Instructor: Dr. Jessica Van de Kemp
Office Hours: Fridays, 1:30-2:30, via MS Teams
Email: jvandekemp@uwaterloo.ca (Replies within 24h between Monday and Friday)
Tech Support: If you experience any technical problems with LEARN, email learnhelp@uwaterloo.ca
Course Description
In this course, you will learn about effective written, oral, and visual communication in the life sciences. You will have the opportunity to shape these communication skills through iterative design processes that emphasize attention to your audience, the purpose of your communications, and student agency. You will work individually and collaboratively to craft messages for internal and external audiences, such as scientists, government stakeholders, affected communities, or broader publics. You will learn a variety of genres such as research reports, grant proposals, conference abstracts, conference posters, public talks, blog posts, or podcasts. Overall, this course will help you enhance your capacity to conduct research and report research findings, communicate ethically, and thereby effect important change.
Course Goals and Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- design, draft, and persuasively deliver scientific communications to expert and non-expert audiences;
- justify decisions about the language, content, and genre used when communicating scientific information;
- practice collaboration and peer review in support of iterative communication design processes, including revision;
- practice research processes to find, assess, document, incorporate, and cite research resources and communicate research findings;
- describe and appraise the purposes and ethical concerns of science communication.
Readings Available on LEARN
There is no required textbook for this course. All readings and resources are open access and will be made freely available to students as links or PDFs posted on LEARN.
Course Requirements and Assessment
In this course, a passing grade is 50%. You will need to complete the following assignments and activities. Assignments will be submitted and feedback will be provided through LEARN. This course has no midterm or final exam.
|
Assessment |
Due Date |
Weighting |
|
Participation (Various Activities) |
Throughout The Term |
20% |
|
Peer Review Workshops (3x5%) |
January 21; February 18; March 25 |
15% |
|
Science Literature Review |
January 26 |
20% |
|
Scientific Infographic |
February 4 |
5% |
|
Group Poster Presentation |
March 2 |
20% |
|
Oral Presentation |
March 30 |
20% |
|
Total |
100% |
Participation (Various Activities) (20%)
Throughout the term, you will complete various writing activities for participation grades, including worksheets, rough drafts, discussion posts, reflections, and a skills identification/articulation workshop.
Peer Review Workshops (15%)
For the workshops, you will submit rough drafts of your assignments for peer review, and practice giving and implementing constructive feedback. There will be 3 peer review workshops, graded for participation, and each is worth 5%.
Science Literature Review (20%)
For this assignment, you will choose a life sciences subject/topic that you are interested in, read 3 peer- reviewed articles on that subject/topic, and write a critical summary and analysis of the current state of research. The instructions for the science literature review will be outlined in the assignment prompt. This assignment will be graded using a rubric.
Scientific Infographic (5%)
For this assignment, you will design a scientific infographic (using only free software) for a non-expert audience. The instructions for the scientific infographic will be outlined in the assignment prompt. This assignment will be graded using a rubric.
Group Poster Presentation (20%)
For this assignment, you will work with your (randomly assigned) group to convert an existing peer-
reviewed journal article into a ‘conference-ready’ science poster (following the IMRaD structure). The instructions for the group poster presentation will be outlined in the assignment prompt. This assignment will be graded using a rubric. All group members will receive the same grade on this assignment.
Oral Presentation (20%)
For this assignment, you will deliver a 3-minute science talk by creating a narrated PowerPoint presentation (with slides, visuals, audio, and video). The instructions for the oral presentation will be outlined in the assignment prompt. This assignment will be graded using a rubric.
Course Schedule
|
Unit |
Week |
Readings and Other Assigned Materials |
Activities and Assessments |
Due Date (Mon/Wed/Fri) |
Participation Grades |
Weight (%) |
|
Unit 1: Written Communication in the Life Sciences |
Week 1: Jan 5-7 Welcome to the Course |
Course Syllabus Purugganan and Hewitt, “How to Read a Scientific Article” |
Activity: Post in the Introduce Yourself discussion forum |
Friday, January 7, 2022 at 11:59PM |
Ungraded | |
|
Week 2: Jan 10-14 Science Literature Review Assignment Overview and Rough Draft Composition |
Science Literature Review assignment prompt and rubric |
Activity: Submit your Science Literature Review (SLR) Worksheet to the UNIT 1: SLR Worksheet dropbox |
Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 11:59PM |
2 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | |
|
Pautasso, “Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review” |
Activity: Write a rough draft of your Science Literature Review |
Before next Wednesday |
Ungraded | |||
|
Week 3: Jan 17-21 Science Literature Review Rough Draft Submission and Peer Review Workshop |
Note: Peer review groups are randomly assigned by Week 3. To find out which group you're in, click Connect > Groups. To access the workshop, click Connect > Discussions > Unit 1 Peer Review Workshop. |
Activity: Post your Science Literature Review rough draft in the Unit 1 Peer Review Workshop discussion forum |
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 11:59PM |
2 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | |
|
Giving Effective Feedback (PDF) document |
Activity: Review at least 3 of |
Friday, January 21, 2022 at 11:59PM |
5% |
|
your peers’ Science Literature Review rough drafts in the Unit 1 Peer Review Workshop discussion forum | ||||||
