Self-Generated Research Experiences to Support Biomedical/Behavioral Research Car

描述（由申请人提供）：许多学生进入大学学习科学的兴趣，甚至考虑在生物医学和行为科学的职业生涯。然而，在注册了一些大学水平的科学课程后，这些学生往往决定攻读其他专业。这一问题对于代表性不足的少数民族（URM）来说尤其突出，通常被称为“泄漏管道”。“关于‘渗漏管道’的研究表明，早期的本科研究经验和丰富的课程机会是提高学生对科学的兴趣和对科学的信心的重要因素（例如，动机信念）。本申请建立在该先前工作的基础上，以检查专门针对动机自我信念的干预的有效性，以增加大学生（尤其是URMs）对生物医学/行为研究职业的追求。拟议的干预措施是基于我们以前成功的高中计划，称为“启动药理学教育”（LEAP），其中包括夏季丰富课程和自我生成的研究经验。我们的干预也解决了“刻板印象的威胁”，包括一个增量的能力组成部分，以浮标感知能力，兴趣和成就的URMs。我们研究的总体目标是确定特定的特征和相关的潜在心理过程，这些特征和过程对于创建有效的干预措施以鼓励大学生追求生物医学和行为科学研究事业至关重要。为了实现这一目标，我们有四个具体目标：（1）评估参加LEAP夏季课程对科学相关的动机信念，成就和职业相关的信念/选择的影响，（2）评估LEAP自我生成的研究经验对支持科学相关的动机信念，成就和职业相关的信念/选择的额外好处，（3）评估培养增量能力信念对科学相关动机信念、成就和职业相关信念/选择的影响，以及（4）检查潜在的心理过程（例如，动机），解释了为什么LEAP干预和增量能力治疗改变学生的科学成就和职业相关的信念/选择。我们在960名杜克大学新生的样本中研究了参与LEAP计划（相对于无治疗对照组）的即时和长期（到大学毕业后的第一年）影响。为了检验（1）自我生成的研究经验和（2）增量能力治疗的相对影响，我们在LEAP治疗中使用了2 × 2实验设计。我们提出的工作将告知教育工作者和政策制定者，这些因素在设计干预措施以鼓励大学生追求生物医学/行为研究职业方面至关重要。通过我们的干预措施运作的关键心理变量的评估将提供一个增强的，更微妙的理解是什么使这些干预措施成功。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many students enter college with an interest in studying science and even contemplate careers in biomedical and behavioral sciences. However, after enrolling in a few college-level science courses, these students often decide to pursue other majors. This issue, which is particularly salient for underrepresented minorities (URMs), is often termed the 'leaky pipeline.' Research on the 'leaky pipeline' indicates that early undergraduate research experiences and enriched curricular opportunities are important factors in enhancing students' interest in science and their perceived confidence in science (e.g., motivational beliefs). The current application builds on this prior work to examine the effectiveness of an intervention specifically targeting motivational self- beliefs for increasing college students' (especially URMs) pursuit of biomedical/behavioral research careers. The proposed intervention is based on our previously successful high school program called "Launch into Education About Pharmacology" (LEAP), which includes a summer enrichment course and a self-generated research experience. Our intervention also addresses 'stereotype threat' by including an incremental ability component to buoy perceived competence, interest, and achievement of URMs. The overall goal of our research is to identify the specific features and associated underlying psychological processes that are critical in creating effective interventions to encourage college students' pursuit of biomedical and behavioral science research careers. To achieve this goal, we have four specific aims: (1) evaluate the effect of participating in the LEAP summer course on science-related motivational beliefs, achievement, and career-related beliefs/choices, (2) evaluate the added benefit of the LEAP self-generated research experience for supporting science-related motivational beliefs, achievement, and career-related beliefs/choices, (3) evaluate the effect of fostering incremental ability beliefs on science-related motivational beliefs, achievement, and career-related beliefs/choices for URMs, and (4) examine the underlying psychological processes (e.g., motivation) that explain why the LEAP interventions and incremental ability treatment alter students' science achievement and career-related beliefs/choices. We examine both immediate and long-term (into the first year after college graduation) effects of participating in the LEAP program (relative to a no-treatment control group) in a sample of 960 Duke University freshmen. To examine the relative impact of (1) a self-generated research experience and (2) an incremental ability treatment, we use a 2 x 2 experimental design within the LEAP treatment. Our proposed work will inform educators and policy makes about specific elements that are critical in designing interventions to encourage college students' pursuit of biomedical/behavioral research careers. The assessment of key psychological variables through which our intervention operates will provide an enhanced, more nuanced understanding of what makes these interventions successful.