Collaborative Research: Educational Assessment Tools For Genomics And Bioinformatics Education

基因组学和生物信息学的进步导致了专门研究实验室、暑期学院和学术学位课程的迅速扩散。个体生物学家、工作组和国家研究网络正将注意力集中在将基因组学和生物信息学课程整合到本科课程中。该项目的第一个目标是：(1)将基因组学和生物信息学评估项目和工具组装成一个单一的、可自由访问的、用户友好的格式；(2)总结现有措施的效度和信度数据；(3)构建、评估和修改一套补充基因组学评估工具，包括知识、影响、绩效和教师评估四个方面；(4)通过SERC、DANSER项目和FIRST项目传播基因组学教育概念清单；(5)以巴纳德学院（Barnard College）新开发的、由hhmi资助的跨学科基因组学课程为测试案例，实地测试清单项目的实用性、有效性和可推广性。巴纳德学院正在使用混合方法（即定量和定性）准实验设计来评估课程干预的影响。采用以下五种方法，采用纵向研究设计，评估基因组学课程相对于传统生物学课程的影响：(1)李克特量表问卷，(2)学生评估学习收益（SALG）匿名在线工具，(3)内容知识的概念映射，(4)CTT（批判性思维测试），以及(5)由独立研究者进行的半结构化，转录的口头访谈。这些数据允许对结果进行方法学上的三角测量。本项目目标二的首要研究问题是：与传统的四年制生物学女性学生相比，四年制本科基因组学课程路径是否会产生显著不同的表现技能、态度、知识和对生物学研究的倾向？

Advances in genomics and bioinformatics have led to the rapid proliferation of dedicated research laboratories, summer institutes, and academic degree programs. Individual biologists, working groups, and national research networks are focusing their attention on the integration of genomics and bioinformatics lessons into undergraduate curricula. The first goal of this project is to: (1) assemble genomics and bioinformatics assessment items and tools into a single, freely-accessible, and user-friendly format; (2) summarize validity and reliability data for existing measures; (3) construct, evaluate, and revise a suite of supplemental genomics assessment tools in four areas: knowledge, affect, performance, and faculty assessment; (4) disseminate this genomics education concept inventory through SERC, the DANSER project, and the FIRST project, and (5) field test the inventory items for utility, validity, and generalizability by using a newly developed, HHMI-funded interdisciplinary genomics curriculum at Barnard College as a test case. A mixed-methods (i.e., quantitative and qualitative) quasi-experimental design is being used to assess the impact of the curriculum intervention at Barnard. The following five methodologies are being employed, using a longitudinal study design, to assess the impact of the genomics curriculum relative to the traditional biology curriculum: (1) a Likert-scale questionnaire, (2) the Student Assessed Learning Gains (SALG) anonymous online instrument, (3) concept mapping of content knowledge, (4) the CTT (Critical Thinking Test), and (5) semi-structured, transcribed oral interviews by an independent researcher. These data permit methodological triangulation of results. The overarching research question for goal two of this project is: Does a 4-year undergraduate genomics curriculum pathway produce significantly different performance skills, attitudes, knowledge, and dispositions toward biological research compared to a traditional 4-year biology pathway in women science students?