How real are aliens, and how does it shape the scientific study of astrobiology? What role did Star Trek's Lt Uhura play in recruiting astronauts to the NASA space program? How might The Day After Tomorrow impact the public understanding of climate change? How did the movie Interstellar make scientific discoveries? Do medical dramas on television due harm for the public perception and interaction with healthcare?

This course provides an introduction to the impact of representations of science and scientists in film, television, fiction, and other media, and their public perceptions of science. It introduces research, theory, and methods as applied to this growing area. Students are encouraged to share their own experiences of science-based film, games, television, literature, and more to pursue their areas of interest through assessment. The major piece of assessment is a research project testing students' hypotheses about the impact that a work of fiction might have on public perceptions of science.

This course is co-taught with undergraduate students but assessed separately.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. describe, question and critique the historical developments in the ways that film and fiction has been discussed in science communication ;
2. demonstrate the significance of images of scientists for access and equity in science work and study;
3. apply theory and research about science in film and fiction to the practice and field of science communication;
4. reflect about the study and application of science in film and fiction and your place within it;
5. manage a science communication project that involves both collaboration and independent learning;
6. critique professional science views on film and fiction and their impact on society; 
7. conduct science communication research using social science and data science research methods such as content analysis, focus groups, questionnaires, machine learning, and artificial intelligence;
8. critically evaluate strengths and weaknesses of current research methods for investigating their influence on public attitudes, knowledge and beliefs.

Required Resources

Zoom

• The live online interactive component will operate through Zoom: https://anu.zoom.us/
• Please ensure you have installed the ANU Zoom client on your computer in advance.
• Instructions for installing the ANU Zoom client on your computer are available via the online access for courses Web page.
• Some tips for participating in a class via Zoom are given on the remote delivery Web page.

Recommended Resources

Recommended student system requirements 

Whether you are on campus or studying online, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	This course comprises an intensive component that is undertaken across the period of a week. In 2025, the face-to-face component will be offered in-person. The other coursework requirements can be completed online. The intensive week will take place 13-17 January 2025. There will be some pre-reading before the intensive week, and students will complete the assessment in the weeks after the intensive week.	Assessment task 1 is during the intensive week; tasks 2 and 3 are after the intensive week.

Tutorial Registration

SCOM6003 is taught with an intensive face-to-face program. There are no separate tutorials requiring registration.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Two short group presentations	10 %	*	*	1,2,3,4,6
Project proposal - including a literature review, project plan, and evaluation methods	40 %	29/01/2025	07/02/2025	1,2,3,4,5,6,8
Final project report - incorporates the proposal and data collection, analysis and formulation of conclusions (hurdle)	50 %	16/02/2025	28/03/2025	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Participation in this course is not assessed, but reflection upon class activities IS assessed in the 3 minute science assessment items. For that reason, attending and participating actively is critically important. In addition, most class activities are very interactive - there are very few lectures - and it is not possible to have a catch-up session. For that reason it is difficult to complete this course without attending the entire intensive week.

Actively participating in your own learning will also enable you to get the most out of this course. You are expected to read the required readings for each intensive day before you arrive, so that you can participate in class activities. Ideally you should complete all the required readings before the intensive week. The basic premise of the course is that instead of having lectures, we will have unlectures as well as hands-on creative activities, activities applying knowledge and theory, and skills workshops. In an unlecture, you the students will pool your collective knowledge on a given topic, drawn from the readings, and together build up a picture of everything that we know about that topic. In other activities you will have to apply what you learned in the readings to solve a problem or create a science communication product. This is a much more effective way to learn something than sitting back passively and absorbing what a lecturer thinks about the readings. Ideally you will leave the course a more experienced and critical reader, with a deep and broad knowledge of the academic literature on this subject. For this reason, the readings are compulsory and central to the course. 

Assessment Task 1

Two short group presentations

This assessment item tests the breadth of your learning in the course. In groups of 2-3, you will present a piece of science fiction that you can choose. You will evaluate the piece at the beginning of the week, and end of the week, focusing on different elements that are explored in the class. For both tasks, you will present a 3 minute presentation on said piece. There will be no visuals allowed.

Marking Criteria:

• An appropriate piece

• Ability to address the questions relative to the piece

• Articulate, succinct, well-ordered, and well-crafted .

• References to readings, activities etc that are easy to trace or remember specifically .

• Emphasis on being succinct, i.e. keeping to time (3 minutes)

Due dates: 2025-01-14 (first presentation), 2025-01-20 (second presentation).

Return of assessment: 2025-01-18 (first presentation), 2025-01-25 (second presentation); dates to be updated on Wattle, as/if needed.

