Development of Oral Communication Skills by Undergraduates that Convey Evolutionary Concepts to the Public

Abstract

Leaders in undergraduate biology education have recommended that post-secondary programs recognize the importance of communication. Scientists are generally recognized as the conduit for communicating scientific information with the public. Traditionally, scientific training has focused on building students’ content knowledge, knowledge of terminology, and ability to communicate with other scientists. The majority of undergraduate biology programs do not include a focus on building their students’ ability to communicate scientific information to non-scientists. Due to both its controversy (outside the scientific community) and conflicting scientific and lay terminology, speaking to non-scientists about evolution can be especially challenging. In this Tips and Tool article, we present an interactive approach to help build students’ conceptual knowledge of evolution and to develop their ability to orally communicate with non-scientists.