Science Communication in Agriculture

Learn more about this course:

What will I learn?

This course provides you with theoretical knowledge and practical skills to communicate with diverse audiences about scientific topics in the context of the rural sector and natural economy.

Lessons will focus on understanding the various audiences and genres for science-based information. Through practical activities, you will strengthen your ability to develop appropriately targeted messaging to educate those audiences.

With a continued emphasis on audience-appropriateness, you will learn about how organisations can improve the public’s science literacy levels for multiple purposes, including education, marketing, and public policy development.

How will I learn?

This course is designed for both employees in their working environments, and those who are not.

It will be delivered online, and you will work at their own pace, asynchronously. Recorded lectures will be utilised in tandem with conducting practical coursework.

The course will use SRUC's Virtual Learning Environment where lectures, quizzes, and coursework drop boxes will be available. 

How will I be assessed?

You will be required to do two assessments to complete this course:

1. An audience and media analysis essay; and
2. Written communications targeting three different audiences/genres on the same scientific agriculture-related topic: lay audience/consumers, policy makers, agricultural producers.

By the end of the course what will I be able to do?

• Develop messaging targeting audiences in the appropriate genres based on identification of audience characteristics for multiple science-communication situations.
  
  
• Embrace the science communicator’s role in improving audiences’ science literacy levels.
  
  
• Adapt communication style and approach for a variety of audiences and in a variety of situations and genres about scientific topics in the rural sector and natural economy.

How long does the course last for and how much time will I need to spend on it each week?

Course duration:

• The course is self-paced, allowing you to progress at your own speed. 
• You have 52 weeks from the time of enrolment to complete the course. 

Typical completion time: The course is generally designed to be completed in 12 weeks. 

Weekly time commitment: To complete a course in 12 weeks, expect to spend 2-3 hours per week on directed online learning activities and at least one day per week dedicated to independent learning and assessment work. 

Why is SRUC a good place to study this micro-credential?

• SRUC is the only institution in the UK to offer a dedicated pathway to Agriculture Communications. 
  
  
• This course offers you the opportunity to work at your own pace in your own environment while still having access to experts in this subject area. 
  
  
• The curriculum has been designed collaboratively with leaders spread throughout the agriculture industry and communications sector. 

Who will be teaching me?

Dr Jefferson Miller
Course Lecturer 

Dr Miller is a tenured professor of agricultural communications at the University of Arkansas and has been working in collaboration with SRUC for almost twenty years.

Dr. Miller’s research foci have been on mass communications content analysis, development of agricultural communications curriculum, and international development. He has published numerous research articles and has presented his agricultural communications research nationally and internationally. His USDA-funded research examines the interaction between media and science communication efforts in agriculture, food, and life sciences. He has also conducted research on how best to establish an agricultural communications academic discipline in the United Kingdom and leads a multi-state Experiment Station project in the USA that promotes collaborative research on improving science communication in agriculture.

Dr Miller is a two-time winner of the Journal of Applied Communications article of the year and has served as the Executive editor of the journal.

 

Pascal Bak
Course Lecturer

Pascal comes from France and joined SRUC in March. Before that, he worked for 11 years as a teacher in animal science at a vocational agricultural high school in southern France, in the first area for dairy sheep breeding. He then studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and graduated with a Master of Science in Agricultural Education in December 2020.

Back in France, Pascal was recruited by the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) and appointed as one of the Deputy Directors of the largest experimental research unit, Herbipôle, at Theix, near Clermont-Ferrand. The research theme of this unit is geared toward ruminant grazing systems in mid-mountain areas. Pascal managed a team of 32 persons (mainly technicians and engineers) working on a 150-hectare farm with dairy cows, cattle, and sheep. Researchers from other INRAE teams and ethologists rely on this experimental unit to implement experimentations to enhance the sustainability of livestock farming systems in the context of climate change, as well as improve animal health and welfare.

Always keen to share his passion for agriculture and animal science, Pascal recently moved to Scotland and now works as a lecturer in Agriculture at the SRUC in Edinburgh.