PBS NewsHour Health Literacy and Student Reporting Labs: Broad expansion of journalism to increase bioscience literacy in America and support the next generation of biomedical science communicators

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Project Summary Using a combination of youth-generated videos, broadcast reporting and online curriculum resources, PBS NewsHour will engineer successful educational experiences to engage students from all backgrounds, and particularly underserved populations, to explore clinical, biomedical, and behavioral research. The PBS NewsHour's Student Reporting Labs (SRL) program, currently in 46 states, created ten Health Science Reporting Labs to produce unique news stories that view health science topics from a youth perspective. We incorporated these videos into lesson plans and learning tools disseminated to the general public, educators and youth media organizations. Students were supported along the way with curricula and mentorship on both fundamental research and the critical thinking skills necessary for responsible journalism. From this point, SRL is taking the next steps to disseminate these resources, helping to ensure that the next generation includes citizens who are effective science communicators and self- motivated learners with a deep connection to science beyond the textbook and classroom. PBS NewsHour will streamline and adapt our NIH-funded health science reporting curriculum for our digital learning community platform, StoryMaker. This curriculum will teach students important research skills such as interpreting scientific data and reading journal articles and includes activities that expose students to careers in research, highlight a diverse assortment of pioneering scientists as role models and promote internship opportunities. The resources will on StoryMaker will join postings on NewsHour Classroom (formerly PBS NewsHour Extra), which has 700,000 users per year, and our partner sites PBS Learning Media and Share My Lesson - the two biggest free education resource sites on the web. Through StoryMaker, NewsHour Classroom, and these partner resource-sharing sites, SRL will greatly expand the potential scope of our outreach and impact. NewsHour broadcast reports on health science research topics will continue to serve as springboards and examples of excellence for the student journalists, particularly through health coverage of the pandemic. The researchers interviewed for the stories will be selected for their expertise and skills as effective science communicators, as well as their diversity and ability to connect with youth. Finally we will leverage strategic partnerships and coordinated cross promotion of stories through social media platforms and the SRL network to reach a wider audience and encourage student viewers to stay informed about health topics that affect their lives and their communities.