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SEARCH BROADEN THE IMPACTS OF YOUR RESEARCH

SYLLABUS: Broaden the Impacts of Your Research

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Today’s scientists are asked to not only conduct their own research but also collaborate with experts in other disciplines and communicate their findings to broad audiences. The ability to juggle these disparate expectations requires the development of critical thinking techniques in connecting to new topics and with new people. This course is designed to be an online community of practice to help graduate students hone specific professional skills while taking advantage of cost-free online tools.

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WEEK 1
Deconstruct Your Research - I
• Get familiar with the course and begin your blog
• Create survey, collect, and share data about words related to your research
• Give and receive comments on survey results


WEEK 2
Deconstruct Your Research - II
• Begin to “deconstruct” your research using a concept map
• Post a draft “Focus Question” for your concept map
• Post your draft concept map


WEEK 3
Deconstruct Your Research - III
• Learn how to illustrate your research without violating copyright rules
• Add visual material from the CLIMB database to your draft concept map
• Comment on classmates’ draft concept maps
• Comment on clips from webinars featuring NASA researchers


WEEK 4
Explain Your Research - I
• With another student, formulate a “Focus Question” for a collaborative research project
• Post draft collaborative research concept map
• Comment on your classmates’ collaborative research concept maps


WEEK 5
Explain Your Research – II
• Investigate and share terms used to convey findings in your field using Word Clouds
• Begin Project #1: Creating a short video using your collaborative concept map as a visual aid


WEEK 6
Explain Your Research – III
• Provide feedback to classmates’ Project #1 videos using a standard rubric, both anonymously and with attribution
• Discover how the idea “Less is More” can be applied to complex science, with an opportunity to receive extra credit


PROJECT #1 DUE


WEEK 7
Engage New People With Your Research - I
• Learn more about sharing science through mass media from a NASA expert
• Develop and share 1 – 3 key (or “take-home”) messages about your research
• Investigate various examples of communication products to prepare for Project #2


WEEK 8
Engage New People With Your Research - II
• Learn communication strategies to impact the actions of the public and decision-makers
• Summarize your research area in terms of: (1) Audience needs and misconceptions; (2) Possible public attitudes; and (3) Whether it might be affected by “single action bias”
• Explicitly state your key messages and target audience(s) for Project #2
• Comment on two or more of your classmates’ key messages & target audience


WEEK 9
Engage New People With Your Research - III
• Learn more about sharing science through storytelling from an expert podcast producer
• Share techniques you could use to “tell your own story,” along with the type(s) of media that you will use for your “communication product
• Post Project #2's communication product
• Begin thinking about questions for your communication product survey


PROJECT #2 DUE


WEEK 10
Broaden the Impacts of Your Research – I
• Understand the fundamentals of project evaluation from an expert, including connections between objectives and evaluation
• Design and administer a survey to discover if your Project #2 “take-home” message was accurately received by the target audience
• Post results of audience survey with classmates


WEEK 11
Broaden the Impacts of Your Research – II
• Discover how to find and collaborate with experts in education and outreach
• Use an online “matchmaking tool” to discover potential partners for your “Broader Impacts” statement (i.e., Project #3)
• Post “seaHarmony” results on class blog


WEEK 12
Broaden the Impacts of Your Research – III
• Find out more about collaborating with experts in education and outreach, including online “matchmaking” • Investigate an online “Wizard” designed to help satisfy the proposal criterion: “What are the broader impacts of this activity?”
• Use the “Wizard” to produce an outline of important points to include in your BI statement (i.e., part of Project #3)
• Post your outline on your blog and comment on at least two other students’ BI outlines


WEEK 13
Broaden the Impacts of Your Research – IV
• Hear about the National Science Foundation (NSF) reviews from a Program Manager
• Search NSF Broader Impacts (BI) statements related to your research area and post the results on your blog
• Begin Project #3: A one-page “Project Summary” of a research project that aligns with a Federally-funded program plus a one-page “Broader Impacts” plan for this project


WEEK 14
Broaden the Impacts of Your Research – V
• Learn about the “broader” definition of “Broader Impacts”
• Post Project #3 (i.e., “Project Summary/Broader Impacts”) on your course blog
• Serve as an anonymous reviewer for 2-3 students’ Project #3


PROJECT #3 DUE

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POLICY STATEMENTS


Academic Honesty Statement
Academic honesty is very important. It is dishonest to cheat on exams, to copy term papers, to submit papers written by another person, to fake experimental results, or to copy or reword parts of books or articles into your own papers without appropriately citing the source. Students committing or aiding in any of these violations may be given failing grades for an assignment or for an entire course, at the discretion of the instructor. In addition to any academic action taken by an instructor, these violations are also subject to action under the University of Maine Student Conduct Code. The maximum possible sanction under the student conduct code is dismissal from the University.


Students with Disabilities Statement
If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, please contact Ann Smith, Director of Disabilities Services, 121 East Annex, 581-2319, as early as possible in the term.


Course Schedule Disclaimer
In the event of an extended disruption of normal classroom activities, the format for this course may be modified to enable its completion within its programmed time frame. In that event, you will be provided an addendum to the syllabus that will supersede this version.