Professional Development Fellowship: Mental Models Study of Perceptions of Audience in Science and Technology Communication

专业发展奖学金：科学技术传播中受众感知的心理模型研究这个奖学金项目利用认知科学和STS研究的方法，专注于技术专家如何与公共领域的传播专业人员接触，为不同的受众翻译科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)方面的新知识。该项目包括一个教育部分，为奖学金获得者提供心理模型准备和研究方法，以及一个研究部分，其中这些方法将用于研究受众的看法以及新手和专家在向普通受众传播STEM内容时的决策。这项研究针对的是STEM研究生成为更有效的沟通者的最大障碍：受众问题，即使用行话、鹦鹉般的技术解释、不恰当的技术细节和不恰当的信息顺序。许多STEM研究生很少在日常生活中与非科学家接触，因此很少有机会建立适合普通读者的心理模型。该项目旨在引出这些学生的心理模型，作为设计教育干预措施的必要的第一步。另一方面，专业科学记者有一个广泛的工作模式，了解受众知道什么和不知道什么，但这些专家为普通受众决定写作内容和结构的过程本质上是一个黑匣子。将使用心理模型方法来描述一组有经验的科学记者的思维过程，以便将他们与STEM研究生的思维过程进行比较，并确定教育干预措施，以帮助新手提升到更专业的水平。在比较专家模式和新手模式的基础上，将开发两个版本的沟通学习模块，并在STEM研究生中进行初步测试。这项工作应该会产生新的理解，可能会改变我们教授STEM专家与更广泛受众沟通的方式。这一结果最终可能会加强技术专家与政策制定者和媒体等群体之间的互动。

Abstract forProfessional Development Fellowship: Mental Models Study of Perceptions of Audience in Science and Technology CommunicationThis fellowship project draws upon methods of cognitive sciences and STS studies to focus on how technical experts engage with communication professionals in the public arena to translate new knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for diverse audiences. The project consists of an educational component to provide preparation in mental models research methods to the fellowship recipient and a research component in which these methods will be used to study perceptions of audience and decision-making of novices and experts in the communication of STEM content to general audiences. The research targets the greatest barrier for STEM graduate students to becoming more effective communicators: issues of audience, that is, use of jargon, parroting technical explanations, inappropriate technical detail, and inappropriate order of information. Many STEM graduate students have very little contact with non-scientists on a daily basis and therefore little opportunity to develop mental models of what is appropriate for general readers. This project is aimed at eliciting the mental models of these students as a necessary first step in designing educational interventions. Professional science journalists, on the other hand, have an extensive working model of what audiences know and don?t know, but the process by which these experts make decisions about content and structure of writing for general audiences is essentially a ?black box.? Mental models methods will be used to characterize the thought processes of a group of experienced science journalists in order to compare them with those of STEM graduate students and to identify educational interventions to help novices advance to more expert levels. Based on the comparison of the expert and novice models, two versions of a communication learning module will be developed and pilot tested with STEM graduate students. This work should yield new understanding that may transform how we teach STEM experts to communicate with broader audiences. The results ultimately may enhance the interactions between technical experts and groups such as policymakers and the press.