Getting Out of Comfort Zones: A Case Study in Science Communication Outlines Lessons Learned During Practical Experience Conducted With Undergraduate Communication Students Reporting About Science and Climate Change Issues for Their Journalism Courses at George Mason University (USA)

Climate change is one of the most important topics to be covered by the media in coming decades, and journalists have a significant role to provide perspective for a low-carbon economy. Considering this and observing many, if not most, of communication students with a major concentration in journalism aim to work in newsrooms after finishing college, a journalist-turned-scientist and a journalist-turned-educator proposed a practical experience to undergraduate journalism students during two different George Mason University courses, COMM 453 Multimedia Journalism and COMM 351 Writing Across Media, in 2018. This presentation shows lessons learned during this process. About 50 students were invited to learn more about two climate-data platforms — Climate Watch and Climate Action Tracker —, interview scientists and other sources, and produce climate news using (or not) both platforms. This practical research lesson used science and climate topics in journalism courses that focus on journalistic techniques, like writing news articles or producing podcasts. These lessons prepare students for the workforce by writing for various types of media on deadline. Some student content was printed or broadcast by area media. 53.8% of students who answered a survey evaluated the experience as "extremely" or "very" useful, and 77.0% declared they are likely to recommend this experience to a friend or colleague. Students said getting out of their comfort zones taught them to dig deeper into data, take greater control of interviews, and produce stories about topics they otherwise would never have pursued. According to the professor, students report they are better prepared to cover complex science-communication topics like climate change for various audiences if exposed to science reporting, demonstrations of climate-data web-based platforms, and applying information to local, national and international stories.