CAREER: Investigating and Supporting Undergraduate Biology Students' Abilities to Communicate about Culturally Controversial Science Topics

职业：调查和支持生物学本科生交流有文化争议的科学话题的能力

• 批准号: 2238174
• 负责人: Maryann Barnes
• 金额: $ 104.48万
• 依托单位: Middle Tennessee State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2028-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2238174&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Investigating; Supporting; Undergraduate; Biology

Current research suggests that undergraduate science students are engaging in ineffective communication regarding culturally controversial science topics. This ineffective communication can exacerbate divides between science and society. Unfortunately, most students do not receive proper instruction on how to communicate these topics in a productive manner, despite the significance of science communication as a crucial skill for undergraduate students to acquire. One of the challenges in addressing this issue is the absence of comprehensive evaluation methods, instructional frameworks, and materials to enhance students' communication abilities. This project seeks to serve the national interest and address this gap by developing evidence-based practices and instructional materials that teach undergraduate students studying biological sciences the principles of science communication and how to apply them when discussing culturally controversial science topics. By improving students' communication skills, this project seeks to enhance their impact as future scientists, science educators, and healthcare providers, ultimately fostering improved relations between science and society through more effective science communication.This project housed at Middle Tennessee State University will create the materials needed to advance undergraduate science communication education about Culturally Controversial Science Topics (CCSTs). Using the frameworks of cultural competence and expectancy value theory as well as the guiding principles of science communication, the specific objectives of the project are to (1) develop survey instruments to measure student communication education outcomes, (2) establish an evidence-based instructional framework with a set of best practices for CCST communication education, and (3) design evidence-based instructional materials for science instructors to use to improve undergraduates' CCST communication outcomes. To accomplish the objectives, the project team will build, pilot, and gather validity evidence for survey instruments that can be used to assess student confidence, knowledge, and ability communicating about CCSTs. Once instruments have been developed and validity evidence gathered for the measures, researchers will use the measures to assess the current CCST communication education outcomes of undergraduate students who are learning about CCSTs in 50 biology classes across the United States. To build an evidence based instructional framework, researchers will use triangulation methodology to identify best practices for teaching CCST communication. Researchers will use data from their observations of current instructional practices, interviews with students and instructors, and prior published science communication education literature to identify effective CCST communication education practices. Using the new framework, researchers will then design lessons to enhance students' CCST communication knowledge, confidence, and abilities and then use the new survey instruments to evaluate the lessons in undergraduate science classes. Further, researchers will facilitate a Course-based Research Experience (CRE) for students who will work on projects related to the data gathered for the CSST research. The success of the project will be assessed by the production and publication of the instruments, framework, and lessons that are shown to lead to better student communication outcomes. Additionally, an expert advisory board will review the project products and evaluate the evidence for their efficacy across different student groups. The results of the project will be disseminated through publications in peer reviewed science and science education journals as well as presentations at science and science education conferences. The research team will also create talks and infographics that describe the results of the study to be posted on media and social media platforms. This project has the potential to advance the field of science communication education by specifically addressing student communication about CCSTs, for which there is currently very little research. Ultimately, this project has the potential to help mitigate public polarization about CCSTs by training more of our future scientists to communicate more productively. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-wide activity that supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. This CAREER project is supported by NSF's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program.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.

当前的研究表明，本科科学专业的学生正在就文化上有争议的科学主题进行无效的沟通。这种无效的沟通会加剧科学与社会之间的分歧。不幸的是，尽管科学沟通是本科生获得的重要技能，但大多数学生没有获得有关如何以有效方式传达这些主题的适当指导。解决此问题的挑战之一是缺乏全面的评估方法，教学框架和材料来增强学生的沟通能力。该项目旨在通过开发基于证据的实践和教学材料来满足国家利益，并解决这一差距，这些实践和教学材料教授研究生物科学的科学传播原理以及如何在讨论文化上有争议的科学主题时如何应用它们。通过提高学生的沟通能力，该项目旨在增强其作为未来科学家，科学教育者和医疗保健提供者的影响，最终通过更有效的科学沟通来促进科学与社会之间的改善关系。该项目在田纳西州立大学中所容纳的项目将创建材料，创造材料，以提高有关文化上有争议的科学科学主题（CCSTS）的本科科学沟通教育所需的材料。 Using the frameworks of cultural competence and expectancy value theory as well as the guiding principles of science communication, the specific objectives of the project are to (1) develop survey instruments to measure student communication education outcomes, (2) establish an evidence-based instructional framework with a set of best practices for CCST communication education, and (3) design evidence-based instructional materials for science instructors to use to improve undergraduates' CCST communication outcomes.为了实现目标，项目团队将为调查工具建立，试行和收集有效性证据，这些证据可用于评估学生的信心，知识和有关CCST的能力。一旦开发了工具并为这些措施收集了有效性证据，研究人员将采取这些措施评估当前在美国50个生物学课程中学习CCST的本科生的CCST通信教育成果。为了建立一个基于证据的教学框架，研究人员将使用三角测量方法来确定教授CCST交流的最佳实践。研究人员将使用他们对当前教学实践的观察，对学生和讲师的访谈以及事先发表的科学传播教育文献的数据来确定有效的CCST传播教育实践。然后，研究人员将使用新的框架设计课程，以增强学生的CCST沟通知识，信心和能力，然后使用新的调查工具来评估本科科学课程中的课程。此外，研究人员将促进基于课程的研究经验（CRE），为将在与CSST研究收集的数据相关的项目中工作的学生。该项目的成功将通过仪器，框架和课程的生产和发布来评估，这些工具，框架和课程被证明会带来更好的学生沟通成果。此外，专家顾问委员会将审查项目产品，并评估其在不同学生团体之间的功效的证据。该项目的结果将通过同行评审的科学和科学教育期刊的出版物以及科学和科学教育会议的演讲来传播。研究团队还将创建演讲和信息图表，描述要发布在媒体和社交媒体平台上的研究结果。该项目有可能通过专门解决有关CCST的学生沟通来推进科学传播教育领域的领域，目前的研究很少。最终，该项目有可能通过培训更多未来的科学家来更有效地进行沟通来帮助减轻公众对CCST的两极分化。教师早期职业发展（职业）计划是国家科学基金会（NSF）范围内的活动，该活动支持有可能在研究和教育中充当学术榜样的早期职业教师。该职业项目得到了NSF改善的本科STEM教育（IUSE）计划的支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准通过评估来支持的。