Collaborative Research: Using a Self-Guided Online Intervention to Address Student Fear of Negative Evaluation in Active Learning Undergraduate Biology Courses

本项目旨在促进对如何使大学生具备应对负面评价恐惧的技能的理解，从而为国家利益服务。负面评价被定义为在参与社交场合时受到不利评价的恐惧感。大学生物课程正逐渐从传统的讲授式学习向主动学习转变。在主动学习课堂中，学生在课堂上参与活动和讨论。然而，在主动学习课程中，学生对负面评价的恐惧会对他们的学习产生负面影响。该项目将开发一个简短的、自我引导的在线干预，旨在帮助本科生在主动学习生物学课程的背景下有效地应对负面评价的恐惧。通过这种免费的在线干预，让学生掌握应对负面评价恐惧的技能，有可能改变谁在参与主动学习课堂，谁的声音在科学领域被听到。干预的有效性将通过研究其对学生对负面评价的恐惧、表现和大学生物坚持的影响来评估。项目成果旨在提高学生在主动学习生物学课程中的经验和表现。本计划的目标是开发和评估一个简短的在线单次干预（SSI），以帮助大学生在主动学习生物学课程时遇到的社会评价情境中应对负面评价的恐惧。本项目开发的自我指导SSI将是一个简短（30分钟）的在线活动，由临床、社会和教育心理学研究的循证程序组成。SSI的设计将兼顾可扩展性和可访问性。它将很容易管理，独立于教师，免费提供，并大规模地交付给学生。为了评估SSI的影响，研究小组将在一个大型的、多样化的、非选择性的机构进行一项大型的、随机对照的试验，涉及多个生物学入门课程。随机对照试验将评估SSI对(1)学生对负面评价和其他情感结果的恐惧，(2)学生表现结果，以及(3)学生坚持结果的影响。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。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。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 by advancing the understanding of how to equip undergraduates with the skills to cope with fear of negative evaluation. Negative evaluation is defined as a sense of dread associated with being unfavorably evaluated while participating in a social situation. Increasingly, college biology courses are transitioning from traditional lecture-based learning to active learning. In active learning classrooms, students engage in activities and discussions in class. However, students’ fear of negative evaluation can negatively impact their learning in active learning courses. This project will develop a brief, self-guided online intervention designed to help undergraduate students productively cope with fear of negative evaluation within the context of active learning biology courses. Equipping students with skills to cope with fear of negative evaluation via this free online intervention has potential to change who is participating in active learning classrooms and whose voices are heard in science. The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated by studying its impact on student fear of negative evaluation, performance, and persistence in college biology. Project outcomes are intended to enhance students’ experiences and performance in active learning biology courses.The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate a brief online Single-Session Intervention (SSI) to help undergraduates cope with fear of negative evaluation in the context of social evaluative situations encountered in active learning biology courses. The self-guided SSI developed in this project will be a brief ( 30 minute) online activity comprised of evidence-based program components drawn from research in clinical, social, and educational psychology. The SSI will be designed for both scalability and accessibility. It will be easy to administer, independent of the instructor, freely available, and delivered to students at scale. To assess the impact of the SSI, the research team will conduct a large, randomized controlled trial across multiple introductory biology courses at one large diverse and non-selective institution. The randomized controlled trail will assess the impact of the SSI on (1) student fear of negative evaluation and other affective outcomes, (2) student performance outcomes, and (3) student persistence outcomes. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.