Assessing Scientific Inquiry and Leadership Skills

描述(由申请者提供)：这项为期四年的成功的先前资助的续期旨在整合和扩展从母项目(评估科学探究和领导技能)中获得的见解。在母项目中，七项研究采用混合(定量和定性)方法，对高中生、本科生和研究生进行了回顾和纵向设计，有力地支持了一个概念模型，该模型侧重于科学探究自我效能感(即学生对自己在科学研究中成功表现的能力的信念)和科学家身份(即学生认为他/她的个人价值观和自我概念与科学家的社会群体之间存在契合性)的心理结构。对科学事业的承诺和各级学生的科学表现都受到自我效能感和认同感的强烈影响。正如预测的那样，科学支持计划活动的影响，特别是在良好指导下参与真实研究，以及与专业科学家和理科学生交往的机会(社区参与)完全由效能感和认同感中介，即计划活动与承诺和绩效的关系间接源于它们对效能感和认同感的影响。对于目前的项目，我们建议更深入地研究研究、指导和社区参与影响有效性和认同感的方式，以更好地理解最有效的研究环境和指导行为的具体特征。与奇卡诺人和美洲原住民科学促进会(SACNAS)合作，五项研究将审查在进行真实研究、在科学会议上展示研究以及与研究科学家和其他理科学生建立联系的同时得到指导的经历。参加SACNAS年会的学生将成为一项为期多年的纵向调查研究的一部分，该研究将在两年内每年多次跟踪学生的心理反应(即有效性和认同感)和相关结果(例如，继续接受科学教育、科学表现质量)。定量调查和后续访谈将为学生(和他们的导师)提供机会，了解学生的态度和能力随着时间的推移而变化和发展，并揭示导师的方法和行为对重要转折点的影响。随着时间的推移，多次测量可以提供不同时间(例如，在SACNAS会议上进行海报演示之前和之后；在课堂或实验室成功或失败后，等等)心理结构的信息。影响未来的态度和行为(例如，继续参与科学研究或申请和进入科学研究生院)。 公共卫生相关声明：该项目的总体目标是加强促进进入生物医学研究事业并取得成功的计划，特别是那些代表性不足的少数族裔学生。这些成果将有助于解决全国致力于生物医学研究的科学家和工程师短缺的问题。增加致力于生物医学研究的个人的多样性将扩大正在解决的研究问题、用于进行研究的方法以及在政策和实践中实施研究结果。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This four-year renewal of a successful prior grant seeks to integrate and expand the insights gained from the parent project (Assessing Scientific Inquiry and Leadership Skills). In the parent project, seven studies employing mixed (quantitative and qualitative) methods, retrospective and longitudinal designs with high school, undergraduate, and graduate students strongly supported a conceptual model that focused on the psychological constructs of science inquiry self-efficacy (i.e., a student's belief about his/her ability to perform successfully in scientific research) and identity as a scientist (i.e., a student's perception that there is a fit between his/her personal values and self concept and the social group of scientists). Commitment to a career in science and scientific performance at all levels of students were strongly influenced by self-efficacy and identity. And as predicted, the effects of science support program activities, particularly engagement in authentic research with good mentoring and the opportunity to associate with professional scientists and science students (community involvement) were fully mediated by efficacy and identity, i.e., the relationship of program activities to commitment and performance resulted indirectly from their effects on efficacy and identity. For the current project we propose to delve more deeply into the ways in which research, mentoring, and community involvement affect efficacy and identity to understand better the specific features of research settings and mentor behavior that are most effective. In partnership with the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), five studies will examine the experiences of being mentored while doing authentic research, presenting that research at a scientific conference, and networking with research scientists and other science students. Students who attend the SACNAS annual conference will become part of a multi-year longitudinal survey study that tracks the students' psychological reactions (i.e., efficacy and identity) and relevant outcomes (e.g., continuation in science education, quality of scientific performance) several times per year over a two-year period. Quantitative surveys and follow-up interviews will provide access to students (and their mentors) as the students' attitudes and aptitudes change and develop over time, and reveal how important turning points are affected by mentor approaches and behaviors. Multiple measurements over time can provide information on how psychological constructs at various times (e.g., before and immediately after a poster presentation at the SACNAS conference; after success or failure in the classroom or laboratory, etc.) affect attitudes and behaviors in the future (e.g., maintaining an involvement in scientific research or applying and entering graduate school in science). Public Health Relevance Statement: The overall goal of this project is to strengthen programs that promote entry into and success in biomedical research careers, particularly by underrepresented minority students. Results will help to address the national shortage of scientists and engineers devoted to biomedical research. Increasing the diversity of individuals devoted to biomedical research will expand the research questions being addressed, the approaches used to conduct the research, and the implementation of research findings in policy and practice.