Identifying the Learning Objectives of Biology Laboratories in the General Education Curriculum and Exploring Gaps Between Objectives and Practice

本项目旨在通过探索生物实验课程如何为非专业学生产生重要的学习成果，为国家对优秀STEM本科教育的兴趣服务。近80%的本科学位授予非理工科专业。然而，对于普通教育本科课程中科学实验室体验的目的，目前还没有达成共识。COVID-19大流行使现在成为检验非专业实验室价值的关键时刻。随着招生人数的减少和财政压力的增加，高等教育机构需要削减成本。由于学生和教师的时间、物理资源、设备和消耗品的成本，这种需求使非专业实验室处于危险之中。本计画的目标是为选修通识教育生物学课程的非专业学生找出最优先的生物实验室经验，并检视实践中的差距。本研究的结果可以帮助塑造通识教育课程中科学和实验教学的未来。该项目将探讨“生物实验室在通识教育课程中的作用是什么？”第一阶段将是完成德尔菲研究，这是一个经过审查的建立共识的过程。通过这项研究，研究小组将与一组学科专家进行对话，以确定非通识教育生物学课程中实验室的角色和目标。德尔菲研究的结果将是增加学科对该问题的参与，并就非专业生物实验室的作用达成一致。第二阶段将是差距分析，其中德尔菲研究结果将被用作“最佳状态”，以探索专家理想与当前实践之间的差距。差距分析将使用来自教学大纲审查、从业者调查和焦点小组访谈的数据。差距分析过程期望能提高从业者对实验室目标和目的的认识，从而为实践提供信息。通过关注非专业生物实验室的作用，本项目有可能推进一个总体框架，以优化科学实验室在通识教育课程中的作用和目标。此外，这些数据可以用来创造更有意义和有目的的实验室体验。因此，这些发现可能对通识教育科学课程具有变革性。研究结果将通过同行评议的手稿和其他通讯方式向广大读者传播，目的是明确说明实验室经验在培养具有科学素养的公众方面的作用。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过机构和社区转型轨道，该计划支持高等教育机构和学科社区的STEM教育转型和改善。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest in excellent undergraduate STEM education by exploring how biology laboratory courses produce important learning outcomes for non-majors. Nearly 80% of undergraduate degrees are awarded in non-science majors. However, no consensus currently exists about the purposes of science laboratory experiences in the general education undergraduate curriculum. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this a critical time to examine the value of laboratories for non-majors. As enrollment shrinks and financial strains grow, higher education institutions need to cut costs. This need places non-majors’ laboratories at risk because of costs in student and faculty time, physical resources, equipment, and consumable supplies. The goal of this project is to identify the highest priority biology laboratory experiences for non-majors taking general education biology courses with laboratories and to examine gaps in practice. The results of this study can help shape the future of science and laboratory instruction in general education curricula. The project will explore the research question, “What is the role of the biology laboratory in the general education curriculum?” The first phase will be completion of a Delphi study, which is a vetted consensus-building process. Through this study, the research team will engage a panel of disciplinary experts in a dialogue to identify the role and goals of laboratories for non-majors in general education biology courses. The outcome of the Delphi Study will be increased disciplinary engagement in the issue and an agreement about the role of biology laboratories for non-majors. The second phase will be a gap analysis in which the Delphi Study findings will be used as the “optimal state” to explore gaps between the expert ideal and current practices. The gap analysis will use data from syllabus reviews, practitioner surveys, and focus group interviews. The gap analysis process is expected to result in increased practitioner awareness of laboratory goals and objectives, thus informing practice. By focusing on the role of biology laboratories for non-majors, this project has the potential to advance a general framework for optimizing the role and objectives for science laboratories in the general education curriculum. In addition, the data could be used to create more meaningful and purposeful laboratory experiences. Consequently, the findings may be transformative for general education science curricula. The research findings will be disseminated to a broad audience via a combination of peer reviewed manuscripts and other communications, with the intention of making explicit the role of laboratory experiences in achieving a scientifically literate public. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.