Course profile: Science and the public, University of Buffalo

Publish date	2008-08-07
Available Articles	Full articles without membership

Scientific breakthroughs come thick and fast these days. As new developments across the scientific spectrum from medical research to climatology are made, ethical issues arise and public debate begins.

The recent controversy in the UK over the use of animal-human hybrid embryos illustrates how important it is that interested parties, including the public, are fully informed of what is involved. While the Catholic Church abhors the concept, scientists insist that they are working on potentially life-saving research that does not in reality cross any ethical boundary.

Clearly, explaining science to the man and woman in the street is becoming increasingly important.

This is the reasoning behind Science and the Public, a master’s degree programme offered by Buffalo University Graduate School of Education in conjunction with the Center for Inquiry, the Amherst-based, not-for-profit organization devoted to public education about reason and science.

Designed to address an acknowledged gap in science knowledge, the programme trains professionals who can bring an extra talent to the occupational table. Now it is to be delivered online.

The programme aims to produce graduates who can bridge the gap between what often seems to be the arcane world of science and the general public in need of understanding the significance of current research.

Now in its third year, it gives students a background in the history and philosophy of science, including the scientific method, critical thinking, statistical analysis, ethics, the relationship of science to human values and research methodology. Students are required to write a thesis on a subject that integrates their skills and knowledge on translating a scientific issue into the public sphere.

John Shook, adjunct assistant professor of science education in the GSE and vice president of the Center for Inquiry, said: “The students have to be able to deal with how scientific research works. Then they have to be able to explain scientific facts in a simpler way, as well as explain the practical value of their scientific knowledge.

“Politicians, educators, intellectuals and people in business constantly complain about scientific illiteracy, particularly among adults.”

The cutting-edge nature of the Science and the Public programme extends beyond its course content. The two-year programme is offered exclusively online. Part-time students already enrolled are based in France, Ireland, Arizona and even on a field station in the Caribbean.

“It’s a unique programme, one I haven’t been able to find anywhere else,” says student Rich Blundell, founder of Omniscopic Productions, a company that produces science programming for national media outlets.

“Science is so broadly important for all the issues we’re facing. Some of these issues clearly will be solved by science. But the reason why I think this is such a valuable programme is that for even issues that aren’t obviously related to science, their solutions still lie in the scientific outlook.”

Blundell’s present project is writing and filming scientists studying the impact of global warming on coral reefs in the US Virgin Islands. He says the underlying philosophy behind the scientific outlook is an essential part of the curriculum.

“There is an ethical stance of how we treat the environment and how we treat ourselves and each other,” says Blundell, who is scheduled to graduate from the programme in June.

“This perspective emerges from what science has taught us. So it’s not just technology that emerges from science; there is an ethic about our place in the cosmos, as well. It’s fascinating. It changes your world view, really.”

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