Many science topics are increasingly difficult to discuss due to rising polarization. Opinions on climate change, vaccine use, and more may be aligned with identities and values that are hard to work through, particularly when your own values appear to be different from, or even conflict with, those of your audience.
During this 3-hour virtual workshop, you’ll learn about the connection between partisanship and views on science, the types of audiences to focus your efforts on, and steps to making progress in a difficult conversation. You’ll have the opportunity to practice listening to your audience to identify values, and to develop messages with those values in mind.
The workshop will be a combination of facilitated group discussion, content presentation, and activities in breakout rooms. By registering for this workshop, you are committing to active participation in the workshop, for the benefit of both yourself and the group. Please also plan to use a webcam whenever possible during discussion and breakout room portions of the workshop. Due to the progression of materials presented and the paired exercises, we cannot admit participants who are more than 15 minutes late. More information can be found in the FAQ section below.
Who could benefit from this workshop?
This workshop is open to anyone who uses science to understand the world and would like to discover tips for communicating science topics across ideological differences.
Technology
The workshop will be held on the video conferencing platform Zoom. If you are unfamiliar with the platform, this one-minute video explains how to join a meeting. You will need a webcam, microphone, and stable internet connection. Recommended upload/download speed is 5Mbps/5Mbps. Test your internet speed here by clicking “run speed test.” This workshop will also incorporate the browser-based whiteboard program called MURAL.
