Spring 2023 Junior SeaKeepers Program Workshop 2

Overview

On Monday, March 13th, 2023, The International SeaKeepers Society hosted the second Junior SeaKeepers Program workshop for Spring semester students. This was our second Junior SeaKeepers workshop aimed at personal and professional development for students since relaunching the program in January, and we were thrilled to host students and give them a crash course in communicating scientific research and other complex topics.

We started the workshop by discussing why scientific communication is important, including a detailed discussion about the “Science Gap'' between those who conduct research and those who the research impacts and/or the general public. Students identified specific elements of scientific research and data that make communicating to laymen so complicated and we brainstormed how certain ideas or terms could be simplified for the average reader. We outlined important considerations when communicating scientific information, including the perspectives of author(s) and audience, the order in which information is presented, and how jargon is utilized and explained. Students were then introduced to a short, creative science communication project where they will choose an issue of marine conservation importance and create a sort of “PSA” in the form of an art piece, a video, a game, etc. The information they received as a part of the March Workshop will not only be helpful to their science communication projects, but will be invaluable for their futures both consuming and creating scientific communication.