|
Week 4: Jan 24-28 Science Literature Review Revision, Submission, and Reflection |
Procter, “Revising and Editing.” WCC, “Revision” |
Activity: Revise, edit, and proofread your Science Literature Review, taking into account any helpful peer feedback |
Before this Wednesday |
Ungraded | ||
|
Assignment: Submit your Science Literature Review as well as your Process Documents (i.e. your rough draft and peer review comments) to the UNIT 1: Science Literature Review dropbox |
Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 11:59PM |
20% | ||||
|
Activity: Post your Short Reflection (approx. 400 words) in the Unit 1 Short Reflection discussion forum |
Friday, January 28, 2022 at 11:59PM |
1 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) |
|
Unit 2: Visual Communication in the Life Sciences |
Week 5: Jan 31-Feb 4 Scientific Infographic Design and Submission |
Penrose and Katz, “Chapter 8: Communicating with Public Audiences” Scientific Infographic assignment prompt and rubric |
Activity: Create an infographic on a life sciences concept for a non-expert audience using free design software |
Before this Friday |
Ungraded | |
|
Assignment: Submit your Scientific Infographic to the UNIT 2: Scientific Infographic dropbox |
Friday, February 4, 2022 at 11:59PM |
5% | ||||
|
Week 6: Feb. 7-11 Group Poster Presentation Assignment Overview, Group Contract, and Rough Draft Composition |
Group Poster Presentation assignment prompt and rubric Student Success Office, “Working Effectively in Groups” Note: Groups are randomly assigned by Week 6. To find out which group you're in, click Connect > Discussions > Unit 2 Groups. |
Activity: One group member submits your Group Contract to the UNIT 2: Group Contract dropbox |
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 11:59PM |
2 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | |
|
Gundogan et al. “How to Make an Academic Poster” |
Activity: As a group, create a rough draft of your Group Poster Presentation |
Before next Wednesday |
Ungraded | |||
|
Week 7: Feb. 14-18 |
Activity: One group member |
Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at |
2 |
Contributes to your participation |
|
Group Poster Presentation Rough Draft Submission and Peer Review Workshop |
posts the rough draft of your Group Poster Presentation in the Unit 2 Peer Review Workshop discussion forum |
11:59PM |
grade (20%) | |||
|
Giving Effective Feedback (PDF) document |
Activity: Review at least 2 other groups’ Group Poster Presentation rough drafts in the Unit 2 Peer Review Workshop discussion forum |
Friday, February 18, 2022 at 11:59PM |
5% | |||
|
Reading Week: Feb. 19-27 | ||||||
|
Week 8: Feb. 28- Mar. 4 Group Poster Presentation Revision, Submission, and Final Reflective Report |
Activity: As a group, make final revisions to your poster |
Before this Wednesday |
Ungraded | |||
|
Assignment: One group member submits your Group Poster Presentation, as well as your Process Documents (i.e. group contract, rough draft, peer review comments, copy of the original article, etc), to the UNIT 2: Group Poster |
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 11:59PM |
20% | ||||
|
Presentation dropbox | ||||||
|
Activity: Submit your Final Reflective Report (approx. 400 words) to the UNIT 2: Final Reflective Report dropbox |
Friday, March 4, 2022 at 11:59PM |
2 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | |||
|
Unit 3: Oral Communication in the Life Sciences |
Week 9: Mar. 7-11 EDGE Skills Workshop Oral Presentation Assignment Overview |
EDGE Skills Workshop |
Activity: Complete the EDGE Skills Workshop (which takes approx. 1.5 hours) |
Monday, March 7, 2022 at 11:59PM |
1 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) |
|
Penrose and Katz, “Chapter 6: Preparing Conference Presentations” Oral Presentation assignment prompt and rubric |
Activity: Post in the Unit 3 Science Talk discussion forum |
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 11:59PM |
1 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | ||
|
Activity: Reply to a post in the Unit 3 Science Talk discussion forum |
Friday, March 11, 2022 at 11:59PM |
1 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | |||
|
Activity: Fill out an Oral Presentation (OP) Worksheet |
Before next Wednesday |
Ungraded | ||||
|
Week 10: Mar. 14-18 |
Activity: Submit your |
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 |
2 |
Contributes to your |
|
Oral Presentation Rough Draft Composition |
OP Worksheet to the UNIT 3: OP Worksheet dropbox |
at 11:59PM |
participation grade (20%) | |||
|
Naegle, “Ten Simple Rules for Effective Presentation Slides” Bourne, “Ten Simple Rules for Making Good Oral Presentations” |
Activity: Create a rough draft of your Oral Presentation (i.e. a presentation outline, slides, and script) |
Before next Wednesday |
Ungraded | |||
|
Week 11: Mar. 21-25 Oral Presentation Rough Draft Submission and Peer Review Workshop |
Note: Peer review groups are randomly assigned by Week 11. To find out which group you're in, click Connect > Groups. To access the workshop, click Connect > Discussions > Unit 3 Peer Review Workshop. |
Activity: Post the rough draft of your Oral Presentation (i.e. slides and script) in the Unit 3 Peer Review Workshop discussion forum |
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 11:59PM |
2 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | |
|
Giving Effective Feedback (PDF) document |
Activity: Review at least 3 of your peers’ Oral Presentation rough drafts in the Unit 3 Peer Review Workshop discussion forum |
Friday, March 25, 2022 at 11:59PM |
5% | |||
|
Week 12: Mar. 28 - Apr. 4 |
Activity: Video record yourself |
Before this Wednesday |
Ungraded |
|
Oral Presentation Revision, Submission, Ethics Reflection, and Course Evaluation |
presenting and make any other final additions or changes to your Oral Presentation | |||||
|
Assignment: Submit your Oral Presentation, as well as your Process Documents (i.e. rough drafts of your outline, slides, script, etc, plus your peer review comments), to the UNIT 3: Oral Presentation dropbox |
Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 11:59PM |
20% | ||||
