Last week's announcement that Johns Hopkins University is disbanding its graduate science-writing program may signal a broader decline, Carl Straumsheim writes for Inside Higher Ed: "Although not all institutions … report a decline in the number of applications, one trend appears to be developing: Programs that exist independently seem to be faring worse than those that can draw on the resources of a full-fledged journalism school."
Teaching science writing
Are you a current or prospective teacher of science writing? The NASW education committee is here to help — and we also welcome your help. If you need to prepare a new syllabus or polish an existing one, browse the posted examples for ideas. We also invite you to share your syllabus or textbook list with fellow NASW members via this site. Please send it as a Microsoft Word file to Czerne Reid at czreid@nasw.org.
It was not Cathy Farrar's goal to transform her high school physics students into science journalists — at least not at first. She just wanted to encourage them to enter a writing contest.
Writing and reading assignments aren't the only tools for teaching science writing. This page offers examples of exercises your students can do in class.
Many teachers supplement their text reading assignments with other materials, such as those listed here.
A course in science writing can include instruction on everything from embargoes to statistics. Follow this link for suggestions.
Looking for a text or book for your students? Find a list of recommended books on this page.