Conference: Beyond Broader Impact: A Strategy to Enhance the Public's Understanding of Plant Science; April 1, 2006; Rockville, MD

该项目要求举办为期一天的研讨会，以确定制定行动计划所需的基本要素，使美国植物生物学家学会（ASPB）和美国植物学会（BSA）能够帮助其成员更好地向K-16学生和整个社会传达植物科学的相关性。会议结束后一个月内将发表一份描述行动计划的白皮书，提出一项五年战略计划，以促进和鼓励双方成员将这些努力作为其日常活动的一部分。白皮书将包括确保将成为下一代科学家的研究生接受适当培训以实现这一目标所需的步骤。在人口结构不断变化的时代，该计划必须考虑到目标受众的多样性。这次研讨会的更广泛影响将是帮助植物科学家更好地向各种目标受众（包括K-12教师和学生、本科生和研究生以及整个社会）传达他们研究的重要性。本次研讨会的智力价值在于帮助植物科学家了解到，当他们把自己的工作放在更广泛的背景下，让更广泛的受众可以接触到时，他们在自己的智力努力中可以采取的各种途径。我们预计，这项计划的一个主要内容将包括如何评价这些努力的效力，以便只促进有意义的活动。讲习班将由大约20名具有不同背景的与会者组成；因此，这次会议将代表各种不同的观点。在会议开始之前，每位与会者将被要求从4个目标受众的角度回答一系列问题；即K-12，本科，研究生/博士后/教师，以及非正式教育。在使用三个分拆会议组时，我们将确定需要纳入战略计划的关键要素。最终白皮书的草稿将分发给与会者征求最后意见，然后提交给两个学会的教育委员会实施。PI将在2006年年会上向ASPB成员发布该计划。

This project calls for a one-day workshop that will be held to identify essential elements needed in producing a plan of action to enable the American Society for Plant Biologists (ASPB) and the Botanical Society of America (BSA) to help their membership better communicate the relevance of plant sciences to K-16 students and society at large. A white paper describing the plan of action, to be produced within one month after the meeting, will recommend a 5-year strategic plan to promote and encourage both memberships to make these efforts part of their usual activities. The white paper will include steps needed for insuring that graduate students, who will become the next generation of scientists, receive appropriate training to meet this goal. In an era of changing demographics, it will be essential that the plan address the diversity of the target audiences. The Broader Impact of this workshop will be to help plant scientists better communicate the importance of their research to various target audiences, which include K-12 teachers and students, undergraduate and graduate students, and society at large. The Intellectual Merit of this workshop will be to help plant scientists learn the various paths that can be taken in their own intellectual efforts when putting their work in a broader context that is accessible to a wider audience. We anticipate that a major element of this plan will entail how to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts in order to promote only meaningful activities. The workshop will be composed of approximately 20 participants with diverse backgrounds; therefore, a variety of perspectives will be represented at this meeting. Prior to the meeting, each participant will be asked to address a series of questions from the perspective of 4 target audiences; namely K-12, undergraduate, Graduate/ Postdoctoral/ Faculty, and informal education. In using three breakaway session groups, we will identify key elements that need to be incorporated into the strategic plan. A draft of the final white paper will be distributed to the attendees for final comment, and then presented to the Education Committees of both societies for implementation. The PI will disseminate the plan to the ASPB membership at the 2006 annual meeting.