From jargon to impact: Teaching undergraduates the art of public communication

Incorporating public communication into university education is crucial as higher education faces increased scrutiny and demands for broader relevance. Writing for platforms like The Conversation offers students the opportunity to apply academic research to real-world issues, contributing to public and policy debates. Our research explores how The Conversation articles can serve as classroom tools, providing authentic learning experiences.

We encourage university educators to utilize these articles to engage students in "authentic learning" – learning in real-world contexts. Students can benefit from writing their own articles in the style of The Conversation, understanding the challenges of concise, engaging public writing, and producing well-researched pieces they can be proud of.

Although The Conversation does not allow undergraduates to submit pitches and drafts for publication, our students have demonstrated the ability to produce high-quality articles, showcasing their applied and rigorous understanding of course concepts. Writing for The Conversation provides scholars with four primary motivations: simplifying complex academic work for a general audience, tracking article readership, easily sharing articles via social media or Creative Commons licenses, and offering accessible course content for student assignments.

Further research could quantify student learning outcomes when using The Conversation articles in educational settings.