ABSTRACT
At the heart of every effective science communicator is the mantra “know your audience and purpose; understand your context and genre”. The same might be said of an effective teacher. As previous authors have noted, the disciplines of science communication training and science education have much to offer each other, but interaction between these disciplines is uncommon. This chapter draws on the commonalities between effective communication and effective teaching to provide some practical guidance that can benefit science communication trainers and researchers. The discussion begins with context: what does science communication and science communication training mean, and why and how are scientists increasingly interested in it? I then introduce how learning happens, drawing on key factors that help people learn complex skills and the educational theory of constructivism. The diverse needs and interests of scientists for communication training are briefly outlined, and the rest of the chapter is dedicated to practical approaches to designing, assessing and evaluating science communication training that incorporate how learning happens. These approaches include constructive alignment and backwards design, and are illustrated with examples from research in formal science education and informal programs for science communication training. In several cases the examples highlight large gaps in our current knowledge and practice. These gaps are summarized at the end of the chapter as suggestions for future research which would benefit greatly from collaboration between researchers and practitioners in science education and science communication training.
