Investigating exemplary public engagement with science: Case study of extension faculty reveals preliminary professional development recommendations

Family-focused campus-based university event increases perceived knowledge, science capital and aspirations across a wide demographic

“…With many scientists reporting that a lack of time, resource and funding are key barriers to their participation in public engagement events (National Forum for Public Engagement with STEM survey, 2019; Sadler et al, 2018;Stofer & Wolfe, 2018), the support provided by external collaborators is highly valued. Collaborating with an established event (e.g.…”

Elevate your work through incorporation of public engagement

“…The PES literature identifies barriers to carrying out public engagement that scientists face, and the SFS survey found that public engagement barriers shared common themes with previous studies. In numerous studies, time was mentioned as a major factor in whether scientists participate in PES (Poliakoff and Webb 2007, Devonshire and Hathway 2014, Concannon and Grenon 2016, Cerrato et al 2018, Stofer and Wolfe 2018. Research and funding, the primary institutional duties scientists focus on, require a lot of time and leave scientists little-to-no extra time in which to pursue PES activities.…”

“…Institutional support for PES is largely unclear or lacking (Bauer and Jensen 2011, Ecklund et al 2012, Devonshire and Hathway 2014, Stofer and Wolfe 2018, though PES is reportedly increasing in importance for career promotions (Concannon and Grenon 2016). Further, some scientists fear being viewed as less serious or less talented by their colleagues because of associations with PES (Poliakoff andWebb 2007, Ecklund et al 2012).…”

“…Only 6% of respondents felt nothing was limiting their PES opportunities. Training or mentoring programs to prepare scientists for outreach are rare (Devonshire and Hathway 2014, Singh et al 2014, Stofer and Wolfe 2018, Stylinski et al 2018; however, such opportunities could improve scientists' perceptions of their own abilities (Poliakoff and Webb 2007, Ecklund et al 2012, Singh et al 2014, Cerrato et al 2018, Stylinski et al 2018, in addition to improving PES itself (Concannon and Grenon 2016). If incorporated into student courses, PES training programs could alleviate time-constraint issues with professional development (Devonshire and Hathway 2014), bring additional lenses and uses to class material, and prepare students for careers where communicating with the public is key .…”

“…The scientist in this scenario usually assumes that by sharing information, they will increase public understanding, which will increase public support for science and for that specific topic (Salmon et al 2017). The deficit model form of communication is commonly delivered through lectures with little opportunity for discussion, similar to communication methods with which scientists are familiar from their academic backgrounds; however, this form of communication is often ineffective for engaging non-academic audiences (Sturgis andAllum 2004, Stofer andWolfe 2018).…”