González-Burón H – PCST Network

Author: Helena González-Burón – Big Van Science, Spain

Co-author: Oriol Marimon Garrido – Big Van Science

In the PERFORM-H2020 project, we have investigated the use of storytelling to raise scientific vocations in secondary school students through the use of three different drama-based activities: Stand-Up Comedy in Spain, Improvisation-Theatre in France and Science-Busking in the UK.

Big Van Science have designed and implemented an interactive and self-mobilization participatory process (a key element to face directly the public engagement required for RRI) with secondary school students, their teachers and early career researchers with the aim of developing Science Communication Activities based on Scenic Arts. Thanks to the direct interaction generated between all of them during the designed participatory workshops, secondary school students address, in an interactive way based on scenic arts, the EU Societal Challenges and the values embedded in the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) such as Critical thinking and self-reflection, ethics in the research process, gender issues (leadership, entrepreneurship, digital skills) and performing skills, among others.

Through the process, the secondary school students have been actively involved in several participatory workshops to develop their own Scientific Stand-Up Comedy Shows in Spain, Improv-Shows in France and Busking activities in the UK, that have been delivered in their own schools. Thus, secondary school students have become agents to engage and to motivate other youngsters to approach STEM, becoming the new generation of Science Communicators through theater and stories.

In this workshop, Big Van Science will share the protocols of the participatory process in order to allow other Science Communicators, Science Educators, Teachers and Researchers to implement the PERFORM participatory process, enabling the generation of new groups of Secondary School Students Science Communicators.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Workshop
Theme: Society
Area of interest: Investigating science communication practices

Author: Helena González-Burón – Big Van Science, Spain

Co-author: Oriol Marimon Garrido – Big Van Science

Young people often have a narrow concept of science and this can limit their future engagement with the subject. Many also struggle to identify, on a cultural level, with science and hence do not aspire to scientific careers. This lack of aspiration is particularly seen among girls and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Young people do have interest in science, particularly when listening to stories that include phenomena related to everyday life, and in the way that science helps to make sense of the world.

The PERFORM H2020 project aims to develop young people’s conceptions and awareness of science, scientists and scientific research. But it looks to move beyond merely increasing scientific and technological knowledge to developing a reflective knowing of science in which young people can consider its purposes, values, and how it becomes reality. After series of exploratory workshops developed in secondary schools at Barcelona, Paris, and Bristol, Big Van Science developed a useful guideline to include in science shows perceptions, constraints, and ideas that teenagers have about science and its related values. The performance presented here incorporates some of these guidelines in a Stand-Up Comedy show that has been delivered in front of more than 20.000 students with very positive results in its capacity to change perceptions about science and scientists’ stereotypes.

http://www.perform-research.eu/

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Perfomance
Theme: Stories
Area of interest: Applying science communication research to practice

Participatory science communication to rise scientific vocations

Stand-up comedy to rise scientific vocations

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