193 W22 Sanderson

Department of English Language and Literature (ENGL 193) Communication in the Life Sciences

University of Waterloo

Winter 2022, Virtual, Asynchronous

Instructor Information

Instructor: Jerika Sanderson (she/her)

Office Hours: Through Microsoft Teams (either video or chat) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11-12pm EST and by appointment.

Email: j9sander@uwaterloo.ca

Contact: Please contact me by email or Microsoft Teams for individual questions or extension requests. For general questions or clarifications, please use the “Ask the Instructor” forum on LEARN. Most inquiries will receive a response within 24-48 hours from Monday-Friday (excluding holidays).

Lectures: The class is asynchronous. Videos with instructions about upcoming assignments, discussion post feedback, and lecture material will be recorded and posted on LEARN, usually on Mondays.

Announcements: General course feedback, reminders about assignments, and any necessary course changes will be posted as announcements on LEARN.

Course Description

In this course you will learn about effective written, oral, and visual communication in the life sciences. You will have the opportunity to shape these communication skills through iterative design processes that emphasize attention to your audience, the purpose of your communications, and student agency. You will work individually and collaboratively to craft messages for internal and external audiences, including scientists, government stakeholders, affected communities, or broader publics. You will learn a variety of genres such as research reports, grant proposals, conference abstracts, conference posters, and public talks. Overall, this course will help you enhance your capacity to conduct research and report research findings, communicate ethically, and thereby effect important change.

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes

• Design, draft, and persuasively deliver scientific communications to expert and non-expert audiences;
• Justify decisions about the language, content, and genre used when communicating scientific information;
• Practice collaboration and peer review in support of iterative communication design processes, including revision;
• Practice research processes to find, assess, document, incorporate, and cite research resources and communicate research findings;
• Describe and appraise the purposes and ethical concerns of science communication.

Required Text

Thaiss, C. (2019). Writing Science in the Twenty-first Century. Broadview Press.

The required text can be purchased as an e-book or a print copy through the W Store.

Readings Available on LEARN

Secko, D. M., Amend, E., & Friday, T. (2013). Four models of science journalism: A synthesis and practical assessment. Journalism Practice, 7(1), 62-80.

This article can be accessed through the UW Library database.

Course Requirements and Assessment

Submission: All written assignments must be submitted to the LEARN Dropbox or posted in the relevant forum as a Word document (.docx) or as a PDF. Assignments are due by 11:59pm EST on the due date. Formatting: Assignments should be in Times New Roman (or similar) and font size 12. Assignments can be either single or double spaced. Students must use APA citation style.

Feedback: Assignments that are submitted by the due date will be returned with feedback typically within 7-10 days. Assignments that are submitted after the due date may take longer to be returned. Final exam: There is no final exam, but the final assignment is due during the exam period.

*Assignments that are eligible for free extensions are marked with an asterisk. Please review the free extension policy and contact me if you have questions.

Assignment Descriptions

An overview of each assignment is provided below, but for all assignments, please refer to the full assignment instruction sheet on LEARN. These assignment sheets will contain an overview of the assignment, complete instructions, and a suggested timeline, as well as links to relevant material.

Participation

The purpose of this activity is to reflect on the topics and material for the week, to examine and critique various examples of science communication texts, to encourage discussion among students, and to reflect on course content. This will develop students’ ability to appraise various communication genres in the sciences and to provide feedback to their peers.

There will be weekly discussion board post topics shared on LEARN. You can access these by going to Connect > Discussions > Week 1 (etc.). Each week, students will be asked to read linked material and respond to a specific question or discuss the topic.

Students are expected to write one original post responding to the question (~150-200 words) and to write two response posts to their classmates (~50-100 words). The main post is worth 1.5% per week, and the responses are each worth 0.5% per week (2 x 0.5%).

Assessment will be based on completion, so as long as the student completes their main post by Thursdays at 11:59pm and response posts by Sunday at 11:59pm, meets the word count requirement, and fully addresses the weekly prompts, they will receive full marks for the week. Students will be evaluated based on their posts for 8 weeks throughout the semester. There will be topics to post about each of the 12 weeks, so students can choose which 8 weeks to post. If students post something during more than 8 weeks, their highest 8 will be recorded.

