Using Science Fiction and Design Thinking in Workshops to Share Research Results With Low-Income, Marginalized Communities

Abstract

We worked with low-income participants in interactive, storytelling-based community workshops to discuss results from a scientific project related to harmful algal blooms. We used two story-based workshop formats—a science-fiction story and a personal-research-account story. In this Research Note, we reflect on two main topics: a comparison between the two story-based approaches and work with marginalized participants. With our reflections, our aim is to help inform future efforts that wish to incorporate science fiction approaches and/or work with marginalized populations in science communication.

The Role of Storytelling in Teaching STEM to Young Learners: A Case Study in Indonesia

“…Despite no curriculum-based assessment implemented in the study, the observations were evident through the learners' newly acquired habits of investigation and exploration. Ross' program might have been more successful than the study conducted by Morrison et al (2009) as in their study, there was no observed difference in science achievement when comparing storytelling with non-story-based skills instruction (Gould et al, 2023) (Trimble et al, 2024). An obvious sign that the learning has occurred is crucial in educational settings.…”