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In this article, we describe and analyze the experience of undergraduate chemistry students who scripted episodes of a science podcast for non-expert audiences. This practice aimed to improve public communication of science and technology, often suppressed throughout science careers but relevant for developing critical thinking. In particular, the script analysis focused on writing strategies used by students to promote suitability to the target audience. In this process, the students were responsible for searching for themes, scripting, and submitting episodes to a local radio station to record and broadcast. We compare feedback from students, experts, and listeners, showing an influence of current issues; a prevalence of interlocution, colloquialism, and apposition as language features; an awareness of using jargon; and a suitability to non-experts.
The word "podcasting," derived by merging "pod" (from "iPod") and "casting" (from "broadcasting"), is the act of distributing digital audio files (podcasts) to internet users for automatic download (Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, 2005). Podcasting stands out from other media due to its intimate tone and the fact that it gives listeners the chance to multitask by listening while doing other activities, such as commuting, working, or doing chores (Lindgren, 2016).
Podcasts can reach different audiences by outlining a multiplicity of themes, formats, and distribution strategies. In the classroom, these media can help the teaching and learning process and familiarize faculty members and students witir communication and information technologies (Goldman, 2018). Furthermore, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the pivot to remote learning, podcasts have been used as educational resources to distribute information online (Reimers & Schleicher, 2020). However, despite podcasts' popularity, using them to assist classes is still a recent change. A survey carried out using publications in the Journal of College Science Teaching revealed that textual production is still one of the most used strategies in higher education to address science communication (Sotério et al., 2019).
Including the public communication of science and technology (PCST) in natural science classes helps train undergraduates by addressing not only language skills but also the development of critical thinking, notions of target audience, and the learning itself (Lancor & Schiebel, 2018; Tuten & Temesvári, 2013). Indeed, the communicator's background and criticality contribute to minimizing misinformation in popular media (Murcott, 2009).
These skills are even more relevant considering...