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• The Art of Science Writing

  • Start
    1 Mar 2025
  • End
    1 Mar 2026
  • Location
    On-demand modules

  Register

  Enhance your writing skills and adapt your science communication style for different outlets.

  

  The “Art of Science Writing,” is an intermediate-level course designed to elevate your science communication skills and expand your writing repertoire across various platforms. Delve into advanced interviewing techniques, learn to craft compelling narratives for different platforms, and master the art of brand journalism. Each module features a short video lecture, assigned readings, and practical assignments with thought-provoking discussions to enhance your understanding and application of science writing principles. 

  • Leveraging Your Resources Learn how you can leverage resources such as source credibility and AI to effectively communicate with your audience.
  • Writing for Different Platforms Explore the nuances of writing for different platforms such as video and social media. Practice adapting your style to meet platform-specific requirements and engage various demographics effectively.
  • Brand Journalism Writing for organizations, balancing promotional and informative content, and how to build a successful career. 
  • The Pitch In the final module, we’ll cover the art of pitching your expert, yourself, and/or your work to amplify it through earned media. 

  Who should Register

  This course is tailored for individuals with some experience in science writing who are eager to refine their techniques and explore new media.

  

  Instructor: Deborah Bright

  Deborah L. Bright has been a professional science communicator for just over a decade. With a unique background in both science and communication, she has dedicated her career to promoting scientific literacy. Her work has been featured in numerous media and has won multiple awards. Deborah holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and is currently pursuing her PhD in Strategic Communication with a focus on science communication. She is a current Board Member of the San Diego Science Writers Association and serves as an Advocate for the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center as part of their "Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar" program.
  

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• Wearing All the Hats: Develop your ability to give and receive creative feedback

  • When
    30 Apr 2025
  •  
    10:00 - 12:00 (PDT)
  • Location
    Zoom
  • Spaces left
    30

  Register

  Master the feedback process to improve your own work, strengthen your science communication team, and make yourself an invaluable collaborator.

  Giving and receiving feedback is one of the most important parts of any creative process, but we rarely talk about how to develop your skills at these two essential processes. Receiving feedback can be challenging: it's difficult to hear criticism of your work, and proposed changes can often be hard to understand. Understanding where feedback comes from and how you can employ it is the quickest way to improve your entire creative process and cultivate a collaborative environment for your whole team.

  At the same time, recognizing the challenges of receiving feedback allows you to give much better feedback, as well. Knowing your limitations as a reviewer and appreciating the impact your notes will have makes your feedback more precise, more productive, and much easier to implement.

  This workshop will give you new tools to think about giving and receiving feedback that will make you a better science communicator and collaborator. These tools are applicable across any media, and we'll use examples from video, podcasts, and print media. Students will also have a chance to bring their own short samples to apply these techniques right away.

  Key Learning Objectives

  • New ways to approach reviewing and giving notes on creative science communication work

  • How to communicate your feedback effectively and constructively

  • Interpret and implement feedback from others, even when you receive conflicting notes

  • Better ways to collaborate

  Who Should Register?

  Anyone who produces or provides feedback on creative science communication work; creators, reviewers, and collaborators. SciComm professionals at any level and background knowledge will find this course of value.

  Instructor
  Andrew Sobey

  

  Andrew is a Washington, DC based filmmaker and science communicator. His nonfiction and experimental work has screened at film festivals around the world, including Aesthetica Short Film Festival, Rooftop Films Summer Series, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Athens International Film + Video Festival, and many others. He is a Supervising Producer for American Chemical Society's Reactions, a PBS Digital Studios series, and Headline Science. He has previously been a City of Bothell Arts Commissioner, host of the Seattle Documentary Filmmakers Happy Hour, Projects Director for Seattle Arts Nonprofit One Reel, and Editor & Animator at Laundry Service. You can see his work at http://www.andrewsobey.com/

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• Science Engagement with People of Faith

  • When
    16 May 2025
  •  
    12:00 - 15:00 (PDT)
  • Location
    Zoom
  • Spaces left
    50

  Register

  Don’t let faith be a barrier to SciComm!