Assessment Task 2

Project proposal - including a literature review, project plan, and evaluation methods

The first step is to come up with a plausible proposal for a project, which has to be approved by Brad before you can proceed to collecting your data. The proposal needs to include, at minimum, 4 elements:

• engagement with relevant literature as the basis for the project
• a content analysis of your chosen fiction text(s), if your study is designed with one or more specific fiction texts in mind
• a research question that derives from the above
• a full outline of your proposed methods.

As you can see, it will resemble the first half of a paper/project, including what are generally presented as an introduction, literature review and methods sections. After a general introduction your project proposal should set the scene with a discussion of why your project is important for science communication. Use the literature to discuss this context and any previous research that has similarity or relevance to your project. What problem are you trying to solve here? Why does that problem matter to science communicators or science teachers (or whoever is relevant)? How have other researchers tried to solve the project?

Here are some ideas for structuring your project:

- Show a group of people a fiction text and use a focus group to explore how they respond to its science content, where response might mean their emotions, thoughts, behavioural intentions, perspectives, attitudes, opinions, etc.

- Use a focus group (and possibly other methods, like an online survey) to investigate how peoples attitudes and behaviours towards science - for example their interest or disinterest in studying science at university - have been influenced by a particular fiction text, or by any and all fiction theyve encountered over a long term period, e.g. their whole life.

- Create a science-themed short story, a science-themed short film, a fiction-based science centre exhibit, etc., supported by research.

- Devise a lesson plan for using one or more fiction texts to teach an aspect of the science curriculum to a group of students.

- Outline an idea for a far-fetched blockbuster movie, then make scientists or science students pretend they are scientific advisors for the movie or devise a strategy of engagement

Marking criteria:

• It must address all the points outlined above for inclusion in the report

• Well written, easy to read, minimal jargon

• It must be no more than 2000 words in length, excluding the references

• Excellent spelling, grammar and punctuation

• Appropriate, well justified research approach

• Appropriate, well justified research method

• If creating a lesson plan, it will also be marked on links to curriculum, a clear target audience, all supported by research why fiction is needed / can be used.

• Originality of idea of the end product (report, lesson plan, etc.) and piece or pieces of which it is based upon

Return of assessment: date to be updated on Wattle, as/if needed.

Assessment Task 3

Final project report - incorporates the proposal and data collection, analysis and formulation of conclusions (hurdle)

Please note that this assessment task constitutes a hurdle requirement for the course, whereby it is necessary to pass this assessment task in order to pass the course, regardless of performance on other assessment tasks.

Your final report or project should follow a conventional scientific report structure as much as possible. It's up to you to determine the structure of your report, as it will depend on the data you gather and what you want to write about. If you have quantitative data such as survey or quiz results, you may want to report those in a conventional results section, if your sample size is large enough to warrant it. Have a look at how others have presented their work in the course readings, and follow their examples, especially those that you think are high quality studies.

When dealing with your results and discussion, think about both how the data answer your research question, and whether any other unexpected or interesting results emerged. Then discuss your results in light of relevant scholarship - both the literature you already consulted for your project proposal assignment, and any new literature that you need to bring into the discussion to make sense of your results, e.g. if you found something unexpected and want to focus on that.

Make sure you put considerable effort into your results/discussion sections and conclusions. Your mark will be based on them to a large extent because the other sections of the report will already have been marked in the Project Proposal stage.

You must include your transcript of any focus group conversation in an appendix (submitted separately on Turnitin as Part 2 of the assignment). This is your raw dataset so needs to be checkable by the person marking your assignment. To protect your participants anonymity, this transcript should not include real names.

Marking criteria:

• If you carry out your event or product, you may submit it (recording, publication, etc.) for grading.

• It must be no more than 5000 words in length, excluding the references

• Well written, easy to read, minimal jargon

• Excellent spelling, grammar and punctuation

• Tables and graphs, if used, are labelled correctly

• Discussion is clear and incisive, effectively drawing upon the existing literature to support findings or refute existing state of knowledge

• Limitations identified and acknowledged (if appropriate)

• Recommendations for future research

• It must seamlessly incorporate relevant, reworked elements of your proposal, and feed- back from the convenor

• If running a survey or focus group, the sample size and robustness of the data collection

• If running a focus group, you must attach a full focus group transcript. If you did a survey, the individual response. This does not count towards the word count. The assignment must demonstrate with clear evidence that you conducted a real focus group or survey

• If creating a lesson plan, it will also be judged on materials included, marking rubric for said lesson plan, links to curriculum, and a clear target audience, all of which should be outlined in your proposal.

Return of assessment: date to be updated on Wattle, as/if needed.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Returning Assignments

Marks, assignments, and feedback will be provided via Wattle and Turnitin.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Resubmission is NOT permitted.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students