RU Communicating Psychological Science?
Rutgers University Training Program in Science Communication for Psychology PhD Students
Training Program Goals
The 'RU Communicating Psychological Science?' training program aims to develop and pilot an interdisciplinary training curriculum in science communication for psychology PhD students at Rutgers.
Our goals are to:
1) introduce PhD students to core components of science communication across different audiences, outlets, and modalities,
2) provide students with introductory conceptual and technical skills to communicate psychological science,
3) engage with a diverse public about psychological science in an accessible manner, and
4) develop and share resources with other students and training programs to broaden the reach of accessible psychological science.
Program Structure
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Monthly workshops during academic year
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Workshops hosted by speakers with expertise and experiences in topic
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"Hour of action" applied training sessions
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Culminating activities to communicate science
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Create content (video, written, visual)
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Community outreach event
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2022-23 Program Schedule
Fall
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9/29 - Back to the Basics: Foundational skills in communicating science (Presenter: Dr. Janet Alder)
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11/3- Making it Social: Using social media platforms to communicate science! (Presenters: Kathryn Coniglio and Mike Anestis​
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12/8: Hour of Action
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Spring
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2/7: Op-eds: Writing to make change (Dr. Mike Anestis)
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2/21- Hour of Action
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4/18- Speaking to the public through Podcasts (Dr. Katie Gordon, Kathryn Coniglio, & Sam Gerry)
Disclaimer: All attendees will be
video and audio recorded.
Workshop Overview
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Back to the Basics-- Foundational skills: Knowing your audience, knowing your message, understanding psychology of communication
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The Spoken Word: Oral communication skills and improvisation (e.g., effective use of language, streamlining the message, engaging audience, consider the setting)
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It Takes a Village: Communicating clinical science with stakeholders (e.g., policy) and community partners
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Meet the Public Where They Are: How to write for the public (e.g., writing an Op-Ed or blog, finding outlets, making a pitch) and policy-makers (e.g., policy memo)
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Visualizing Clinical Science: Effective use of multimedia and visual aids in communicating clinical science (e.g., infographics, identifying and using photos, videos)
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Make it Social: Using social media as a direct outlet (e.g., Reddit, Instagram, TikTok)
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Writing to make change: Dive in deeper into writing effective op-eds, including practical tips for timing delivery and selecting an outlet
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Podcasts: What, where, and when: Speak to your audience directly by joining as a guest or starting your own.
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Media Training: Learn about media representatives at your university and how they can help you communicate science more broadly and in different formats.
Resources
All final curriculum, training materials, presentation videos, and class products will be posted and shared here once prepared.
Pilot program supported by:
