# ParCos approach

In this guide book our focus is in arts-based methods in participatory science education. Next we are shortly introducing the ParCos approach to you.


Sketch by Anne Pässilä, photo Antti Knutas

The ParCos approach is based on the premise that it is important to retain links to source evidence when communicating science.


Sketch by Anne Pässilä, photo by Antti Knutas
When science is presented to the public through science stories – such as news articles, blogs or science programmes – the link to the original scientific outputs and data is often lost (following figure).

Figure: Traditional science communication.

Note there is no interaction between the secondary science story and the experimental data. This means that the public are not able to validate claims made for themselves and must use their own judgement to decide whether to trust the interpretation made by the author, or not. In the ParCos approach we propose to reinstate this link and to make secondary science stories more participatory, allowing for multiple viewpoints to be heard and discussed.


Sketch by Anne Pässilä, photo by Antti Knutas
We will do this by embedding data to augment secondary science stories and extending existing models of science inquiry to take into account the re-use of existing data and consideration of multiple perspectives as part of a normal science process, such as it might be taught in schools or supported through a citizen science activity. We will consider how the generation of primary science stories and opening of science data does or does not support this currently and how this could be improved (following figure).

Figure: Facilitating participation in science via evidence linking

The ParCos project will focus on three specific aspects of this process. Firstly, how data can be curated and made available in a way that makes it accessible for everyone to use and minimises barriers, for example due to problems with access, lack of context, or requirement of high level data literacy skills to work with it. Secondly, how arts-based methods can be used to support participatory sensemaking of the data within the communities who collect it and (if different) those who are telling the story from it.

Sketch by Anne Pässilä, photo by Antti Knutas

This will include how to understand the emotional, relational and dramatical aspects of the data, to support in both interpreting and making editorial choices about the data and how it can be used to augment a story. Third, how the data can then be embedded into popular cultural forms such as broadcast media, VR and AR experiences to reach a wider audience and in a way that this new audience can engage with.


Sketch by Anne Pässilä, photo by Antti Knutas

ParCos will then consider through what pedagogical approaches might different actors - including school children, the public and also professionals - be supported in learning and engaging with the methods in the creation of participatory science stories.




Sketches by Anne Pässilä, photos by Antti Knutas
Case studies will take place in three European countries, Belgium, the U.K. and Finland. Each case study progresses through a number of stages, from collecting or identifying scientific data, to finding and telling stories from the data, to communicating the stories through selected media for a chosen audience with the intent to prompt further science activities from the outputs.