A Model Approach to Public Engagement Training for Students in Developing Countries †
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Authors:
Thomas K. Karikari1,2,*,
Nat Ato Yawson3
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Received 15 September 2016 Accepted 09 November 2016 Published 21 April 2017
- ©2017 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.
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[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
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†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. Phone: +44 (0)2476 522559. Fax: +44 (0)2476 523701. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract:
Early involvement in public engagement activities may enhance undergraduate and graduate students’ long-term interest in science careers and their ability to dialogue with the public about topics of importance to science and society. While several public engagement training programs have been created and implemented in universities in the developed world, such opportunities are limited in developing countries. In their pursuit to develop appropriate public engagement training programs for their students, outreach providers and educators in developing countries will benefit from tried-and-tested training schemes from specific developing country contexts. In this paper, we describe the development, implementation, outcomes and possible extensions to an initiative to train budding scientists in a Ghanaian university to enable them to more effectively interact with the non-scientist public about the relevance of their research and the contribution of scientific endeavors to improving our daily lives. In order to address specific public engagement challenges identified in the target society, the program focuses on training students to become initiators of outreach activities who proactively seek engagement opportunities and can independently develop innovative events particularly for communities with poor public inclination to participate in scientific outreach.
References & Citations
Supplemental Material
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Appendix 1: An example public engagement activity designed and implemented by the trained undergraduate students
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Abstract:
Early involvement in public engagement activities may enhance undergraduate and graduate students’ long-term interest in science careers and their ability to dialogue with the public about topics of importance to science and society. While several public engagement training programs have been created and implemented in universities in the developed world, such opportunities are limited in developing countries. In their pursuit to develop appropriate public engagement training programs for their students, outreach providers and educators in developing countries will benefit from tried-and-tested training schemes from specific developing country contexts. In this paper, we describe the development, implementation, outcomes and possible extensions to an initiative to train budding scientists in a Ghanaian university to enable them to more effectively interact with the non-scientist public about the relevance of their research and the contribution of scientific endeavors to improving our daily lives. In order to address specific public engagement challenges identified in the target society, the program focuses on training students to become initiators of outreach activities who proactively seek engagement opportunities and can independently develop innovative events particularly for communities with poor public inclination to participate in scientific outreach.

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Author and Article Information
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Received 15 September 2016 Accepted 09 November 2016 Published 21 April 2017
- ©2017 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology.
-
[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
-
†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. Phone: +44 (0)2476 522559. Fax: +44 (0)2476 523701. E-mail: [email protected].
Figures
A model for the development and implementation of scientific outreach activities. This model focuses on five principles: initiation, development, implementation, evaluation, and sharing. 1) Initiate. In an environment where scientist-community outreach partnerships are uncommon, scientists initiate outreach programs by approaching a potential audience to identify their interest and discuss possible activities. 2) Develop. After confirming support from the intended audience, outreach activities are developed, with special consideration for resources needed, who to collaborate with, source of funding, and outreach instructors. 3) Implement. Activities are delivered in an interactive manner, engaging the audience with relevant discussions around the theme. 4) Evaluate. Feedback from the audience is obtained and analyzed to determine how receptive they were to the activities and to inform the researchers as to whether the outreach aims were achieved. Feedback could be formal (e.g., using purpose-designed questionnaires) or informal (e.g., through unstructured word-of-mouth comments). 5) Share. Share outcomes with the wider public (such as through peer-reviewed publications, blog posts, social media, and online outreach databases) to support others in developing similar activities.

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FIGURE 1
A model for the development and implementation of scientific outreach activities. This model focuses on five principles: initiation, development, implementation, evaluation, and sharing. 1) Initiate. In an environment where scientist-community outreach partnerships are uncommon, scientists initiate outreach programs by approaching a potential audience to identify their interest and discuss possible activities. 2) Develop. After confirming support from the intended audience, outreach activities are developed, with special consideration for resources needed, who to collaborate with, source of funding, and outreach instructors. 3) Implement. Activities are delivered in an interactive manner, engaging the audience with relevant discussions around the theme. 4) Evaluate. Feedback from the audience is obtained and analyzed to determine how receptive they were to the activities and to inform the researchers as to whether the outreach aims were achieved. Feedback could be formal (e.g., using purpose-designed questionnaires) or informal (e.g., through unstructured word-of-mouth comments). 5) Share. Share outcomes with the wider public (such as through peer-reviewed publications, blog posts, social media, and online outreach databases) to support others in developing similar activities.
An example outreach activity developed and implemented following the model described in Figure 1 . Our trained student outreach providers followed this scientist-driven, evidence-based model to plan and implement a neuroscience-themed public engagement activity for high school students in Kumasi, Ghana, leading to beneficial impacts that can be built upon to improve scientist-public interactions in similar settings.

Click to view
FIGURE 2
An example outreach activity developed and implemented following the model described in Figure 1 . Our trained student outreach providers followed this scientist-driven, evidence-based model to plan and implement a neuroscience-themed public engagement activity for high school students in Kumasi, Ghana, leading to beneficial impacts that can be built upon to improve scientist-public interactions in similar settings.