The Plant Science Blogging Project: A curriculum to develop student science communication skills

Abstract

Societal Impact Statement The practice of writing science blogs benefits both the scientist and society alike by providing professional development opportunities and delivering information in a format that is accessible to large and diverse audiences. By designing a project that introduced upper‐level undergraduate students to science blog writing with a focus on plant biology, we piqued students' interest in science writing and the content of a popular plant science blog website. If adopted more widely, this work could broaden the scope of science education and promote the development of effective science communication skills for the next generation of scientists. Summary Successful scientists must communicate their research to broad audiences, including distilling key scientific concepts for the general public. Students pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields benefit from developing public communication skills early in their careers, but opportunities are limited in traditional biology curricula. We created the “Plant Science Blogging Project” for a Plant Biology undergraduate course at the University of Pittsburgh in Fall 2018 and 2019. Students wrote blog posts merging personal connections with plants with plant biology concepts for the popular science blogs Plant Love Stories and EvoBites. By weaving biology into their narratives, students learned how to share botanical knowledge with the general public. The project had positive impacts on student learning and public engagement. In post‐assignment surveys, the majority of students reported that they enjoyed the assignment, felt it improved their understanding of plant biology, and piqued their interest in reading and writing science blogs in the future. Approximately one‐third of the student‐authored blogs were published, including two that rose to the top 10 most‐read posts on Plant Love Stories. Some dominant themes in student blogs, including medicine and culture, differed from common story themes published on the web, indicating the potential for students to diversify science blog content. Overall, the Plant Science Blogging Project allows undergraduate students to engage with plant biology topics in a new way, sharpen their scientific communication skills in accordance with today's world of mass information sharing, and contribute to the spread of scientific knowledge for public benefit.

Bibliometric Viewpoints of Wired Campus Through Higher Institution Blogging

“…Radjuni (2022;Schlegel & Primacio, 2021) initiates a study that seeks to promote learners' independence in a 4.0 learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic and create an engaging diverse community of learners in medical education. The authors aim to improve student writing skills through blogging, and it was found in the study that the students are interested in the continual use of blogs even after the academic session (Forrester, Ashman & Kuebbing, 2022). Khan et al (2021) confirmed the students perceived learning and satisfaction through blogging in HEIs as their perception revolves around digital technology, teaching and learning, previous blogging experience and the usefulness of blogging.…”

“…Blogging is for general and specific use. An example of specific use is the Plan Science Blogging project showcased in the study of Iriart et al (2022) to facilitate a curriculum to develop student science communication skills. The results show that blogging helps students to share botanical knowledge with the public and impacts student learning and public engagement.…”

Towards a Multimodal Hermeneutic Model: The case of Uber-Blog-mediated advertising discourse order of ‘Saudization’

“…Moving to the other type of literature on blogs from a discourse-analytic perspective, Bolander (2012) provided an account of the research on blogs with the observation that the sub-genres of blog remained dominantly personal or diarytyped Internet products (Herring et al 2004, Blood 2002, Krishnamurthy 2002). However, afterwards, research on institutional blogs began to emerge in a way that widely varied and covered different domains, particularly academia and science (e.g., Iriart et al 2022, Bondi 2022, Freddi 2020, Zou & Hyland 2019, Kuteeva 2016, Luzón 2018. Crucially, the literature relevant to purely institutional blogging with promotional interest seems to be scarcer than that associated with personal, academic, and scientific blogs.…”

Integrating Perspectives from Education for Sustainable Development to Foster Plant Awareness among Trainee Science Teachers: A Mixed Methods Study

“…This approach aims to engage students on a personal level and foster an emotional connection with plants, leading to a greater appreciation for their role in daily life. Iriart et al [16] proposed blogging about plant science as an approach that combines education with personal reflections and encourages individuals to share their newfound knowledge and insights with others, thus raising awareness about the importance of plants. Stagg and Verde [39] demonstrated the potential of theatrical performance to educate and deepen individuals' understanding of the significance of plants in their lives and the environment.…”

“…This latter approach aims to promote a comprehensive understanding of plants and their critical environmental roles, ultimately inspiring future generations to become proactive environmental stewards and contribute to a more sustainable world [7][8][9][10][11]. By emphasizing the importance of understanding plant structures, functions, and roles within ecosystems, educators can prioritize plant awareness and facilitate the development of innovative teaching strategies and educational resources [14][15][16]. This shift in perspective encourages appreciation for plants' intricate relationship with other organisms, their adaptations to diverse environments, and their significance in maintaining ecological balance.…”