Prerequisite, permission of the instructor.
Starting in 2007, Neurobiology and Cell and Molecular Physiology will join forces into a combined communications skills class, as described below.
Communicating Science (PHYI 705/706, NBIO 850). This class employs faculty coaching and peer critiquing to develop students' skills in speaking and writing about science with ease, clarity, and precision. The class aims to build self-confidence and the ability to take criticism without defensiveness. It meets once a week for 1.25 hours for both semesters. Students take this course for two years; second-year students are paired with first-year students as mentors, as rehearsal partners, and as editing partners for written assignments. The class size is approximately 16 students. Each session is coached by two faculty members, Ann Stuart and an invited Neurobiology or Cell and Molecular Physiology faculty member. Thus, the class also provides a mechanism for expanded student-faculty bonding, reinforced by a social event at the end of each semester.
Each class period begins with a critical discussion of the Neurobiology and Cell and Molecular Physiology departmental seminars of that week. This discussion focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the speaker’s presentation and slides, his or her style of dealing with questions, and even on the host’s skill at introducing the speaker, solving podium problems, and managing the question period. The remainder of the class is devoted either to a student presentation or a writing assignment. Each semester has a different emphasis for presentations, including: (1) the standard research talk and effective PowerPoint slides; (2) the research chalk-talk and how to use the white board effectively; (3) the teaching chalk-talk and preparation of a lecture on a subject outside of one’s area of expertise; (4) the thesis proposal defense and how to deal effectively with questions. All presentations are videotaped and the student must report in the next class on the strengths and weaknesses of their talk. Talks gradually lengthen from a 5-minute rotation-proposal talk at the beginning of the first semester, to a one-hour mock dissertation-proposal defense at the end of the fourth semester. First-year students are required to give a formal, 10-minute public talk on their rotation at the end of each semester, introduced and hosted by their rehearsal partner.
Writing assignments have included: A lay summary of one’s research, a research paper, a 100-word abstract, a CV or biosketch, a letter of self-promotion, a review of a manuscript for a journal, a response to reviewers, a letter to the editor of the NY Times about a scientific subject, a News and Views article, minireviews, and what is permissible in manipulating graphics.
