Collaborative Research: Sharing Scientist Role Model Stories to Improve Equity and Success in Undergraduate STEM Education

这个IUSE 3级学生学习项目旨在通过开发和测试课堂材料，最大限度地发挥科学家榜样在本科生物学中的积极作用，为国家利益服务。该项目解决的问题，“榜样的成功故事的哪些要素是有效的，以提高公平和本科STEM教育的成功？”在今天的本科课堂上，大多数科学家的特点并不反映科学界的多样性，也不符合这些资源所达到的学生的身份。解决这种不匹配的一种方法是创造新的材料，突出具有不同背景和身份的科学家榜样。在课程中突出科学家榜样是一种可扩展的方式，可以促进科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）边缘化身份的学生的成功。先前的研究发现，榜样的影响可能取决于他们的故事在课堂材料中被讲述和分享的方式。这项工作测试的理论，科学家榜样的成功必须感到触手可及的学生，以创造积极的影响。该项目将开发和评估将联合收割机科学家成功故事与数据素养课堂练习相结合的材料。这项工作的最终目标是深入了解如何有效地将科学家的榜样纳入教学材料。它还将为本科生物学课堂提供一套新的免费的、基于证据的教育资源。本学科为基础的教育研究的目标是了解科学家的榜样是如何在课程中表示的影响。该项目将向学生介绍科学家榜样的成功故事，采用一种创新的方法，将数据扫盲活动与科学家简介相结合。项目人员将设计新的教学材料，解决科学内容和数据素养的目标，适合介绍本科生物学课程，并具有科学家的角色模型谁认同的性别，种族/民族，或在历史上被排除在生物学的能力的研究。这些新的资源将基于两个先前建立的科学教育计划，数据掘金和生物多样性项目的组合。利用全国各地的生物学入门教室网络，该项目将使学生接触到具有相同数据素养指导的活动，但不同的治疗方法在有关角色模型成功的可达性的信息方面有所不同（例如，强调科学家享有声望的成就或强调科学家如何克服在追求科学时遇到的障碍）。将使用Likert量表和开放式回答调查项目来衡量不同治疗对以下方面的影响：1）科学职业的可达性感知，2）从事科学职业的动机，3）对定量生物学的兴趣，4）作为科学家的身份，5）科学自我效能感，以及6）参与全国入门生物学课堂样本的活动。这项研究还将导致开发和测试公开可用的课程资源，用于介绍本科生物学课程，突出科学家的故事，同时链接到生物学和数据素养的核心内容。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过学生学习跟踪，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NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 IUSE Level 3 Engaged Student Learning project aims to serve the national interest by developing and testing classroom materials that maximize the positive effects of scientist role models in undergraduate biology. This project addresses the question, “Which elements of role model success stories are effective in improving equity and success in undergraduate STEM education?” In undergraduate classrooms today, most of the scientists featured do not reflect the diverse scientific community, nor do they match the identities of students reached by these resources. One way to combat this mismatch is to create new materials that highlight scientist role models with diverse backgrounds and identities. Featuring scientist role models in courses is a scalable way to promote the success of students with marginalized identities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Previous research has found that the impact of role models can depend on the ways their stories are told and shared in classroom materials. This work tests the theory that the success of scientist role models must feel within reach for students in order to create positive impacts. This project will develop and evaluate materials that combine scientist success stories with data literacy classroom exercises. The ultimate goal of this work is to give insight into how to effectively include scientist role models in instructional materials. It will also result in a new set of freely available, evidence-based, educational resources for undergraduate biology classrooms. The goal of this discipline-based education research study is to understand the impacts of how scientist role models are represented in curricula. This project will introduce students to scientist role model success stories using an innovative approach that combines data literacy activities with scientist profiles. Project personnel will design new teaching materials that address scientific content and data literacy objectives appropriate for introductory undergraduate biology courses and feature the research of scientist role models who identify with genders, race/ethnicities, or abilities that are historically excluded in biology. These new resources will be based on a combination of two previously established science education programs, Data Nuggets and Project Biodiversify. Using a network of introductory biology classrooms across the country, this project will expose students to activities featuring the same data literacy instruction but to different treatments that vary in information about the attainability of the role model’s success (e.g., an emphasis on prestigious accomplishments of the scientist or an emphasis on how scientists overcame barriers encountered in their pursuit of science). Likert-scale and open-response survey items will be used to measure the effects of different treatments on 1) perceived attainability of a science career, 2) motivation to pursue a career in science, 3) interest in quantitative biology, 4) identity as scientists, 5) science self-efficacy, and 6) engagement with activities across a national sample of introductory biology classrooms. This research will also result in the development and testing of publicly available curricular resources for introductory undergraduate biology courses that highlight scientists’ stories, while simultaneously linking to core content in biology and data literacy. The NSF IUSE: EDU 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.