  More than 7 in 10 U.S. adults claim a religious affiliation. In STEM fields however, faith is often thought to be a source of tension. The U.S. public views scientists as mostly trustworthy in their areas of expertise, but also as hostile or indifferent to faith. Additionally, many scientists of faith are quiet about their religious identity, fearing derision or discrimination. Our workshop highlights faith as an important aspect of identity that should be specifically considered in science engagement.

  Join us to learn:

  • more about people of faith
  • the social and historical context of science
  • why facts are not enough
  • how worldview affects opinions on science topics
  • promising practices
  • people doing good work at this intersection of science and faith.

  Last, participants do a small-group exercise on how to respond to a challenging question or scenario, and then come back to the larger group to discuss their approaches.

  To ensure participants feel free to openly participate in the discussions of potentially sensitive subject matter, this workshop will NOT be recorded.

  Key Learning Objectives

  Discover why culture, worldview, and identity - including faith - are important in science communication and engagement.

  Who Should Register?

  Anyone who wants to learn about respectfully and effectively engaging with people of faith.

  Instructor

  Rachel Kline

  Rachel Kline (she/her) is a science communicator with a lifelong passion for science and understanding. With a background in pharmacology and project management, her work with DoSER promotes broader inclusion in science spaces and helps reshape views on the intersections of science, ethics, and religion. She has been giving workshops since she joined DoSER in 2019. Rachel’s science engagement approach is practical and compassionate, focused on how science impacts people’s lives. Check out DoSER's fantastic resources at ScienceReligionDialogue.org!

  
  

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• Tell, Show, Enchant: Communicating Science Like a Storybook

  • Start
    5 Jun 2025
  •  
  • End
    26 Jun 2025
  •  
  • Schedule
    4 sessions
  • Location
    Zoom and self-paced material
  • Spaces left
    20

  Register

  What can science communication learn from children's books? A lot more than you might think!

  Join us to unlock the storytelling secrets of children's literature and bring them into your science communication toolbox! This course explores how storytelling, illustrations, and language choices in children's books can inspire more engaging and accessible science communication. This course is not about writing for children, it’s about learning from some of the most effective communicators – children’s books authors – and applying their strategies to science storytelling at large.

  It will be structured into four interactive online sessions:

  1. Story Finding covers the fundamentals of storytelling, different story types, and how to adapt your message to specific audiences.
  2. World Building delves into how context, descriptions, and characters create immersive narratives, drawing parallels between fantastic worlds in children's books and the world(s) of science.
  3. Story Crafting Part 1 – Words focuses on language techniques such as rhythm, repetition, and humor
  4. Story Crafting Part 2 – Visuals, Emotions, and Dramatic Effect explores the role of illustrations, emotional connection, and delivery in science communication.

  Throughout the course, participants will work on an individual project – the backbone of their own science story – by integrating the storytelling concepts learned in the four group sessions. Alongside discussions and hands-on exercises, they will also be encouraged to read children’s books with a new perspective, guided by supplementary material and a series of recommended readings.

  Key Learning Objectives

  • (Re)Connect with children’s books and gain a new appreciation for them from the perspective of an adult and science communicator
  • Learn storytelling techniques to craft an engaging and accessible story
  • Identify creative communication strategies in children’s books and explore how they can be applied to science communication projects

  What this course is NOT

  • A workshop for writing/creating children’s books
  • A course targeting SciComm delivery to young audiences
  • A pure storytelling course
  • A writing course

  Who Should Register?

  This course is perfect for graduate students, postdocs, and science communicators - whether full-time, part-time, or just starting - who want to make their science communication more engaging and accessible. If you're curious about how children's books can inspire creative storytelling and help you connect with broader audiences, this course is for you!

  Instructor
  Flavia-Bianca Cristian, PhD

  

  Bianca is a science communicator with a background in molecular biology and a PhD in autism genetics. Originally from Transylvania, Romania, she has lived in the USA, Portugal, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany. Passionate about making science accessible to all, she volunteers for NGOs that promote science literacy and is a 2025 fellow of the German-South African Public Engagement Exchange Program. This course blends her love for children's literature with her experience in scientific writing and science communication. She enjoys learning new languages, collecting children's books, and traveling.