|
Penrose and Katz, “Chapter 3: Considering Ethics in Scientific Communication” |
Activity: Submit your Ethics Reflection (approx. 400 words) to the Unit 3 Ethics Reflection discussion forum |
Friday, April 1, 2022 at 11:59PM |
2 |
Contributes to your participation grade (20%) | ||
|
Activity: Complete a course evaluation |
Before Monday, April 4, 2022 at 11:59PM |
Ungraded |
Course and University Policies
Late Policy: You are required to submit all assignments in this course by their due dates. I am happy to discuss the possibility of an extension or accommodations on an assignment if you email me at least 48 hours in advance so we can agree on a new deadline. Otherwise, late work will be penalized 5% per day.
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. See the Office of Academic Integrity webpage for more information.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence and to take responsibility for their actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g. plagiarism, cheating, etc) or about ‘rules’ for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check the Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.
Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 - Student Appeals.
Note for Students with Disabilities: AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.
Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students' submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g. scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security.
Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin in this course. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit alternate assignment.
Cross-Listed Course (If Applicable): Please note that a cross-listed course will count in all respective averages no matter under which rubric it has been taken. For example, a PHIL/PSCI cross-list will count in a Philosophy major average, even if the course was taken under the Political Science rubric.
Intellectual Property: Students should be aware that this course contains the intellectual property of their instructor and/or the University of Waterloo. Intellectual property includes items such as: lecture content, spoken and written (and any audio/video recording thereof); lecture handouts, presentations, and other materials prepared for the course (e.g. PowerPoint slides); questions or solution sets from various types of assessments (e.g. assignments, quizzes, tests, or final exams); and work protected by copyright (e.g. any work authored by the instructor or used by the instructor with permission of the copyright owner). Course materials, and the intellectual property contained therein, are used to enhance a student’s educational experience. However, sharing this intellectual property without the intellectual property owner’s permission is a violation of intellectual property rights. For this reason, it is necessary to ask the instructor and/or the University of Waterloo for permission before uploading and sharing the intellectual property of others online (e.g. to an online repository). Permission from an instructor and/or the University is also necessary before sharing the intellectual property of others from completed courses with students taking the same/similar courses in subsequent terms/years. In many cases, instructors might be happy to allow distribution of certain materials. However, doing so without expressed permission is considered a violation of intellectual property rights. Please alert the instructor if you become aware of intellectual property belonging to others (past or present) circulating, either through the student body or online. The intellectual property rights owner deserves to know (and may have already given their consent).
Mental Health Support: All of us need a support system. The faculty and staff in Arts encourage students to seek out mental health support if they are needed.
On-Campus (due to COVID-19 and campus closures, services are available online or by phone)
- Counselling Services: Email: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / Phone: 519-888-4567 ext. 32655
- MATES: One-to-one peer support program offered by the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) and Counselling Services
Off-Campus, 24/7
- Good2Talk: Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454
- Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-4300 ext. 6880
- Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247
- OK2BME: Set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or questioning teens in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 ext. 213
Academic Freedom: Policy 33, Ethical Behaviour states, as one of its general principles (Section 1), that “The University supports academic freedom for all members of the University community. Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base teaching and research on an honest and ethical quest for knowledge. In the context of this policy, 'academic freedom' refers to academic activities, including teaching and scholarship, as is articulated in the principles set out in the Memorandum of Agreement between the FAUW and the University of Waterloo, 1998 (Article 6). The academic environment which fosters free debate may from time to time include the presentation or discussion of unpopular opinions or controversial material.
Such material shall be dealt with as openly, respectfully, and sensitively as possible.” This definition is repeated in Policies 70 and 71, and in the Memorandum of Agreement, Section 6.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement: As your instructor, I am committed to creating a safe and inclusive learning environment where diversity (of ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexuality, etc) is greatly respected and welcomed. As my student, I value your contributions, and am here to help you reach your full potential. At all times, I will strive to create a classroom climate that is free of discrimination and harassment, and encourage feedback on how to improve this course to better support you.
Territorial Acknowledgement: The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within the Office of Indigenous Relations.