GOVPH

Young students often perceive that science circulates in memorizing the formulas, solving the problems, understanding the theories, and familiarizing the periodic tables. This signifies that many of these young students are not aware that science also deals with communication.

In bringing science communication closely to young students, the Department of Science and Technology-Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) implemented the Science Journo Ako advocacy. This initiative of DOST-STII aims to establish a robust ecosystem of grassroots science journalists and communicators.

Ruby Shaira F. Panela,  a seasoned science journalist and Media Relations Officer and Social Media Influencer at the International Rice Research Institute, stressed that promoting science communication starts by establishing a system that pertains to an enabling environment, which will make these young students more curious about knowing, learning, and understanding this field. 

“Moving from junior to senior high levels, students often develop their likes and interests individually. Making science more engaging can reach a wider audience,” said Panela.

On September 04-05, 2023, Science Journo Ako was dispatched to the 58 junior high and senior high students from 12 schools in Zamboanga del Norte. Said attendees were given a series of training workshops that showed how science can be applied in News Writing, Feature Writing, Photojournalism, and Social Media Content Creation.

Panela sets the first discussion of science communication with the topic of “Basic News Writing”, in which she shared various tips for creating engaging science stories. 

The young students learned that the formula to have good science stories includes being new and interesting, being focused on the “write well” vs the “about science” part, highlighting the ingenuity of science itself, never forgets the human dimension of the story, and balancing what audience “need” and “want” to know. 

Panela also provides a tipsheet for young science writers, which is composed of analyzing, engaging, inquiring, observing, and understanding. Following this method, the young students can hook the attention of their target audiences, keeping intact from reading the introduction up to the conclusion. 

“A science story angle tells a whole different story. It gives more impact about a particular thing,” pointed out Panela, a veteran science journalist.

Meanwhile, another professional in the application of science communication to digital media, namely John Laurence Domingo, Head of the Communication Division at CarbonDigital Inc., provides a lecture on “Social Media Content Creation”.

“Creating content for social media is a never-ending process of getting to know your audience and trying out stories and executions that would ensure that they stop scrolling their phone, consume the content you made, and even nudge them to take a stance or act,” shared Domingo.

Domingo enlightened the young students that the content creation process includes the following steps: knowing your audience and defining your goals, coming up with content themes and setting the content buckets, structuring the content plan, evaluating your content’s performance, and crafting the copies and producing the materials. 

“Don’t be restricted towards the prevailing practices in the industry. There’s a lot of learning on how brands and content creators use the tools. It’s a matter of taking inspiration from all of it, as well as adaptation towards it in presenting a story,” affirmed Domingo.

He also stressed that in making a strong post for science communication, there should always be a thought behind the creation of content, as it does not revolve around pretty or cool posting.

Another thing that supports the content of the science stories and posts is the visual image, which was later on discussed by DOST-STII resident photographer Henry A. de Leon.

de Leon talked on the topic of “Basic Photography and Photojournalism” wherein the young students gained knowledge on the significant tandem of stories and posts called “strong visual with strong content”. 

“The appearance of the photo does not depend on the type of camera, such as a Smartphone camera or DSLR camera. The beauty of its visual image will depend on the skills of the photographer,” said de Leon. 

In the lecture of de Leon, the young students learned both the technical and creative sides of photography. Most of all, they are reminded that photographs pertain to an effective way of telling stories and disseminating information to a diverse group of people.

Science Journo Ako three lectures, composed of Science News and Feature Writing, Social Media Content Creation, and Basic Photography and Photojournalism became a package to the young students of Zamboanga del Norte in having a deeper appreciation of science communication. 

According to Ricardo J. Apolinario III, Officer-in-Charge of the Assistant Regional Director for Field Operations at the DOST Regional Office IX (DOST-IX), this Science Journo Ako training workshop will help to increase the interest of young students in taking Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses. 

Through the partnership of DOST-STII and DOST-IX, the Science Journo Ako training workshop enlightened and extended the science communication awareness of the young students in the said area. Aside from this, its advocacy pivots the young generations’ point-of-view on science from being challenging into an interesting and exciting venture.

Moreover, this training workshop provides the patterns and rules of becoming science communicators to young students. This program hopes to be a blessing in disguise to increase the number of science communicators or to increase the number of aspiring science-related professionals.

Meanwhile, this activity was part of this year's Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (RSTW) celebration in Zamboanga Peninsula A total of 12 schools from the areas of Zamboanga del Norte, comprising junior to senior high school students have participated for the said activity. It was spearheaded by the DOST-STII and DOST Regional Office No. IX. (By Rhea Mae Ruba, DOST-STII)

Several clips from the two-day seminar workshop organized by the DOST-Science and Technology Information Institute in partnership with DOST Regional Office No. IX on science communication with junior and senior high school students in Dipology City. (Photos by Rhea Mae B. Ruba, DOST-STII)