  
  

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• SciComm with a Measurable Impact using Social Media

  • When
    27 Jun 2025
  •  
    12:00 - 13:45 (PDT)
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  Make a difference. Don’t let your SciComm get lost in the noise of Social Media

  

  Social media tools have made it easier than ever before for a small group of thoughtful people to change the world. When properly utilized, these tools can inform the public about a wide variety of problems, proposed evidence-based solutions, and mobilize popular support for change. However, too often they are improperly utilized, resulting in shouting into the void, wasted effort, and frustration.

  In this course, you'll learn how to use social media and blogs to make a difference in the real world. We'll discuss how to create measurable outcomes as part of your strategic communications plan, and how to measure them. We'll discuss how to identify key stakeholders and target audiences, and how to craft messages that reach them. And we'll discuss how to evaluate what went wrong-and how to adapt and try again.

  Key Learning Objectives

  • Contrast a social media output from a communications plan outcome
  • Develop a communications plans and goals with measurable outcomes
  • Identify key target audiences for your social media communications and build messages targeted at each audience
  • Analyze unsuccessful communications strategies and adapt/revise them for future success
  • Understand the advantages and disadvantages of various commonly used social media platforms

  Who Should Register?

  If you understand the basic mechanics of social media but want to learn how to craft messages to achieve your communications goals - in other words, to use social media to make a difference in the real world - this course is for you!

  

  Instructor

  David Shiffman

  Dr. David Shiffman is an ocean conservation scientist who specializes in sharks. He runs a scientific and environmental communications consulting firm in Washington, DC, where his clients include US government agencies, environmental non-profits, and universities. Hs more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles have been cited over 2,500 times, and his public-facing articles have appeared in National Geographic, the Washington Post, Scientific American, globally syndicated op-eds, and a monthly column in SCUBA diving magazine. Follow him on social media @ WhySharksMatter

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• Laughter As Peer Review: How To Use Humor To Enhance Science Communications

  • Start
    17 Aug 2025
  •  
  • End
    31 Aug 2025
  •  
  • Schedule
    3 sessions
  • Location
    On-demand modules with virtual live sessions
  • Spaces left
    15

  Register

  They say laughter is the best medicine, but it can also be great SciComm!

  Humor can be a powerful way to make a meaningful connection and provide effective communication, when used appropriately. Learn the fundamentals of humor and how it helps us learn, remember and engage, with a focus on science communications.

  In this course, we’ll cover some basic comedy and joke writing principles to help you find the humor in your science communication. The course will be divided into three modules covering

  1. Humor as a tool to create memorable messages
  2. Analogies, subversions, callbacks, and punchlines
  3. Humor applied to writing, presentations, and video

  Key Learning Objectives

  • Understand the mechanics and neuroscience of humor in relation to learning, attention, and memory
  • Develop the skills to craft quips, jokes, and laughing points
  • Learn how to apply funny analogies, subversions, callbacks, and punchlines
  • Master the balance between appropriate and inappropriate humor in science communication

  Who Should Register?

  Scientists and science communicators who want to learn about the neuroscience of humor and how to implement it to enhance their science communication. SciComm professionals at any level and background knowledge will find this course of value.

  Instructor

  Lexa Graham

  Lexa Graham is an award-winning scientist, educator, and comedian who created DNAtured Journal, a satirical academic journal on student life and science. Lexa is also a popular host, performer, and panelist for science-based events due to her personable nature, quick wit, and broad scientific knowledge. In the past, she has performed for organizations and events such as Story Collider, The Royal Canadian Institute of Science, The Association of Science Communicators, The Canadian Association of Science Communicators, SciCommTO, ScienceTalk, Spark After Dark, Science Rendezvous, IdeaMosaic, and INKspire.

  Lexa also helps scientists, students and business professionals incorporate humor into presentations, pitches, and speeches to capture audience attention and increase engagement. This a skill she has mastered after years of hosting rowdy late night comedy shows, writing science satire for people on the internet, and teaching science over Zoom.

  
  

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