A recent meeting showed how two different classes from two different and unrelated departments can cooperate to benefit students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jacob Stockinger’s “Feature Writing” (Life Sciences Communication 320) and Zoology Prof. Emily Stanley’s graduate seminar (Limnology Seminar 955, “Writing About Science for Non-Scientists”) met jointly on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Hiram Smith Hall’s PC lab. Both classes take place in the late afternoon, so logistics were not difficult.

Stanley’s well prepared and articulate students presented detailed story ideas and proposals based on their research projects. The timely topics included: an invasive species of small fish in the Great Lakes and other Wisconsin bodies of fresh water; a hundred species of native Wisconsin bees that can replace the decimated European honey bee population in pollinating plants; the ecological pros and cons of dam removal in and around Dane County; and the ability of algae to absorb air-borne iron from industrialization in China and, at open sea, to reduce global warming.

In turn, the LSC students, some of whom write for student newspapers, offered tips on placing story ideas and writing stories about science. Their advice focused especially on featurizing techniques. These included how to tell narrative stories and how to use human interest to reach non-scientists with science news in a way that will engage the general population and convey to them the impact of complex research in a practical way.

It was a comfortable, congenial and conversational meeting with a lot of give-and-take.

It seems likely at least two or three of the science stories proposed by Stanley’s students will end up as research stories written by Stockinger’s students who will, in turn, try to publish them in local media.

Both sets of students said they found the meeting helpful and a successful model for future cooperation, and the two teachers agreed that the joint event seemed like a fine example of putting the Wisconsin Idea to work on campus.

Stanley noted that this particular graduate science seminar is offered every semester with different professors and different topics. A good precedent had been set, she added, to motivate future seminars do hold more such cooperative sessions, with Stockinger’s class and perhaps with other LSC classes.

Stockinger explained that his Advanced Feature Writing class (LSC 375/875) will be offered spring semester and that those students are required to cover a single “beat” for the whole semester. So another cooperative session seems likely, probably this time hosted at the science students’ classroom or lab.

For more information, contact Jacob Stockinger at jakestockinger@msn.com or Emily Stanley at ehstanley@wisc.edu.