Scientific Article Analysis

Students will work both independently and collaboratively on this assignment. Students will critically read two peer-reviewed scientific articles, identify the use of the CARS model, write summaries and analyses, create an annotated bibliography, and use APA style. The purpose of this assignment is to develop research and citation skills, critically analyze research articles, and practice collaborative work. This assignment involves two steps.

1. Working independently, students will select two articles: one from a pre-approved list (or get instructor approval for an article of their choice), and a second article that they find through the UW Library database. Students will be working with one of these articles for each of the following projects (so be sure to choose articles that interest you!). Students must post their selected articles in the relevant LEARN forum to ensure they are not working on the same article as their group members. All articles should be published in 2017 or later, be published in peer-reviewed journals, and follow IMRD format. Students will write short summaries of each article (approx. 200-300 words), analyze the articles’ introductions to determine whether they follow the CARS model, and write an analysis of the article’s use of CARS (approx. 250-350 words). In total, this should be two paragraphs (approx. 450-650 words total) for each article. Part 1 will then be submitted as a Word document or PDF within the assigned group forums on LEARN and to the Dropbox. Part 1 is not eligible for free extensions, since your group needs enough time to compile each group member’s summaries.

2. Working collaboratively, students will compile their article summaries/analyses into one document with their groups to create an annotated bibliography. Together, they will ensure that the articles are cited according to the APA citation guide, that all articles are listed in alphabetical order, and that the document has consistent formatting, font, etc. Students should edit and provide feedback on eachother’s summaries/analyses. Be sure to include your name underneath each of your summaries. The completed Annotated Bibliography must be submitted by each of the group members to their individual Dropbox on LEARN. Part 2 is not eligible for free extensions, since it is a group project.

This assignment will be graded on two rubrics. The first (worth 7.5%) will assess the summaries and analyses (part 1) individually. The second (worth 7.5%) will assess the overall formatting, grammar/spelling, language choices, and use of APA citations across all entries (part 2) as a group.

Crowdfunding Proposal

Students will work independently to create a crowdfunding proposal following the examples we discuss in lecture, and to create a brief video presenting their proposals. Students will then work collaboratively to peer review their classmates’ videos. The purpose of this assignment is to become familiar with funding proposals, to create a written proposal, to persuasively present the proposal to a public audience, and to peer review your group members. Students will develop their persuasive communication skills, create written, visual, and audio material, and practice their constructive feedback skills. This assignment has three parts.

1. Students will select one of the articles they wrote about for the Scientific Article Analysis, or get permission from the instructor to use an alternative. Students will then write a crowdfunding proposal based on the examples on Experiment.com. Students will need to imagine that the research in their article has not yet been done, and that they are seeking funding to do that research. The proposal should use future tense, since we are pretending the work hasn’t already been done! This proposal will be submitted to the Dropbox on LEARN.
2. Students will also create and record a short (~2-3 minute) presentation of their proposal. This presentation should be geared toward a public audience and should highlight the importance of the research, why the public should be interested, and what will be accomplished through the project. The video should be uploaded on LEARN at the same time that you submit your written proposal to the Dropbox.
3. Students will peer review two of their classmates’ videos using the peer review form provided on LEARN. This will involve watching the videos and writing constructive comments. Comments can address the persuasiveness of the video, the usefulness of information provided, the terminology used, and strengths or areas for improvement. The feedback form should be posted as a comment under the video on LEARN. All students are expected to be professional, kind, and constructive in their comments.

This assignment will be graded on three rubrics. The first (worth 10%) will assess the written crowdfunding proposal. The second (worth 10%) will assess the video. The third (worth 5%) will assess the quality of the peer review comment

Poster Assignment

Students will work independently to develop a research poster that communicates the key findings of their article. The purpose of this assignment is to become familiar with research posters, practice writing for an expert audience, and develop visual design skills in order to communicate the results of the scientific article to an expert audience (for example, at a conference). Students will also continue to develop their constructive feedback skills. There are two parts to this assignment.

