skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Storytelling in Science Film: Narrative Engagement Relates to Greater Knowledge, Interest, and Identification With Science
Title: Storytelling in Science Film: Narrative Engagement Relates to Greater Knowledge, Interest, and Identification With Science
To explore narrative engagement’s impacts on science communication, we examine a representative sample of U.S. adults randomly assigned to watch one of the four short documentary science films. Our results indicate that narrative engagement—feeling connected to the story world and identifying with characters—predicts a wide range of outcomes relevant to engagement and learning: greater knowledge gain and perceived knowledge and interest, perceiving science in a new way, perceiving science as valuable, and identifying with science. These outcomes typically appeared regardless of viewer demographics. We describe implications and opportunities for research into the impacts of stories and science films for engaging diverse audiences.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2122350
PAR ID:
10534334
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
SAGE Publications
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Science Communication
Volume:
47
Issue:
2
ISSN:
1075-5470
Format(s):
Medium: X Size: p. 211-249
Size(s):
p. 211-249
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education)
    Maloy, Stanley (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT: Improving perceptions of students' science identities and their understanding of the nature of science (NOS) are important learning goals for undergraduate biology students. Previous research has observed that students who reflect on personal histories and research narratives of diverse scientists experience positive changes in their own science identities and understanding of the nature of science, respectively. However, these stories were in written or mixed media formats (e.g., podcasts, TED talks). Here, we explore whether such stories in nonfiction film, an immersive storytelling medium, could also serve as an intervention in positively affecting these outcomes. The focus of our curricular intervention is two short films that explore personal histories and research narratives: Decoding Ancestral Knowledge and CRISPR Apostle. We assigned students (N= 286) in a large, asynchronous, online general microbiology course to watch Decoding and CRISPR at distinct times in the semester. Immediately after watching each film, students took a survey with closed- and open-response questions designed to measure content knowledge, science identity, and NOS learning. We analyzed quantitative responses using descriptive statistics and open-ended responses using a computational textual analysis method of structured topic modeling. Results indicate that watching the films had a considerable impact on content knowledge as well as students’ perceptions of scientists, self-identification as scientists, and understanding of NOS. Interestingly, there were some differences between the films on the degree of impact on science identity as well as the types of emergent themes for science identity and NOS. These results suggest that science nonfiction films with personal histories and research narratives can be useful tools in supporting these student outcomes. We describe in this article how to access these free materials, including the films, and also suggest possible modifications. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Research in Science Teaching)
    Abstract School science continues to alienate students identifying with nondominant, non‐western cultures, and learners of color, and considers science as an enterprise where success necessitates divorcing the self and corporeal body from ideas and the mind. Resisting the colonizing pedagogy of the mind–body divide, we aimed at creating pedagogical spaces and places in science classes that sustain equitable opportunities for engagement and meaning making where body and mind are enmeshed. In the context of a partnership between school‐ and university‐based educators and researchers, we explored how multimodal literacies cultivated through the performing arts, provide students from minoritized communities opportunities to both create knowledge and to position themselves as science experts and brilliant and creative meaning makers. Four theoretical perspectives (social semiotics and multimodality; dramatizing and the embodied mind; dismantling master narratives for minoritized peoples; and the relationship of knowledge production and identity construction) framed this multiple case study of classes of elementary and middle school students who made sense of and communicated science concepts and practices through embodied performances. The study provided evidence that embodied science representations afford students abundant opportunities to construct science knowledge and positionings that support engagement with science, whether performed on a small scale in classrooms, or for the whole school through a large‐scale science play. Embodied dramatizing led to opportunities for collective meaning making as student‐performers coordinated across various movements and modes in order to represent ideas. Multiple enactments of the same concept nurtured the development of multi‐dimensional scientific, sociocultural, and sociopolitical meanings. During embodiments, students positioned themselves and others in ways that allowed expanded science identities to become possible, intertwined with other salient identities. By treating children's bodies as sites of knowledge, imagination, and expertise, integrating performing arts and science has the potential to facilitate the development of connections among ideas and between self and ideas. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; (, BioScience)
    null (Ed.)
    Abstract Biological field stations (BFSs) are well positioned through their informal STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education programs to improve levels of science literacy and support environmental sustainability. A survey of 223 US BFSs revealed that their outreach programs strive to promote conservation and environmental stewardship in addition to disseminating place-based knowledge and/or skills. In this article, we unpack the educational approaches that BFSs use to engage learners, the aspects of science literacy most often addressed, and the perceived learning outcomes. Most notably, the BFSs reported that their participants develop an interest in and excitement for science, increase or change their knowledge of program topics, identify more with the scientific enterprise, and engage in scientific practices. The results indicate opportunities for BFSs to conduct more rigorous assessments of participant learning and program impact. By focusing on learner engagement, science learning, and participant outcomes, BFSs and other place-based informal education venues can expand their efforts and better support conservation and science learning. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education)
    Hsu, Jeremy L (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT: In this era of information abundance and digital connectivity, educational videos are a transformative and widely used resource in STEM higher education. Much of what is known about the effective use of educational videos comes from analyzing videos used for content delivery and the impacts on knowledge gains or behavioral engagement with videos. Less is known about how videos may impact students’ affective learning experiences, feelings, and attitudes or how to effectively use videos in science education beyond just as a content-delivery tool. This study explored the impact of three distinct video styles: a whiteboard animation, a recorded discovery lecture by one of the discoverers, and a documentary short film featuring both discoverers in conversation on student outcomes in a large-enrollment undergraduate biology class. Students were randomized to watch one of these three formats, all covering the same scientific content (i.e., the Meselson and Stahl experiment), followed by a post-video survey. The documentary film, “The Most Beautiful Experiment,” which integrated interpersonal storytelling and informal dialog, had the most significant impact on outcomes related to affective learning, including science identity, attitudes about biology, speaker relatability, and emotional engagement. No significant differences in knowledge gains were observed across video styles. This study highlights the potential of personalized and embodied video formats to enrich STEM education and warrants further research into their broader applications. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; (, Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research)
    null (Ed.)
    Abstract Despite the fact that most science learning takes place outside of school, little is known about how engagement in informal science learning (ISL) experiences affects learners’ knowledge, skill development, interest, or identities over long periods of time. Although substantial ISL research has documented short-term outcomes such as the learning that takes place during a science center visit, research suggests that the genuine benefits of informal experiences are long-term transformations in learners as they pursue a “cascade” of experiences subsequent to the initial educational event. However, a number of major methodological challenges have limited longitudinal research projects investigating the long-term effects of ISL experiences. In this paper we identify and address four key issues surrounding the critical but challenging area of how to study and measure the long-term effects or impacts of ISL experiences: attribution, attrition, data collection, and analytic approaches. Our objective is to provide guidance to ISL researchers wishing to engage in long-term investigations of learner outcomes and to begin a dialogue about how best to address the numerous challenges involved in this work. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email