EAGER: Maker: BioFabLab: Making as an Entryway to the Life Sciences for Early Undergraduates

这个项目探索了制作元素在提高本科生对生命科学学科的吸引力和留存力方面的潜力。BioFabLab是一个为期一学期的课程，在这个课程中，一年级的本科生在没有申报专业的情况下开始上大学，通过设计、迭代制造、测试和描述一种新的实验仪器，团队合作解决生物研究问题。该课程利用制造商运动创造的丰富的协作和创新空间，并建立在佛蒙特州日益增长的制造商文化之上。这项研究特别侧重于那些可能具有创造性思维能力、喜欢“修修补补”和创新，但可能因为其他原因而错过主修生命科学的机会的学生。BioFabLab利用了当地的制造商资源，但也旨在呼应鼓励创造力、合作和终身学习的制造商精神。为了实现这一目标，该项目建立在以学生为中心的指导小组学习和设计思维的概念之上，并探索将制造作为自我指导学习基本生物学原理的渠道。主动学习教育策略在学生参与、保持和表现方面优于传统的讲授方法。Making结合了主动学习的许多要素，如基于问题的学习，但研究并未表明这种学习过程是如何运作的，特别是当纳入正式的STEM教育时。此外，Maker运动吸引了具有不同兴趣和背景的追随者，但这种成功如何或是否会转化为对本科生STEM课程的兴趣和坚持不懈尚不清楚。BioFabLab是一门以问题为基础的课程，挑战未申报的一年级学生在蓬勃发展的当地制造商社区的背景下解决真正的科学研究问题。我们将使用定量和定性的教育研究方法，研究a)科学学习是如何在这样的环境中发生的，以及b)它对学生坚持不懈和保持的影响。该项目有可能介绍和吸引广泛的学习者，包括优秀的学生，从佛蒙特州的低收入农村社区到专门的STEM，再到更广泛的STEM。这种背景下的接触/制作入门将为学习者提供一条攻读STEM学位的途径。这个项目是NSF的Maker Dear Coreat Letter(DCL)投资组合(NSF 15-086)的一部分，该投资组合由教育和人力资源主管(EHR)、计算机与信息科学与工程主管(CEISE)和工程主管(ENG)共同投资。

This project explores the potential for elements of Making to improve attraction to and retention in life science disciplines among undergraduate students. BioFabLab is a one-semester class in which first time-first year undergraduate students, who start college with no declared major, work in teams to address a biological research question through the design, iterative fabrication, testing and description of a novel experimental apparatus. The class harnesses the rich collaborative and innovative space created by the Maker movement, and builds on the growing Maker culture in Vermont. This study places particular emphasis on those students who may possess an aptitude for creative thinking and an enjoyment of "tinkering" and innovation, but might for other reasons pass over opportunities to major in the life sciences. BioFabLab makes use of local Maker resources, but also aims to echo the Maker ethos of encouraging creativity, collaboration and lifelong learning. To achieve this, the project is built on the concepts of guided, student-centered group learning and design thinking, and explores Making as a conduit for self-directed learning of fundamental biological principles.Active learning educational strategies outperform traditional lecture approaches in student engagement, retention, and performance. Making incorporates many elements of active learning such as Problem-Based Learning, but studies do not show how such learning processes work, particularly when incorporated into formal STEM education. Furthermore, the Maker Movement attracts followers with diverse interests and backgrounds, but it is unknown how or whether this success translates to increased interest and persistence in undergraduate STEM coursework. BioFabLab is a problem-based course that challenges undeclared first-year students to address real scientific research questions within the setting of a thriving local Maker community. Using both quantitative and qualitative educational research approaches, we will study a) how scientific learning happens in such an environment, and b) its effects on student persistence and retention. This project has the potential to introduce and engage a wide range of learners, including meritorious students, from low income, rural communities in Vermont to Making specifically, and to STEM more broadly. This in-context engagement/introduction to Making will present a pathway for learners to pursue STEM degrees. This project is a part of NSF's Maker Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) portfolio (NSF 15-086), a collaborative investment of Directorates for Education and Human Resources (EHR), Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE), and Engineering (ENG).