Science to English translation: Making departmental seminars accessible to undergraduates

Despite our best efforts as scientists, many of us give seminars that are technical and verbose from the perspective of a broad audience, including undergraduates. Granted, most departmental seminars are targeted for graduate students, where the technical terms are warranted. However, the University of Georgia Entomology Department’s seminars were adapted as a one-hour seminar course that undergraduate students of all majors could attend for credit, which has helped increase participation in the seminar, even for asynchronous online education. While attendance and viewing of the seminars has increased, retention and understanding by the undergraduate students that are non-STEM majors has not improved. In the last two years, I have produced five to ten minute “Science to English Translation” videos after each seminar to help students connect to prior knowledge of basic biology courses and concepts, and I add another layer of humor to help students understand complex material. Both undergraduate students and graduate students alike have expressed appreciation for the videos via course evaluations, suggesting that students find them valuable and helpful for a diverse array of entomological seminar topics. Increasing the accessibility of new and relevant science by reducing jargon and making connections with broader concepts and pop culture can help empower a new generation of insect science appreciation, if nothing else.