Today is Blog Action Day. Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance.
Blog Action Day lead me to Framing Science, the weblog of Professor Matthew C. Nisbet. This excerpt was originally written about climate change. But as the goal of SECME is "to increase the pool of historically under-represented, geographically under-served, and differently abled students who will be prepared to enter and complete post-secondary studies in science...thus creating a diverse and globally competitive workforce," I edited it to broaden it's scope into a more general post on what it means to be prepared in science.
There needs to be more focus and clarity about the goals and outcomes of public engagement and communication, even down to the most basic questions as to what do we want citizens to learn? Or put another way, what dimensions of knowledge matter to public engagement and participation?
Unfortunately, well intentioned commentators have confused the important distinctions on science literacy to the point that the term has lost its meaning in popular discussion. Yet based on the relevant literature in science communication, below are several dimensions of literacy and knowledge that are likely to matter to public engagement. More work is needed in measuring these dimensions of knowledge in research studies and in evaluating different types of communication and media initiatives that might promote learning specific to one or several of these areas:
Civic science literacy refers to a level of understanding of scientific terms and constructs sufficient to make sense of a news report, and/or to interpret competing arguments on the reality and risks. It also involves understanding how scientific investigation works, and how expert agreement develops over time.
Social, legal, and ethical knowledge commonly refers to information about who funds research, how relevant policy decisions are reached and by whom, the ethics and values that guide decisions, and the connections between the climate change debate and other societal areas such as the economy, partisan politics, or national security.
Participatory knowledge refers to information and details on how a citizen can get involved and have a say in decisions that are made about climate change at the community or national level. Emphasizing this dimension of knowledge promotes a two-way exchange of information between experts and the public. Knowledge conveyed to the public might include the range of organizations in their community; upcoming major events, decisions, or meetings; and the names and contact information of key government organizations and officials. Web sites that make contacts and participation easier through direct email links or displaying maps for event locations would also reduce barriers to participations.
Localized and experiential knowledge involves evaluating and drawing connections between complex science-related topics and local impacts or relevance. Public education in a city or region should therefore be tailored to these unique connections and needs of the public.
Practical science literacy refers to knowledge that can be applied to solving common everyday personal problems such as consumer and household decisions or interpreting the packaging on energy appliances. Many Americans express that they would like information on what personal actions they can take that would have the "most bang for the buck," in other words the actions that are likely to make the most difference in terms of cost-savings. As expert agreement emerges on these questions, focusing communication around these practical, consumer dimensions is likely to increase public engagement and action.
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