The Science Communication Program focuses on providing classwork and practical training for students with science backgrounds who wish to use their skills to communicate about science with the public. Students join us in Santa Cruz for a nine-month master's program, culminating in the awarding of a Master's in Science degree in Science Communication. The program emphasizes hands-on application of skills we learn in the classroom. On this visit to the reserve, we would like to test whether trips to the reserve would provide a good opportunity for our students to practice their field reporting skills, including descriptive writing, documentary style filmmaking, and collecting audio for radio programming or podcasting. We will come with a short curriculum plan involving lessons and peer critique on these elements, but since this would be our first visit to the reserve we also want to try it out and get a feel for how we could best design these trips to optimize student learning.

Approved