Team:British Columbia/Human Practices
HUMAN PRACTICES SILVER
OVERVIEW
This year, the theme of our Human Practices endeavors was Altering public perception of genetic engineering. In addition to acquiring input from established academics and leaders in industry regarding the laboratory component of the project, we decided to write an investigative journalism piece on the attitudes people have towards science, and host workshops for high school students by partnering with Geering Up, a local non-profit organization. To best convey what we gained from our interviews, we adapted and used the AREA framework as described by the University of Exeter:
Anticipate: What we hoped to gain from the interview
Reflect: How information from the interview can be applied to our project
Engage: Overview of what was discussed during the interview
Act: Our next steps that were influenced by the interview
Interviews with Experts
Investigative Journalism
WHAT
Experts in journalism, marketing, and psychology were interviewed in order to investigate why people hold certain attitudes towards science and the external factors that shape them. These interviews served as keystones for our final article.
WHY
Investigating public perception of science is nothing new, but we wanted to dive deeper and analyze the reasons behind views held by people. We believed that only by studying underlying reasons can we develop innovative methods to alter beliefs.
OUTCOME
[Link to our actual article - to be written lol]
GEERING UP WORKSHOPS
WHAT
In August, we partnered with Geering Up, a local non-profit organization that hosts STEM camps for students. Our workshops were directed at high school students, during which they learned about genetic engineering and grew bacteria on LB-agar plates.
WHY
We worked with Geering Up because we believe their values - making STEM education inclusive and accessible - aligns with ours. Furthermore, we valued the opportunity to introduce high school students to the field of genetic engineering.