A NEW MODEL FOR SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH: INTERACTION, INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN, AND INCLUSION

Outreach presents a powerful venue to disseminate science to the public and policy makers. As we see with topical environmental issues involving water, climate and resources, scientists need to revise current communication techniques to improve science literacy by reinventing the science education outreach paradigm.

We start by embedding a local earth sciences professor, familiar with the field area, as a PI. Benefits of this approach provide connections with local media, regional geological organizations, service clubs, land access, and sense of place. Her role is to manage the broader impacts, which includes producing instructional materials about the research. Core to these materials are short video-tutorials, filmed in the field, of CO-PIs and prominent regional geologists discussing the local geology, sampling techniques, and geochronology. The recordings are available to students and the public on the Ruby Mountains Geology, Geochronology and Education YouTube Channel. These tutorials are linked to interactive fieldtrip guides using Google Maps the public can download prior to a hike or a road trip so they can be viewed in areas with limited cellular service.

Content modules regarding Metamorphic Core Complexes, Geochronology, and Methods are in development and will be accessible as open educational resources (OER) in Canvas Commons for all geoscience educators to access. The content modules include learner outcomes, short lectures, aligned self-check assessments, the interactive Google map of the field area, and links to additional resources. To increase accessibility to all people interested in the earth sciences, all instructional materials produced are Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act compliant; this means the videos are closed captioned, and figures and photographs have alt text and can be read by a screen reader.

An important aspect of this outreach approach is to build the instructional resources with a multi-disciplinary team of English, graphic communications, and education undergraduates. Students in these disciplines will lend their knowledge in communication, illustrations, video editing, and pedagogy while gaining experience in the sciences. This model extends science dialogue out of the laboratory and into the homes of non-scientists, community members and policy makers.