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

描述(由申请者提供)：许多学生进入大学时怀着学习科学的兴趣，甚至考虑从事生物医学和行为科学的职业。然而，在注册了几门大学水平的理科课程后，这些学生往往会决定攻读其他专业。这个问题在代表不足的少数族裔(URM)中尤为突出，通常被称为“漏水管道”。对“漏水管道”的研究表明，早期本科生的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(例如，动机信念)的重要因素。目前的应用建立在这项先前工作的基础上，以检验专门针对激励性自我信念的干预措施的有效性，以增加大学生(特别是URM)对生物医学/行为研究职业的追求。建议的干预措施是基于我们之前成功的名为“开展关于药理学的教育”(LEAP)的高中项目，该项目包括一个暑期丰富课程和一个自我产生的研究体验。我们的干预措施还包括一种增量能力成分，以提升人们对URM的感知能力、兴趣和成就，从而解决“刻板印象威胁”。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，这些特征和相关的潜在心理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职业至关重要。为了实现这一目标，我们有四个具体目标：(1)评估参加Leap暑期课程对与科学相关的动机信念、成就和与职业相关的信念/选择的影响；(2)评估LEAP自身产生的研究经验对支持与科学有关的动机信念、成就和与职业相关的信念/选择的额外好处；(3)评估培养增量能力信念对城市管理人员与科学相关的动机信念、成就和与职业相关的信念/选择的影响；以及(4)检查潜在的心理过程(例如，动机)，这解释了为什么LEAP干预和递增能力治疗改变了学生的科学成就和与职业相关的信念/选择。我们在960名杜克大学新生样本中检验了参加LEAP项目(相对于不接受治疗的对照组)的直接和长期影响(直到大学毕业后第一年)。为了检验(1)自我产生的研究经验和(2)递增能力治疗的相对影响，我们在LEAP治疗中使用了2x2实验设计。我们拟议的工作将向教育工作者和政策制定者提供有关特定要素的信息，这些要素在设计鼓励大学生追求生物医学/行为研究职业的干预措施时至关重要。对我们干预操作所通过的关键心理变量的评估将提供对是什么使这些干预成功的更深入、更细微的理解。

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.