title: Science Educational Outreach Programs That Benefit Students and Scientists.
abstract: Both scientists and the public would benefit from improved communication of basic scientific research and from integrating scientists into education outreach, but opportunities to support these efforts are limited. We have developed two low-cost programs--"Present Your PhD Thesis to a 12-Year-Old" and "Shadow a Scientist"--that combine training in science communication with outreach to area middle schools. We assessed the outcomes of these programs and found a 2-fold benefit: scientists improve their communication skills by explaining basic science research to a general audience, and students' enthusiasm for science and their scientific knowledge are increased. Here we present details about both programs, along with our assessment of them, and discuss the feasibility of exporting these programs to other universities.
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Greg
authors: G
authors: Clark
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Josh
authors: J
authors: Russell
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Enyeart
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Brant
authors: B
authors: Gracia
authors: Institut Pasteur, Unité de Génétique des Biofilms, Département de Microbiologie, Paris, France.
authors: Aimee
authors: A
authors: Wessel
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Inga
authors: I
authors: Jarmoskaite
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Damon
authors: D
authors: Polioudakis
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Yoel
authors: Y
authors: Stuart
authors: Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Tony
authors: T
authors: Gonzalez
authors: Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Al
authors: A
authors: MacKrell
authors: Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Stacia
authors: S
authors: Rodenbusch
authors: Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Gwendolyn M
authors: GM
authors: Stovall
authors: Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Josh T
authors: JT
authors: Beckham
authors: Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Montgomery
authors: Austin Independent School District, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Tania
authors: T
authors: Tasneem
authors: Austin Independent School District, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Jack
authors: J
authors: Jones
authors: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Simmons
authors: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Freshman Research Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.|Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Stanley
authors: S
authors: Roux
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D006801:Humans; D012106:Research; D013334:Students