3.3 Prepare and present, orally and in writing, to scientists in other disciplines and audiences outside the sciences

The following documents are posters from Introduction to Cell Biology and Genetics (200-level), Microbiology (300-level), and Cancer Biology (400-level), respectively. The posters were developed after conducting independent research projects, in a peer group setting. The posters were presented at the end of the semester, at a research showcase. The Spring Symposium is an opportunity for students to present their research, across a variety of disciplines. Students from all majors, such as education, psychology, therapeutic recreation, display their research findings here.

Through developing and presenting these posters, I learned how to include broad topics of information in the text and when speaking about the topic. Much of the content and text included on the poster uses technical terms and concepts specific to biologists, however, when I give my presentation on the content of the poster, I communicate it to appeal to a general audience. Although the heaviness of the content on each poster does not ease, as I progress through my undergraduate years (seen chronologically below), my ability to communicate the information contained on the posters has improved, so that it is understood by a general audience.

I think that I still need to improve on making the writing content on my tools for oral communication (such as posters) appeal to a more general audience. I think it is difficult to communicate some parts of the research, especially the methods, onto a visual aide because of the technicalities of the methods conducted. To combat this issue, I explain during my oral explanation of the conducted research the basic, broad sweeping ideas of the methods.