Exercises

Below are two exercises which I’ve found useful in helping students to both deal with thinking on their feet and talking about their own work.

For both exercises I would have the text provided in Table tbl-prac-quest and Table tbl-aud-scen printed on A7 cards (3x4” cue cards). The cards for each exercise were color-coded and labelled on the back (“Audience & Scenario” and “Question & Answer”) and placed face-down on the table. Students had the choice of exercise and often the class was evenly split as to their choices.

Each student was given 2 minutes to perform the exercise, which was recorded, and afterwards the exercise was briefly reviewed by everyone in the class.

Question & Answer

This exercise can be used to get people to think on their feet in an unexpected situation. It’s based on a situation in which scientists often find themselves. Since STEMians typically enjoy talking about our work, and many are quite passionate about it, it’s an easy topic to fall back on when meeting new people. The conversations often turn to other technical topics that may not even be related to the persons work area, but that may not deter people form asking about them.

Question
Why is radiation bad?
Can’t we just use computer simulations instead of animals?
Is climate change real?
Are bio fuels really good?
Should we prohibit all forms of prenatal testing?
If my appearance is controlled by genes, can I change my genes to make myself taller?
What is the use of stem cells?
Is obesity genetic?
What happens if the CERN particle accelerator creates a black hole?
Should I be worried about the Zika virus?
How worried should I be about Covid?
Why can’t we cure AIDS?
Do you really believe in evolution?
Is fracking bad?
Are GMO crops better than organic?
Do vaccines cause autism?
Should plastic nanobeads be banned?
Do you think AI will take over the world?
Just what are cookies on a website?
Table 1: Practice Questions

I was surprised by students answers on several occasions when carrying out this exercise. For example, students who had never heard of fracking, felt perfectly as ease in exposing its benefits. Students, having studied molecular genetics for years, were also compelled to dismiss Evolution as a “just a theory” and that alternative theories exist to explain the diversity of life. It is therefore key to review each student response, together with other individuals in the class and point out concerning responses.

Audience & Scenario

This exercise can be used to get people to think about explaining their work in different ways by asking the common and deceptively simple question What do you do? In each scenario they are asked to imagine a particular person in a particular situation asking the question. What do you think is important to tell this person? What background do they already have?

Audience Scenario
A 35-year-old kindergarten teacher from France During breakfast in your hotel
A 26-year-old university graduate In a language course
A 60s-ish married couple Waiting in line to buy tickets
A graphics designer At a vernissage
A group of German tourists On a beach
A computer programmer At a private party
A member of a grant review board 1:1 during a conference
A group of 16-year-olds As a guest in their school
You partner’s very old grandmother On her farm
A group of 4-year-olds As a guest in their school
A mother with young children On a long-distance train
Your parents While visiting for your summer break
The secretary in your department During an institute event
A 40-something business woman Sitting next to you on a plane
Your best non-scientist friend Chatting casually over coffee
A late-night city bus driver On an empty bus going home
Table 2: Audiences and scenarios to practice

Carrying out this exercise, highlights how difficult it is to really tailor one’s work to the audience at had. Some students really have a go at it, and consider the situation they find themselves in, changing not only the words they use, but their tone of voice also, to match the situation. Unfortunately, many students can’t resist the urge to provide details which are unlikely to be understood by their audience and take for granted that what is general knowledge to them is specialist knowledge to many other people.