So very pleased to be at the @NASciences today for our @NSF-funded #gradscicomm workshop. Such an inspiring group! pic.twitter.com/0g4YyvCpGZ -
Soundbite from #gradscicomm on training fails “Like asking someone to play piano at Carnegie Hall by handing them a worksheet with ten tips”
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.@LizNeeley #gradscicomm How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. -
Vision exercise at #GradSciComm workshop. Hmmm…usually vision is in short supply. We’ll see! Should be interesting! -
Today, our PI Jamie Bell is at the @COMPASSonline workshop at @NASciences. Learn more: http://ow.ly/rpKbZ & follow along: #GradSciComm -
Good! Early in #gradscicomm workshop we underscore that greater scientific literacy does not necessarily = greater support for science
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The beginnings of our #gradscicomm roadmap pic.twitter.com/HuoKiaXwvF -
“We’re not going to change undergraduate education until we change graduate education.” (Participant at #GradSciComm workshop) -
#gradscicomm phrases that make me happy: “We need to evaluate the hell out of these training programs”
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#gradscicomm phrases that make me VERY happy: “we are treating these training awards as experiments, and we mean it”
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We have been (gently) accused of failing to don sufficiently ‘sciency’ clothing! Perils of #scicomm wardrobe choices 🙂 #gradscicomm
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Note: we have agreed to Chatham House rules here at #gradscicomm workshop. http://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/chathamhouserule … Livetweeting content but no attribution
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Learning about so many cool grad #scicomm programs here at #gradscicomm. Wish they existed when I was in school! #hardknocklife
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If you are or have grad students, strongly encourage you to look at http://myidp.sciencecareers.org (Individual Development Plans) #gradscicomm
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Six programs featured in rapid-fire talks at #gradscicomm workshop: (1/3)
1) http://nsfmessengers.wordpress.com
2) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-12-022.html … -
Six programs featured in rapid-fire talks at #gradscicomm workshop: (2/3)
3) http://lewenstein.comm.cornell.edu/files/2013/06/Comm-5660-syllabus.2013.02.26-18ibg32.pdf …
4) http://scapemizzou.wordpress.com -
Six programs featured in rapid-fire talks at #gradscicomm workshop: (3/3)
5) http://myidp.sciencecareers.org
6) http://www.engage-science.com/speaker-series/ -
Young scientists largely unaware of alternative career paths to academia. Need individ’l development plans (and coms training) #gradscicomm
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Key to the roadmap for #GradSciComm, who has the power to align the stars (the important funding people or agencies)?
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Now discussing: when we try to change institutional culture to support #GradSciComm, is grassroots approach more effective than top-down?
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A sense of urgency, “we can’t afford not to” is a key way to persuade top-down institutional change in #gradscicomm
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“Altruism just doesn’t make it.” The coin of the realm is the dollar sign. Big challenge: What’s the return on investment for #gradscicomm? -
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@LizNeeley Challenging topics. You may have addressed. What defines competency? What are metrics? What’s the ultimate goal? #gradscicomm
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@LizNeeley Fun task: Who’s developing the logic models? #gradscicomm
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#GradSciComm grassroots orgs like @EngageScience need a cross-institutional database of key points for persuading institutional levers
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Heard at #GradSciComm : “All we do [as faculty] is train people to be clones of ourselves.” So, how to serve those not destined for faculty?
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Our next task at #GradSciComm workshop: review the survey of programs that already exist, connect key network nodes and break down silos
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I spy @LisaGraumlich MT @LizNeeley: Very pleased to be at the @NASciences today for @NSF-funded #gradscicomm wkshp. http://bit.ly/1bKn0uZ -
Problem with a #GradSciComm database: becomes obsolete over time. Can we build a useful, dynamic platform that stays up to date?
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Do we really need a #GradSciComm database in order to scale up our efforts? Or would it just be nice to have?
