How to have a positive impact when invisible wounds are present
In this workshop, we'll discuss key principles of trauma informed science communication. We'll talk about how to recognize signs of trauma and differentiate it from stress. For example, we'll talk about strategies for relationship building to keep open communication pathways with your audience. We'll also discuss how previous traumas influence learning. Participants will work in small groups to brainstorm how trauma can manifest in their science communication activities and strategies for managing it. We also discuss the role of power in educational settings, how power dynamics can worsen trauma symptoms, and how to use evidence-based strategies like codesign to minimize power dynamics. Participants will have a chance to brainstorm how to use codesign or other strategies to create more balanced power dynamics
Key Learning Objectives
We all want to be science communicators for good--and trauma can make that job harder. This is a workshop for people who work with vulnerable communities and/or topics that touch on traumatic events like natural disasters.
Instructor
Dr. Melanie Peffer
Dr. Melanie Peffer is a best-selling author, passionate biology educator, and accomplished science communicator whose work to help people rethink and find joy in biology has inspired thousands worldwide. In two decades of work with introductory biology students, students consistently praise her ability to bring the real world into the classroom in an engaging, creative manner.
She is also an in-demand public speaker and gave a TED talk (How Rethinking Biology Can Positively Change Your Life), developed a TED-ED lesson (The Artist Who Won a Nobel Prize...in Medicine) and regularly gives professional development workshops on various aspects of science communication, writing engaging science content, and inclusive pedagogy.
Dr. Peffer teaches in the introduction to molecular biology sequence at University of Colorado and pursues learning sciences research. Her research focuses on how people learn, understand, and engage with biology content. She also uses textile arts like quilting to tell science stories and promote science engagement. Dr. Peffer’s quilts have been displayed at county fairs and academic conferences alike where diverse audiences enjoy interacting with and telling their own creative science stories after viewing her art.