A recent exploration helped Maryville students learn how storytelling leads to deep engagement with complex scientific concepts.
A recent exploration helped Maryville students learn how storytelling leads to deep engagement with complex scientific concepts.
“Who has heard of an exoplanet?” says David Ibbett, a composer with a passion for science. His question stumps the classroom of Maryville students gathered for his guest lecture.
“Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system,” he continues. “Can anyone guess how many exoplanets have been discovered?” Stumped again, Ibbett proudly shares the number: 4,843, the last time he checked. “We’re living in the middle of an exoplanet revolution!” he exclaims, his unabashed enthusiasm spreading among the students.
Ibbett then describes how he turns exoplanet data into music. Since exoplanets are hard to see directly with telescopes, astronomers study these planets by measuring how a star’s brightness decreases when an exoplanet passes in front of it. “You can split that decreased light — or shadow — apart within the electromagnetic spectrum, which creates a pattern,” he says. “I take that pattern and translate it into sound, mapping the curves and dips of the waves to musical notes.”
Ibbett turns to his piano and plays an original song, a moving piece that turns the complex astrophysics into something the students can appreciate. “I’m trying to communicate the science, but I also want to communicate the emotions and what the science means to us: how it’s inspiring and what it tells us about our place in the universe,” Ibbett said. Some exoplanet data suggests the presence of life on these planets.
The science lesson and live performance are part of an innovative Bascom Honors Program class titled Storytelling in the Sciences, taught by Vaughn Anderson, PhD, assistant professor of English. The class focuses on the intersection of science and the humanities. “Specifically, we look at how science depends on storytelling and what science in turn can tell us about how storytelling works,” Anderson said.
Students first looked at mythology and how myths help us to understand the natural world around us. They then dove into neuroscience and how the brain responds to storytelling. They learned from neuroethicist Geoffrey Holtzman, part of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.
Another unit explored the paleontology boom of the mid-1990s following the release of the original “Jurassic Park.” The increased public interest led to increased budgets for paleontology research and projects. Students even read the novel “Raptor Red” by paleontologist Robert T. Bakker, which is told from the point of view of a velociraptor. The book sought to dispel the perception of predators as evil and instead portray them as creatures to be admired.
A different unit examined the relationship between science and science fiction. Special guest lecturer for that week was Associate Professor of Biology Kyra Krakos, PhD, a self-proclaimed “sci-fi nerd.” It also included a viewing of “The Martian” starring Matt Damon. The film follows an astronaut who becomes stranded on Mars and finds a way to survive the hostile environment. While the scenario is fictional, many scientific concepts in the movie are real.
Students spent the second half of the class putting together their own popular science projects. Projects included websites, social media campaigns, podcasts, videos, short stories and even a 200-page novel. “I told students that the only thing they couldn’t submit was a traditional essay,” Anderson said. The projects still required comprehensive research so that each student became an expert in their chosen topic. They were then charged with presenting their data by using storytelling elements, including plot, character and setting.
“My goal was to have students make a topic not just understandable, but also appealing and entertaining to a general audience,” Anderson said. “I wanted to show students that you can do things with your writing. Writing isn’t just something that you turn in to your professor.”
Emilee Hector, who is studying physical therapy, shared the effects of Alzheimer’s disease on the brain through a series of short vignettes. Hector used first-person narrative to drive her writing. Each vignette was told by a fictional Dr. Berk, a geriatric physical therapist. “I thought of myself when writing the main character because I want to go into physical therapy to help these types of patients,” Hector said. “Both my grandparents passed away from Alzheimer’s disease, so it’s a topic close to my heart. I essentially wrote what I want to see in my daily life after I become a physical therapist.”
Hector also enjoyed how the class was discussion-based. “I liked it because I never knew what we were going to talk about,” she said. “One week we’d talk about dinosaurs, the next about horror movies, and then we’d end up on music. It was a lot going on, but it was always interesting. And it was fun to see what Professor Anderson brought to the conversation because he always openly shared his opinions and experiences with us.”
For her final project, first-year student Emma Winkeler created a collection of short stories that discussed the positive effects of movement for people recovering from serious accident or injuries. Her characters included a teenage baseball player with a broken kneecap and a middle-aged man who suffered a stroke.
Winkeler is part of Maryville’s Pre-Occupational Therapy program and understands the benefits of strengthening the mind and body. Before arriving at Maryville, she worked at an assisted living facility where she provided crucial support to residents during the pandemic. “Before this course, I had never written a story before,” Winkeler said. “It was so fun to write! I didn’t mean for my final project to be [18 pages] long. But once I got into the writing, I enjoyed it so much that I just kept going.”
For students like Winkeler, the course also helped prepare them for their future careers in science-related fields. “This class helped me realize that as an occupational therapist, my patients won’t always have the same knowledge that I do,” she said. “I need to present information in a way that they understand so they’re not confused or scared, and that they understand how treatment will help them.”
Winkeler said she’s grateful to have experienced Maryville’s Active Learning Ecosystem during her first semester on campus. The Storytelling in the Sciences class set the stage for future active learning opportunities.
“The first few weeks of class I was hesitant and not sure the information was up my alley,” she said. “But now, I’m so glad I took this class. It wasn’t a normal humanities class where you read literature and respond. This class was so fun and engaging, and very different than any other class I’ve ever taken before.”