Talk To A Scientist: a Framework for a Webinar-Based Outreach Program for Scientists to Engage with K–12 Students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Science outreach programs that enable real-time interactions between scientists and school-aged children are known to positively impact learning gains and students’ perceptions of scientists. To expand K–12 outreach by scientists, it is important to build structured outreach programs which offer scientists well-defined opportunities, while providing school students regular and diverse interactions. We describe Talk To A Scientist, a science outreach platform in India, where scientists use a webinar-based approach to share their research with K–12 students (6 to 16 years). Running weekly for nearly 3 years, Talk To A Scientist has hosted over 100 live interactions, with a wide reach to participants across the country. Here, we outline the framework used to build Talk To A Scientist and discuss key gains, considerations, and challenges in the development of the program. We also suggest potential adaptations with which this framework can serve as a guideline for the implementation of similar K–12 outreach programs across diverse country- and context-specific settings.

Keywords

• science outreach
• webinars
• K-12 students
• children
• scientists
• informal science education