HSI Pilot Project: Improving Undergraduate Biology Courses to Enhance Student Achievement and Interest in Biology and Related Coursework and Careers

在改善本科STEM教育：西班牙裔服务机构（HSI）计划的支持下，该项目旨在调查一门新的多学科生物学入门课程的影响，该课程整合了探索与种族相关的生物学概念的内容，对学生学业成绩、对额外生物学课程的追求以及STEM职业抱负的影响。在hsi中，代表性不足的少数族裔学生拥有在STEM领域取得成功的学术能力，但他们在STEM专业和职业中的代表性不足。在门洛学院，西班牙裔学生尤其倾向于选择商科专业，因为他们对高薪职业的期望很高。作为硅谷专注于本科商业教育的HSI，门洛学院处于独特的位置，可以测试本科生物学课程的变化如何鼓励主修商业的西班牙裔学生增加他们的生物学知识，并从事与生物技术相关的职业。该项目将开发一门新的多学科生物学入门课程，整合现有的两门课程：人类生物学与进化，以及种族与种族主义。课程将邀请本地生物科技公司的演讲嘉宾，学生将参观本地生物科技企业。新课程预计将提高学生的成功程度，使他们有兴趣完成额外的生物学课程，并对从事生物技术和相关STEM领域的职业产生兴趣。这项工作将有助于我们了解如何通过改变本科生物学课程来最好地提高西班牙裔学生在生物学和相关STEM领域的学业成功和研究生参与度，以及越来越多的西班牙裔学生选择STEM研究生工作和职业的更广泛影响。在四个学期中，我们将比较学生的学习和态度，这些学生被分配到三种版本的生物学入门课程（人类生物学）：治疗，控制和基线。治疗部分将增加一个新的种族和种族主义模块，由具有适当专业知识和经验的讲师提供一些讲座和实验。对照组将讲授标准课程，但同一位讲师将在治疗组的同时讲授讲座和实验课程。基准部分将遵循标准课程。我们假设参加治疗课程将增加学生对STEM课程和职业的学习和兴趣。我们预计，这些影响将在那些自认为是白人/非西班牙裔以外的种族/民族的学生中更强。结果将使用标准评估程序（例如，期末考试）、学生调查和机构数据（例如，额外生物学课程的注册和毕业后的目的地）来衡量。研究结果将提交给学术期刊，以便向更广泛的公众传播。试点数据还将用于生成HSI轨道2：实施和评估项目提案，以扩展试点的见解，以提高学生在门洛学院其他STEM课程中的成功（并为寻求进行类似课程转变的其他机构提供指导）。HSI计划旨在加强HSI的本科STEM教育和能力建设。HSI计划支持的项目也将产生关于如何实现这些目标的新知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program this project aims to investigate the effect of a new introductory multidisciplinary biology curriculum that integrates content exploring biological concepts related to race on student academic achievement, the pursuit of additional biology coursework, and career aspirations in STEM. Underrepresented minority students at HSIs have the academic abilities to succeed in STEM, but they are underrepresented in STEM majors and occupations. At Menlo College, Hispanic students in particular, tend to choose business majors due to expectations of well-paid careers. As an HSI in Silicon Valley with a focus on undergraduate business education, Menlo College is uniquely situated to test how a change to the undergraduate biology curriculum can encourage Hispanic students majoring in business to increase their knowledge of biology and pursue careers in or related to biotechnology. The project will develop a new introductory multidisciplinary biology course that integrates two existing classes: Human Biology and Evolution, and Race and Racism. The class will include guest speakers from local biotechnology companies and students will visit local biotech businesses. The new curriculum is expected to generate enhanced student success, interest in completing additional biology classes, and interest in pursuing careers in biotechnology and related STEM fields.The work will contribute to our understanding of how best to enhance Hispanic student academic success and postgraduate involvement in biology and related STEM fields through changes to undergraduate biology curricula, with the broader effect of increased numbers of Hispanic students choosing STEM postgraduate work and careers. Across four semesters, we will compare student learning and attitudes between students assigned to one of three versions of the introductory biology course (Human Biology): treatment, control, and baseline. Treatment sections will add a new race and racism module, with some lectures and labs delivered by an instructor with appropriate expertise and experience. Control sections will deliver the standard curriculum but the same instructor will deliver lectures and lab sessions in parallel with the treatment sections. Baseline sections will follow the standard curriculum. We hypothesize that enrollment in the treatment course will increase student learning and interest in STEM courses and careers. We expect that these effects will be stronger among students who identify as a race/ethnicity other than white, non-Hispanic. Outcomes will be measured using standard assessment procedures (e.g., final exams), student surveys, and institutional data (e.g., enrollment in additional biology courses, and post-graduation destinations). Findings will be submitted to an academic journal for dissemination with the broader public. Pilot data will also be used to generate an HSI Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Project proposal to extend the insights from the pilot to improve student success in other STEM courses at Menlo College (and provide guidance for other institutions seeking to make similar curricular shifts). The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.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.