Young people who may have thought that scientists were ‘boring’ and ‘nerdy’ changed their minds after having an opportunity to ‘Meet the Scientist’ face-to-face.

That’s one of the key findings of a study published in the International Journal of Science Education by experts from the University of Southampton’s LifeLab project into student-scientist engagement.

The ‘Meet the Scientist’ sessions are part of a wider initiative to promote health literacy through science education. The LifeLab project is an innovative educational intervention which actively engages with young people, teachers and researchers. The aim is to introduce the science that explains how lifestyle choices at an early age can drastically affect young people’s health and the health of their future children.  As part of the hands-on practical day, students take part in ‘Meet the Scientist’ sessions where they have the opportunity to meet and talk to scientists, from both academic and clinical backgrounds.

Scientists from different areas led small group discussions with school students aged 13-15 years. Feedback from the school students showed that these short informal interactions changed the students’ expectations of what scientists are like. In their post-session feedback, students pointed out that the scientists they met were not as expected because they thought ‘of a stereotypical scientist [as] a nutty professor’ or because they thought that they would be ‘mad and posh’. Instead, the students found the scientists to be ‘normal and chatty’.

“Students have been reported to have stereotypical views of scientists as middle-aged white men in lab coats,” said Kathryn Woods-Townsend, co-author of the study and Programme Manager for the LifeLab project. “We argue that a way to provide students with a more realistic view of scientists and their work is to provide them with the opportunity to interact with scientists during short, discussion-based sessions.”

Scientists themselves viewed the scientist–student interactions as a great vehicle for science communication. Interestingly, the scientists were aware of the stereotypical images held by students and felt this needs further attention in order for students to become more interested in science.

The study was carried out by academics from the University of Southampton’s Education School and Mathematics and Science Learning Centre. LifeLab is based at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

You can find the full study here.