Towards a More Human(e) Genetics Education: Exploring how Knowledge of Genetic Variation and Causation Affects Racial Bias among Adolescents

走向更加人性化的遗传学教育：探索遗传变异和因果关系的知识如何影响青少年的种族偏见

• 批准号: 1660985
• 负责人: Brian Donovan
• 金额: $ 129.9万
• 依托单位: BSCS Science Learning
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1660985&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Towards; More; Human; Genetics; Education

This project draws on the relation between genetics instruction and psychological biases associated with the development of racial stereotyping. Previous research has suggested that when students are taught genetics in particular ways, it increases faulty assumptions. For example, learning about the prevalence of sickle cell anemia in people of African descent and the prevalence of Cystic Fibrosis in people of European descent can cause middle and high school students to infer that racial groups vary in intelligence, academic ability, and science ability because of genetics. Conversely, educational interventions which teach students that there is more genetic variation within races rather than between them can reduce the belief that genes cause racial groups to differ in their intellectual, academic, and science abilities. What is still unknown is why does human genetics education cause these changes in racial bias during adolescence? Using experimental, quasi-experimental, and qualitative research methods, this research will identify the cognitive, social, and educational factors that link the learning of human genetics to reductions in racial bias. In doing so, this project will explore how learning about human difference in the biology classroom affects how adolescents view people of different races outside of the classroom. Consequently, this work could help educators understand how to teach about the science of human difference in a socially-responsible manner. This project is supported by the Education and Human Resources Core Research program, which funds fundamental research in STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. This project will investigate factors that mediate and/or moderate the impact of an anti-essentialist genetics education on explicit and implicit forms of racial bias during adolescence. Genetic essentialism of race is a psychological bias which leads people to underestimate the actual genetic variability that exists within races and to overestimate the genetic variability that exists between races. Studies have established that this bias is implicated in the development of racial stereotyping and prejudice across human development and across cultures in Western societies. Essentialism is also associated with misconceptions about biological variation and evolution. The links between essentialism, racial bias, and biological misconceptions are due, in part, to the fact that essentialist worldviews are inconsistent with biological theory and data. This project will explore the enactment of an anti-essentialist genetics intervention in the context of middle and high school biology classrooms to understand whether and how this intervention reduces implicit and explicit forms of racial bias. The work will center on the implementation of an existing anti-essentialist genetics education intervention which has been shown to reduce explicit forms of racial bias among adolescents. In phase one, the project will use think-aloud protocols and qualitative methods to identify the social and cognitive factors which moderate how students reason in response to intervention materials. In phase two, a comparative interrupted time series, focus groups with students, and video-based analyses of the teaching of the intervention will be used to identify social and cognitive variables that are potential mediators of intervention effects on racial bias. In phase three, an individually randomized trial with clustering will be used to test pre-registered mediating and/or moderating mechanisms that link the intervention to reductions in implicit and explicit racial bias. During each phase of the study, developing knowledge of the causal mechanism will be used to revise the intervention materials to make them more effective at increasing genetic literacy and reducing racial bias among adolescents.

该项目利用了遗传学教学和与种族成见发展相关的心理偏见之间的关系。先前的研究表明，当以特定方式教授学生遗传学时，会增加错误的假设。例如，了解非洲人后裔中镰状细胞性贫血的患病率和欧洲人后裔中囊性纤维化的患病率，可以使初中生和高中生推断出种族群体因遗传而在智力、学术能力和科学能力方面存在差异。相反，教育干预措施告诉学生种族内部而不是种族之间存在更多的遗传变异，可以减少基因导致种族群体在智力、学术和科学能力方面存在差异的信念。尚不清楚的是，为什么人类遗传学教育会导致青春期种族偏见的这些变化？这项研究将使用实验、准实验和定性研究方法，确定将人类遗传学学习与减少种族偏见联系起来的认知、社会和教育因素。为此，该项目将探讨在生物课堂上了解人类差异如何影响青少年在课堂外看待不同种族的人的方式。因此，这项工作可以帮助教育工作者了解如何以对社会负责的方式教授人类差异科学。该项目得到了教育和人力资源核心研究计划的支持，该计划资助 STEM 学习和学习环境的基础研究、扩大 STEM 的参与以及 STEM 劳动力发展。该项目将调查调节和/或缓和反本质主义遗传学教育对青春期显性和隐性种族偏见影响的因素。种族遗传本质主义是一种心理偏见，它导致人们低估种族内部存在的实际遗传变异性，并高估种族之间存在的遗传变异性。研究表明，这种偏见与西方社会人类发展和跨文化中种族成见和偏见的发展有关。 本质主义还与对生物变异和进化的误解有关。本质主义、种族偏见和生物学误解之间的联系部分是由于本质主义世界观与生物学理论和数据不一致。该项目将探索在初中和高中生物课堂上实施反本质主义遗传学干预，以了解这种干预是否以及如何减少隐性和显性的种族偏见。这项工作将集中于实施现有的反本质主义遗传学教育干预措施，该干预措施已被证明可以减少青少年中明显形式的种族偏见。在第一阶段，该项目将使用有声思考协议和定性方法来确定调节学生对干预材料的推理方式的社会和认知因素。在第二阶段，将使用比较中断的时间序列、学生焦点小组以及基于视频的干预教学分析来识别社会和认知变量，这些变量是干预对种族偏见影响的潜在中介因素。在第三阶段，将使用聚类的单独随机试验来测试预先注册的中介和/或调节机制，这些机制将干预措施与减少隐性和显性种族偏见联系起来。 在研究的每个阶段，对因果机制的了解将用于修改干预材料，使其更有效地提高青少年的遗传素养和减少种族偏见。

项目成果

From Basic to Humane Genomics Literacy How Different Types of Genetics Curricula Could Influence Anti-Essentialist Understandings of Race

• DOI: 10.1007/s11191-020-00171-1
• 发表时间: 2020-11-17
• 期刊: SCIENCE & EDUCATION
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: Donovan, Brian M.;Weindling, Monica;Lee, Dennis M.
• 通讯作者: Lee, Dennis M.

Toward a more humane genetics education: Learning about the social and quantitative complexities of human genetic variation research could reduce racial bias in adolescent and adult populations

• DOI: 10.1002/sce.21506
• 发表时间: 2019-05-01
• 期刊: SCIENCE EDUCATION
• 影响因子: 4.3
• 作者: Donovan, Brian M.;Semmens, Rob;Salazar, Brae
• 通讯作者: Salazar, Brae

Genomics Literacy Matters: Supporting the Development of Genomics Literacy Through Genetics Education Could Reduce Cognitive Forms of Racial Prejudice

基因组素养很重要：通过遗传学教育支持基因组素养的发展可以减少种族偏见的认知形式

• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of research in science teaching
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: Donovan, B.M.;Weindling, M.;Salazar, B.;Duncan, A.;Stuhlsatz, M.;Keck, P.
• 通讯作者: Keck, P.