Assessing Science Engagement through Social Media: NOVA Wonders

NOVA Wonders is a multi-platform media project from the producers of NOVA exploring the biggest questions on the frontiers of science. From the mysteries of astrophysics to the secrets of the body to the challenges of inventing technologies that could rival—and even surpass—the abilities of the human mind. With content delivered across broadcast, digital and social platforms, the project’s total video content was viewed approximately 17 million times, reaching a range of audiences. The centerpiece was a six-part PBS series which premiered on April 25, 2018, hosted by a team of young, charismatic scientists of color.

The project explored the potential of social media to promote informal STEM learning, specifically through Facebook & Twitter. Our findings suggest that informal learning is possible on social media, as certain styles of posting and engagement can make a big difference in learning and engagement. With small changes to post style, resource type, and facilitation, certain learning outcomes can be supported among social media users. We developed a measure of informal science learning on social media and ran a six week “live” experiment on NOVA’s social media during the NOVA Wonders broadcast to explore how to best moderate a social media space to enhance informal learning. 

As more science communicators and media producers move to social media to disseminate their messages, it is important to know whether learning is feasible in these environments. This helps social media producers move away from focusing strictly on platform-derived analytics and instead consider how to more deeply engage their audiences to achieve their missions of enhancing STEM literacy and learning.