Can biomechanics turn youth sports into a venue for informal STEM engagement?
Can biomechanics turn youth sports into a venue for informal STEM engagement?
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生物力学能否将青少年运动变成非正式 STEM 参与的场所？
DOI：
10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111476
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发表时间：
2023
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Drazan, John F.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Loya, Amy K.;Smith, Phillip E.;Chan, Deva D.;Corr, David T.;Drazan, John F.
现有的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）外展计划的一个共同陷阱是，他们优先吸引对STEM有兴趣的年轻人。生物力学具有独特的潜力，以扩大获得干丰富，由于其直接适用于体育和人类的表现。在这项研究中，我们研究了青年体育中的生物力学是否可以用作STEM推广的场所，以及通过青年体育项目招募参与者是否可以扩大STEM管道的使用。我们创建了一个四小时的体育科学诊所，作为国家生物力学日的一部分，并邀请了两组学生参与者：通过当地高中体育项目招募的青年（“体育队列”，N = 80）和通过现有STEM富集项目招募的青年（“STEM队列”，N = 31）。我们使用前后调查评估了对STEM，体育科学和体育的兴趣。与通过STEM项目（STEM队列）招募的青少年相比，通过体育项目（体育队列）招募的青少年对STEM的基线兴趣较低，对体育的基线兴趣较高。体育队列在参与诊所后表现出统计学显著的STEM兴趣增加，而STEM队列中的青年保持了他们对STEM兴趣的高基线。这些研究结果提供了证据表明，青年体育项目可以作为从事STEM推广的生物力学家的有吸引力的合作伙伴，并且通过生物力学分析将STEM定位在体育运动中有可能将STEM兴趣引入更广泛的受众，并扩大不同青年人对STEM领域的接触。
A common pitfall of existing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) outreach programs is that they preferentially engage youth with a preexisting interest in STEM. Biomechanics has the unique potential to broaden access to STEM enrichment due to its direct applicability to sports and human performance. In this study we examine whether biomechanics within youth sports can be used as a venue for STEM outreach, and whether recruiting participants through youth sports programs could broaden access to the STEM pipeline. We created a four-hour sports science clinic that was performed as part of National Biomechanics Day and invited two groups of student participants: youth recruited through local high school sports programs (“Sports Cohort”, N = 80) and youth recruited through existing STEM enrichment programs (“STEM Cohort”, N = 31). We evaluated interest in STEM, Sports Science, and Sports using a pre-post survey. Somewhat expectedly, youth recruited through sports programs (Sports Cohort) had a lower baseline interest in STEM and a higher baseline interest in sports, compared to those recruited through STEM programs (STEM Cohort). The Sports Cohort exhibited a statistically significant increase in STEM interest following participation in the clinic, while youth in the STEM Cohort maintained their high baseline of STEM interest. These findings provide evidence that youth sports programs can serve as an attractive partner for biomechanists engaged in STEM outreach, and that situating STEM within sports through biomechanical analysis has potential to introduce STEM interest to a wider audience and to broaden access to the STEM fields among diverse youth.