The last plenary of ASMCUE 2022 was entitled “Communicating Science: Building Bridges not Barriers/Closing comments” and presented by Nancy Boury from Iowa State University. This was the last talk of ASMCUE. Boury teaches general microbiology, genetics, and biology as well as some advanced courses. Boury shared a quote from an introductory first-year biology course with lots of jargon. Boury suggested providing more background and including flow carts and images. Then, Boury spoke about the core themes of communication: audience, context, and purpose. Boury asked: how do we overcome this barrier of scientific jargon? They used a Blooket to gain input from the class. The Blooket tool is a nice way to poll students. Boury stated that being mindful of body, audience, tools are elements that help learners appreciate communicating science. The session concluded with several questions and a raffle. This is one of several projects that Boury has! The session ended with an appearance of Mikey, the ASMCUE mascot.
