A Road to Microbiology Literacy (and More): an Opportunity for a Paradigm Change in Teaching

Timmis, Kenneth N.

doi:10.1128/jmbe.00019-23

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Yet, these critical and very beneficial roles that microbes play are often overlooked and not clearly communicated to our students and the general public, which adds to the myth of microbes as always being the “bad guys.” As Timmis has been successfully communicating over recent years, an improved education and communication program highlighting the critical roles of microorganisms is urgently needed ( 1 ). I wholeheartedly agree with Timmis’ most current editorial in the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education ( 2 ) in that a paradigm shift in microbiology education is a critical need.…”

Section: Lettersupporting

confidence: 57%

On the Path to “Positive Microbiology”

Oli

2023

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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Section: Lettersupporting

confidence: 57%

On the Path to “Positive Microbiology”

Oli

2023

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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“…The spread of misinformation remains a drawback, although the science communication landscape has changed with the development of social media and social messaging platforms (Rosenthal 2020 ). Thus, existing curricula should probably be expanded and restructured at all educational levels to promote beneficial roles of microbes (Timmis 2023 , Ampatzidis and Armeni 2024 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This becomes even more urgent if we consider that the younger age groups (4–22 yo, closer to school age) are overrepresented in our research compared to the age distribution of the population in Greece. Timmis et al ( 2019 , 2023 ) proposed a teaching concept adaptable to all education levels to improve society's microbiology literacy. These include child/student centric curricula covering different generic knowledge topics which raise awareness and emphasize interconnectedness between microbes and the environment or other life forms and processes (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbes and us: microbiology literacy in Greece

Karayanni,

Motsiou,

Sapountzi

et al. 2024

FEMS Microbiology Letters

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Microbes are ubiquitous and provide numerous services to humans and our planet. However, a query arises as to whether these microbial services are valued by the general public especially after unprecedented conditions like the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context a survey was conducted to investigate the concept of microbe in Greece. Thematic analysis of 672 anonymous responses (age range 4–75yo) received for the open-ended prompt “What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word microbe?” revealed five thematic categories: Negative emotions, Fuzzy associations, Biology, Entities and Health. Almost 80% of responses fell under “Biology” and “Health” and the general pattern of answers was the same across all age groups. Microbes took a variety of forms in the minds of respondents, however, the concept of “microbe” seems to be more unshaped at younger ages (4–11yo), as revealed in children's language choices. Overall, the often-negative perception of microorganisms seems to be confirmed in this study. Although this research was limited to participants from Greece, it remains relevant to other countries around the world as well. We discuss the reasons behind this negative perception and offer suggestions for reversing it.

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“…Typical K-12 outreach scenarios have scientists presenting in classrooms with minimal coordination with teachers, failing to utilize their expertise in pedagogy and content adaptation. Initiatives such as the creation of topic frameworks by the International Microbiology Literacy Initiative (Timmis, 2023) and the Teaching the Genome Generation program (LaRue et al, 2018) showcase open-access curricula from experts in the field. Yet, a robust infrastructure for disseminating scientist-created materials to teachers is lacking.…”

Section: Broader Impacts Limited Reachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling the wall: overcoming barriers to STEM knowledge mobilization

Wilkins,

Rapciak,

Goller

et al. 2024

Front. Commun.

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Improving science literacy is crucial amidst global challenges like climate change, emerging diseases, AI, and rampant disinformation. This is vital not only for future STEM generations but for all, to make informed decisions. Informal science communication efforts such as podcasts, popular science articles, and museum events are an essential part of the infrastructure for mobilizing knowledge and nurturing science literacy. However, in this Perspective, we emphasize the need to grow our capacity for STEM outreach in the formal K-12 classroom. While the majority of informal outreach mechanisms require audience members to seek out content, classrooms include those hard-to-reach target audiences that are not already STEM-engaged. We contrast the multitude of resources that have been developed to support informal outreach in recent decades with a relative paucity of such efforts in the K-12 formal classroom realm. We advocate for a more balanced deployment of resources and efforts between these two vital components of our knowledge mobilization and STEM engagement infrastructure. In particular, we highlight the key role of K-12 teachers as conduits for knowledge dissemination and the need for greater collaboration between scientists and teachers at individual and organizational levels. We also advocate for greater collaboration across programs in both the informal and formal outreach space, and dedicated effort to construct dissemination networks to share outreach materials at scale across disparate programs. The aim of our piece is to generate discussion about how we might refocus goals, funding mechanisms, and policies to grow the science-engaged society necessary to confront future challenges.

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A Road to Microbiology Literacy (and More): an Opportunity for a Paradigm Change in Teaching

Cited by 6 publications

References 15 publications

On the Path to “Positive Microbiology”

On the Path to “Positive Microbiology”

Microbes and us: microbiology literacy in Greece

Scaling the wall: overcoming barriers to STEM knowledge mobilization

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