Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Scientists, Stop Thinking Explaining Science Will Fix Things. It Won’t.

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Aaron Davis comments, "I'm learning to better challenge scientists' assumptions about how communication works. The deficit model, I've found, is difficult to unlearn. It's very logical, and my hunch is that it comes naturally to scientists ... But the obstacles faced by science communicators are not epistemological but cultural. The skills required are not those of a university lecturer but a rhetorician." Indeed, as this article notes, "The takeaway is clear: Increasing science literacy alone won't change minds. In fact, well-meaning attempts by scientists to inform the public might even backfire." The key here is that this is true not only for scientific communication, but learning generally.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Dec 22, 2024 07:17 a.m.

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