Abstract

This project team plans to develop two courses that recognize and explicitly address the complexity inherent to Earth systems, using coastal environments as archetype systems.  The first is an undergraduate/graduate level course in complexity of coastal systems, the second an advanced undergraduate course in science writing.  These courses will serve to meet two larger scale needs: enhanced understanding and appreciation of Earth system science among students and developing and implementing skills and linkages for communicating these concepts to the public.
 
Complexity in Coastal Systems.  This course will be centered on coastal systems, integrating aspects of the biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere.  Through exercises and lectures students will learn the fundamentals and elements of Caribbean coastal systems and the dynamic nature of these systems.
 
*   Phase 1: Theory.  What is a system?   Will introduce science students to the general concepts of systems theory, with a focus on linkages, feedback, and scale.
*    Phase 2:  What composes the coastal system?  Will introduce students coastal systems with a focus on south Florida and Caribbean coastal systems.
*    Phase 3:  Music of the spheres.  Students will have the opportunity to explicitly integrate their observations.
 
Enhanced Science Communications.  This advanced undergraduate course will focus on helping the next generation of scientists and writers in building skills for effective science communication.  It includes shared science experiences for students of both Earth system science and journalism, concentrating on developing science writing skills, with results distributed on web pages developed in collaboration with the Geological Society of America and published in Spanish-language newspapers.
 
The goals of the course are:
*    To bring together geology, marine science, and environmental science majors with students of journalism and English
*    To help these students begin to develop an understanding of Earth system science and how it works
*    To teach each group to interface clearly and accurately and to communicate Earth system science accurately and appropriately.
 
The course will consist of three parts, centered on a field component, focusing on developing and enhancing written communications skills.  In each part, students will be forced to critically assess how to communicate effectively and accurately among themselves and to different audiences.
 
Goals for the scientists are:
*   To learn to assess and explain the uses and meanings of jargon,
*   To practice summarizing research in concise and precise messages, and
*   To find out how non-science majors receive science.
 
Goals for the writers are:
*   To nurture an excitement for and appreciation of Earth system science,
*   To learn to identify and communicate scientific jargon, and
*   To be able to describe and explain scientific work and concepts, paying close attention to scientific accuracy.
 
Goals for both groups include:
*    Discovering the challenges and significance of communicating science
*    Nurturing an understanding of the scientific process, and
*    Developing a social network that can be used for support and motivation.
 
*     Phase 1.  Science and science writing.  The first part of the course will provide writers with an introduction to Earth system science and the scientific method (through a few lectures and labs) and to give science majors an introduction to writing.  The first shared experience occurs when the science majors write an abstract for an existing science paper related to the upcoming fieldwork, which would then be reviewed by an English student and another science student, then rewritten.
 
*    Phase 2.  Shared field experiences.  The second part of the course includes weekend field trips to the Florida Keys.  The trips will take student to different environments, including reefs, mangrove swamps, the Everglades, and lagoons, as well as examining Pleistocene reefs, with an emphasis on allowing the students to observe first-hand some of the features and processes about which they have written and to see how the science works.
 
*    Phase 3.  Real-world examples.  Following the return from the field, students will have the opportunity to rewrite their abstracts and their papers/articles on the topical issue, except that they will have had the experience of seeing the science first hand.
 
Final projects will involve real-world applications depending on the interests of each student.  Examples include:
 
1. Reading recent papers from the Geological Society of American Bulletin and conducting interviews of scientist-authors.  Students will write news stories that summarize the work and discuss the significance for the public.  After review by the faculty and by the journal authors, these stories will be posted on the GSA website for review and comment.

2. Working with El Nuevo Herald, a Miami-based Spanish-language newspaper, writing Earth system science-based articles on issues of interest to the local community.