1. Create a poster to communicate the main elements of the same peer-reviewed article that you worked on for the crowdfunding proposal. The poster should include a brief introduction to the topic, a short summary of the methodology, a description of the results, and the main outcomes. The poster should be clear, easy to read, and should include images or graphics. The total word count should be approximately 500-600 words. While the poster is based on the article, everything must be paraphrased in your own words.
2. Peer review two of your classmates’ posters using the peer-review feedback form on LEARN. You can provide feedback on what you find effective about the visual elements of the poster, the clarity of the written text, and the choice of terminology and graphics/visual material, as well as general comments about strengths or areas for improvement. These comments should be added to the peer review feedback form and posted under the posters in the LEARN forum. All students are expected to be professional, kind, and constructive in their comments.

This assignment will be graded on two rubrics. The first (worth 10%) will assess the written and visual components of the poster. The second (worth 5%) will assess the quality of the peer review comments.

Public Science Article

Students will work independently to develop their article into a story appropriate for a public audience. The purpose of this assignment is to create a science journalism article or a blog post based on your peer-reviewed article using the methods that we discuss in lecture, and to critically analyze how the methods and intended audience for each assignment have differed. Students are also encouraged propose other formats if interested (e.g. a short podcast episode or brief animated video), which are subject to approval. There are two parts to this assignment.

1. Write an article or blog post (400-650 words) based on your scientific article. This article should be geared toward a public audience. The article should include a title and at least one image with a caption. The purpose of the article is to inspire interest in that audience in the topic, to demonstrate your ability to use appropriate terminology, and to connect the research being done with cultural, social, economic, health, and/or environmental contexts or concerns. Submit this article to the LEARN Dropbox.
2. Write a self-analysis of the article (approx. 1000 words). In the self-analysis, identify your intended audience and explain the specific methods that you used to make the article interesting and engaging (rhetorical, visual, etc.). Explain how this audience differs from the intended audience of each of the other assignments you have completed this semester, and which methods you have used to address each audience. Explain what your article does differently than the scientific article, and why you made those choices. You can also discuss how you engaged with ethical communication practices, and which of your assignments this semester you felt was most effective at communicating the results of the article. Submit this self-analysis to the LEARN Dropbox.

This assignment will be graded on two rubrics. The first (worth 10%) will assess the written article. The second (worth 15%) will assess the self-analysis.

Course Outline

Course and University Policies

Territorial Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometres on each side of the Grand River.

Extensions and Late Policy

There are three options listed below for how to handle unexpected circumstances and emergencies that impact your ability to submit assignments on time. Please contact me over email to discuss further accommodations if needed.

Free Extensions: Every student can use three free 24-hour extensions. You can use them at your own discretion and they can be used separately (3 x 24hr) or together (1 x 72hr) or (1 x 24hr + 1 x 48hr). The purpose of these extensions is to allow you to plan around your other school/work/personal/family commitments, and you do not need to explain your reason for using them. Assignments that are eligible for the free extensions will have a note in the “assignment breakdown” section. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm that the assignment is eligible for an extension before submitting it after the due date. To use an extension, include a note in LEARN when you submit the assignment or email me before submitting the assignment, otherwise, late penalties will apply.

Emergency Extensions: If you are experiencing a family, medical, or personal emergency, you can submit an extension request through email before the assignment deadline so that we can discuss a new assignment deadline. Documentation may be required.

Late Assignments: If a free extension (see above) is not used or an extension for a medical/personal reason is not requested in advance, late assignments will be deducted 5% per day for up to seven days (to a maximum 30%). After seven days, the assignment will receive a zero.

Attendance and Participation Policy

The course is asynchronous. Participation will be assessed based on students’ activity in and contribution to LEARN discussion forums.

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. See the Office of Academic Integrity webpage for more information.

Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence and to take responsibility for his/her actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in

learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.