Learn how to use thematic analysis to strengthen design projects. As design expands into new domains, we need solid methods to make sense of the world and turn data into actionable insight. I’m on a mission to help fellow designers make the most of qualitative data analysis. Impact requires solid insight As designers, we…

The model can help educators and institutions plan, iterate, and develop engaging courses and study programs focused on student learning. Successful teaching and learning at university level depends on a complex interplay between the curriculum, exam forms, student background and motivation, teaching methods, and the learning environment. According to educational…

Do you struggle to explain the impact of your findings, understand customers, or win new projects? The solution is to learn to tell an efficient and compelling story. And in addition to helping you communicate your work, storytelling is also a tool for thinking. Here is how. Stories are central…

Field notes from a biologist turned science writer (and teacher). Every Wednesday this spring, I teach a science communication class at the University of Oslo. Throughout the semester, students will write a popular science article, an encyclopedia entry, and an op-ed, and also prepare an oral presentation for fellow students…

Are you a scientist who wants to be a better writer? You’ve already started! Writing is not as different from science as you might think. Here are four common themes for science and writing: 1. Seeing the inside Seeing patterns and structures in a piece of writing requires an analytical approach with many similarities…

My plan was to be a scientist. I aspired to become an enthusiastic academic exploring the world of cell biology. I was on track, with a few publications under my belt and a visit to a foreign and high-profile university. Then I discovered that I could be a storyteller instead…

This week, Nature published my essay Visual maps bring research to life. In the column I argue that techniques from storytelling and visual mapping can be beneficial to get a grasp on your research project. In particular using what I call storymapping. In brief, storymapping refers to actively using narrative…

How science writing makes me a better scientist. I have always been a curious person. I’m eager and excited about facts, details and knowledge, and I like asking questions and wonder about how nature and biology turned out like it did. Many scientists share this predisposition for getting excited about minute and obscure details. I think that such…

A gay teenage escape plan The word ordinary always had positive associations to me, and was one of the contradictory descriptions of adulthood I looked forward to as a gay teenager. To escape schoolyard bullies and my own insecurities I would close my eyes and tell myself to just wait…