Chapter Eight: “STEM Journalism: Writing, Reading, and Connecting with Broader Audiences”

The Conversation  http://theconversation.com   

Be sure to check this out. This STEM-relevant, multi-subject, multi-language, cross-national newsletter, sponsored in part by Michigan State University, announces itself as based on “academic rigor, journalistic flair.” The authors are all university faculty and researchers—but the style is popular and colorful photos abound. Note how every article pays attention to both of the core values.

The Craft of Science Writing https://www.theopennotebook.com/the-craft-of-science-writing/

Anthology of articles by experienced science journalists about their craft.

Feldman, A. (2015). STEAM rising: Why we need to put the arts into STEM education. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/06/steam_vs_stem_why_we_need_to_put_the_arts_into_stem_education.htm

Folger, T. (Ed.). (2019). The best American science and nature writing. Boston: Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Outstanding cross-disciplinary anthologies that exemplify the principles described in Chapter Eight. See other recommendations below under Chapter Twelve.

Johnsen, Carolyn, ed. Taking Science to the People: A Communication Primer for Scientists and Engineers. Lincoln, NE: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2010.

This concise collection of articles argues that scientists and engineers need to take action to communicate to wider audiences, rather than hand this responsibility to professional journalists.

Kaplan, Sarah, and Chris Mooney (2020). Genetic analysis sheds light on Boston superspreading event. Washington Post, Aug. 25, 2020.

Note how the authors of the Post article move from description of the core study to a broader-based analysis and interviews with other key researchers and public policy analysts.

See source study for this article listed under Ch. 5.

Kluger, J. (2018). Apollo 8: the thrilling story of the first mission to the moon. New York, NY: Picador/Henry Holt and Company.

By the co-author of Apollo 13, excellent example of a science journalist using clear analogies to explain the science of space flight.

Sinha, Urbasi (2020). Quantum Slits Open New Doors. Scientific American Blog

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-slits-open-new-doors/

Good example of a physicist and a graphic artist striving to reach a broad audience of specialists and non-specialists. Note the infographics by Nick Bockelman to help non-specialists visualize the two- and three-slit experiments and their consequences. Note also the limited but strategic use of symbolic language by Sinha, as well as the analogies to party guests and football results!

Relevant also to Chapters Three, Nine, and Ten of WSTFC.

Stoneman, L., Poli, D., Denisch, A., Weltmann, L., and M. Almeder (2019). Book Publication as Pedagogy: Taking Learning Deep and Wide. Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal, Volume 4 Issue 2.

This and the following four articles describe the links between STEM and the arts (STEAM), with specific examples from school projects that create books, including those relevant to STEM in schools.

Poli, DB. & Stoneman, L. (2018). Capturing the transdisciplinary dragon: Creating a crossover natural history-art exhibit. The Atlas, 9, 44-56. doi:10.22545/2018/00101

President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. (2012). Engage to excel: Producing one million additional college graduates with degrees in science,technology, engineering, and mathematics. Report to the President. Washington,DC: Author. Retrieved from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-engage-to-excel-final_2-25-12.pdf

Pyle, C. M. (2000). Art as science: Scientific illustration, 1490-1670 in drawing, woodcut and copper plate. Endeavour, 24(2), 69-75.

Healy, Melissa (2020). An Old Remedy for a New Contagion. LA Times, 1A, Aug. 1, 2020. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=1629564f-836d-4dd7-88f3-30ef74a34524

Describes the coalition of physicians and research scientists carrying out studies and clinical trials of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19. Summarizes history of such use in previous pandemics. See Joyner et al. research review under Ch. 7.