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WELCOME TO

SCIENTIFIC ENGAGEMENT

We are very excited to have you in class with us this semester! Throughout this semester, you will be challenged to not only expand your comprehension of the nature of science, but also increase others' understanding through effective communication. Navigate the site to learn more about related topics we will cover this semester, our teaching philosophy, and also your course instructors. Contact us below if you have any questions or concerns. For more information, check out The Miller Lab's website!

TOPICS COVERED THIS SEMESTER

NATURE OF SCIENCE

What is science? How do we come to understand the natural world? Science allows us to explain our physical world through empirical observations and experimentation. This semester, we will discuss why science is such a valuable tool and how it differs from other disciplines, like the social sciences and humanities.

SCIENCE ETHICS

Ethics help us discern what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior in science in order to maintain the integrity and validity of a scientist's findings. This semester, we will discuss some scientific codes of conduct and why these standards are important to scientists and the public. Click here to read more!

PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS

How do people outside science view scientific findings? How are people's perceptions of science affected by the media? If, according to NASA, 97% of publishing scientists agree climate change is affected by human activities, why is climate change still a debate? We will explore how science interacts with the general public by reading Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway.

SCIENTIFIC LITERACY

Primary scientific literature is where novel theories and data are published. Scientists depend on scientific manuscripts to identify gaps in our knowledge of the world and to drive science forward. Using C.U.R.E. and C.R.E.A.T.E. teaching methods, you will learn how to comprehend and analyze primary scientific literature effectively.

RESEARCH

Throughout the semester, you will collect data addressing fascinating questions related to sexual selection and evolutionary biology. You will also have the opportunity to engage in extra independent projects led by some of our instructors.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Scientists must not only comprehend scientific literature, but must also communicate recent findings to a wide range of audiences. We will discuss different means of communicating scientific knowledge and how the most effective communication method may depend on the audience.

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OUR TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Mentored undergraduate research has positive impacts on students' learning gains and interest in STEM education. However, many students lack research opportunities, limiting their college educational experiences to traditional lecture and lab courses. In Scientific Engagement, we stray away from status-quo lectures and cookbook lab exercises, and provide students with a completely different learning opportunity. Scientific Engagement is a Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience (C.U.R.E.) course, focusing on integrating novel research and data collection with discussion-based lectures. We use the collaborative nature of lab meetings as our model, promoting comprehension by group discussions and critical thinking. During the "lecture" portion, we use a flipped classroom design to prevent monotonous presentations and encourage active student participation.

A critical function of Scientific Engagement is to give students hands-on experiences with novel research. Rather than replicate traditional experiments and arriving at the same results, students in this C.U.R.E. course will be involved in completely new research questions. The results are unknown to both the students and instructors, providing an ideal opportunity to show students how real research is conducted and how scientists interpret new results. We believe that students should gain a holistic understanding of the nature of science, how excellent science is performed, and how scientific data is communicated to, and perceived by, the public.