Science and Environmental Journalism
Science and Environmental Journalism teaches strategies for communicating science to the public, focusing on explaining difficult concepts, storytelling, and evaluating scientific evidence.
Summary
Past student reviews · Deborah Blum
One former student rated the course difficulty as moderate, though they did not provide specific details about workload or assessment demands.
What you’ll be able to do
Report accurately on scientific, environmental, and health topics using credible sources and clear explanations suited to public audiences.
Analyze the social, political, and ethical contexts that shape how science and environmental stories are produced and received.
Evaluate the credibility of scientific information and data presented in journalistic, governmental, and industry sources.
Develop and pitch original story ideas that translate complex scientific concepts into accessible, engaging narratives.
Write and revise science and environmental stories that demonstrate clarity, accuracy, and narrative quality.
Apply principles of ethical science reporting, including accuracy, transparency, and fairness in sourcing and framing.
Synthesize and critique scholarly and journalistic literature to situate their reporting within broader debates about science communication, policy, and public understanding.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapProfessors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
DEBORAH BLUM is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2011, Fall 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
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Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Deborah Blum
Past students found Deborah Blum’s teaching highly effective, noting that her professional experiences provided significant educational value.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2015: 3.00 GPA, 62.5% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.92 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=12 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.70 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Deborah Blum
One former student rated the course difficulty as moderate, though they did not provide specific details about workload or assessment demands.
Past student reviews · Deborah Blum
A past student reported that Blum contributed more to their writing development than other journalism instructors they had encountered.
Topics
- Communicating science to the public
- Explaining difficult concepts and processes
- Storytelling skills
- Judging scientific evidence
- Social, political, and ethical contexts of science stories
Skills
- Explaining difficult concepts and processes
- Telling interesting and artful stories
- Making reasonable judgments about scientific evidence
- Developing and pitching original story ideas
- Synthesizing and critiquing scholarly and journalistic literature
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2026
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"requirements_status": "valid",
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"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
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