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We need education standards and METRICS to measure effectiveness of #gradscicomm programs
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@SeaFieseler @Nancy_Baron 1st must recognize that for every PI, u need at least 3 perma-staff scis. Plz create these jobs. #gradscicomm -
@SeaFieseler @Nancy_Baron Getting the PIs to do EVERYTHING = harmful to research. Esp. heath research. #GradSciComm
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Heard at #gradscicomm “When scaling up #scicomm [for grad], how can a databse of course curricula serve that mission? Do we need it at all?”
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Thought-provoking convo on #gradscicomm this AM. How to give STEM grad students the com training they need? @NASciences @COMPASSonline -
What com’ns skills are “core competencies? What would sci grad comm students truly benefit from knowing,doing being? Thoughts? #gradscicomm
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Heard at #gradscicomm : “We need more soft skills…” [across room interruption] “At OUR university, we refrain from that ‘skills’ language.”
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@Nancy_Baron Networking – I have met so many grads that are frightened by it! It’s just talking to people & showing passion! #gradscicomm -
@Nancy_Baron Concise, jargon-free, general audience messaging. A la Elevator Pitch / @COMPASSonline Message Box! #gradscicomm #scicomm
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@redlipblenny @maevagauthier Others agree! Check out #gradscicomm today for com training brainstorming.
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When all 29 participants were asked to write core science communication competencies, three wrote LISTENING. #gradscicomm
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Heard at #gradscicomm : “Dialogue in the midst of contention’ is a core competency. Keeping your cool in an intense situation is valuable.”
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Dialogue is more than parroting back what another says, means contributing new info and adapting yours. Key competency in #gradscicomm ?
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#gradscicomm soundbite: “We can’t forget that science is a human endeavor, just as much as hockey is a human endeavor’
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Scientists are trained for 10 years to strip their personality out of their work -now put it back & communicate.Cog dissonance #gradscicomm
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Key competencies in #GradSciComm: listening, dialogue, building trust, distilling complex topics, audience consideration, storytelling
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Proficiency in #scicomm skills requires: 1) training, 2) practice, and 3) feedback #gradscicomm Practice *doesn’t* make perfect otherwise
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Training, feedback and practice are all needed to improve #gradscicomm.
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How do we achieve,measure and credential proficiency in #gradscicomm? Training, practice, and feedback are essential. And of course buy in.
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Just giving opportunities to practice #SciComm will not result in improvment, esp if practicing wrong skills. Feedback crucial #GradSciComm
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how do you measure communications proficiency (effective communications)? is it like pornography, you know it when you see it? #gradscicomm
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MT @AmandaVincent1 CHONe students seek to be involved in policy. Unis must meet their prof’l develpt needs. #Oceans2020 #gradscicomm
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Interesting research question: at what point in the grad career is best to begin #gradscicomm training? How long btwn training sessions?
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#gradscicomm soundbite: “I can learn to shoot a person 1mi away, doesnt mean I want to. Is motivation what is missing from skill training?”
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The three legged stool of effective #gradscicomm Training, feedback, and practice! -
Should we be comparing a #gradscicomm to a standard + assessing improvment, or is it simply more important that audience gets the message?
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Do we need a national credential to demonstrate #SciComm proficiency? In some fields, no credentials, only portfolio of work #gradscicomm
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@DrCraigMc all 30 of us had quite a bit of consensus on what the core competencies of #gradscicomm should be, but not on how to evaluate
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#gradscicomm closing thoughts: “I have deep respect for rigorous evaluation but at end of day, comes down to ‘did I make something awesome’?
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Some “niggles” going around: none of this is new, not #sciComm prob it’s comm prob. What’s new is spreading it to the ranks #GradSciComm
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Looking forward to #gradscicomm reception! cc @LizNeeley -
Do we need to create a position for a person in charge of “aligning the stars,” i.e. converging the powers to create change? #GradSciComm
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Done right, same ROI as Mad Ave MT @megminer: Big challenge: What’s the return on investment for #gradscicomm?
